Capacity planning
Capacity planning in PP checks and levels the load on work centers, ensuring the production plan is actually feasible given available capacity. It prevents planning more work than the shop floor can do.
Without capacity planning, MRP can propose more production than the plant can perform, leading to missed dates and firefighting.
- MRP plans what and when, but assumes infinite capacity; capacity planning then checks the load it creates against each work…
- Work-center capacity: available hours/output.
- Capacity requirements from planned/production orders (via routings).
- Watch out: Ignoring capacity, infeasible plans.
What capacity planning does
MRP plans what and when, but assumes infinite capacity; capacity planning then checks the load it creates against each work center’s available capacity, highlighting overloads, and lets planners level the load (reschedule) so the plan is executable. It turns a materials-feasible plan into a capacity-feasible one.
Key concepts
- Work-center capacity: available hours/output.
- Capacity requirements from planned/production orders (via routings).
- Capacity evaluation: load vs available.
- Capacity leveling: rescheduling to remove overloads.
Why it matters
Without capacity planning, MRP can propose more production than the plant can perform, leading to missed dates and firefighting. Capacity planning gives realistic, achievable schedules. It relies on accurate routings (operation times) and work-center capacities, and is central to reliable production planning.
Common pitfalls
- Ignoring capacity, infeasible plans.
- Inaccurate routings/work-center data, wrong load.
- Not leveling known overloads.