Plan, produce and deliver: Managing high-volume plastics and packaging manufacturing | Part 1 of 3
Plastics, packaging and other high-volume manufacturers are under pressure to maximise machine utilisation while retaining the flexibility to respond to changing production and customer requirements.
Production equipment is expensive, changeovers consume valuable time, and many businesses repeatedly manufacture the same products for stock. Keeping machines operating efficiently is an important objective. However, the most efficient schedule at the machine level is not always the most effective plan for the wider business.
Customer forecasts can be revised, material deliveries can be delayed, and new priorities can emerge. Products manufactured today may not be dispatched for several weeks. Production planning must therefore balance operational efficiency with the flexibility to adjust as conditions change.
In high-volume manufacturing environments, planning problems can arise when production schedules become too rigid to accommodate changing requirements.
Why larger production runs are not always better
Plastics manufacturers generally aim to minimise machine changeovers.
If an injection moulding machine is producing an item successfully, continuing the run can make operational sense. Longer production runs reduce setup activity, improve machine utilisation and can increase overall efficiency.
The problem arises when an entire production requirement is managed as a single manufacturing order.
A production requirement that takes several days to complete may be simpler to schedule as one large order. However, that administrative simplicity can limit planning flexibility. If demand changes, materials are delayed or another product becomes a higher priority, rescheduling a large manufacturing order can disrupt the wider production plan.
What began as an efficient schedule can quickly become a constraint. The longer the manufacturing order, the more difficult it may be to accommodate changing requirements.
The benefits of working in economic production quantities
Working in economic production quantities involves dividing a very large production requirement into multiple manufacturing orders. The goal is to preserve scheduling flexibility and work in practical run quantities that suit shift patterns and plant capacity while maintaining efficient machine utilisation.
The total production requirement remains the same, but production is completed in multiple smaller manufacturing orders rather than as one large manufacturing order. Each manufacturing order might represent a shift, half-shift or another practical production period.
These orders can still run consecutively on the same machine, retaining many of the efficiency benefits of a longer production run. This approach gives planners more options when production priorities change.
If demand changes, materials are delayed or another product becomes more urgent, an individual order can be moved or rescheduled without shifting the entire production requirement. A three-day production run can therefore remain efficient while providing opportunities to adjust the schedule between orders.
In high-volume manufacturing environments, the additional planning flexibility can be more valuable than managing an entire production requirement as a single manufacturing order.
Planning extends beyond the machine
In high-volume manufacturing, production planning is often associated with machine schedules, but the effect of a manufacturing decision extends across the operation.
A large production run may keep a machine operating efficiently for several days. It also affects the timing of material replenishment, the amount of stock held around the factory, and the movement of finished goods into storage or dispatch. As production quantities increase, these supporting activities become increasingly important.
This is one reason large manufacturing orders can create operational problems. A machine may be operating efficiently while raw materials accumulate near production lines and finished goods occupy warehouse or factory-floor space before they are required.
Effective planning therefore considers the movement of materials and finished goods across the entire operation. Decisions about production quantities need to reflect warehouse capacity, material availability and expected demand as well as machine utilisation.
Planning for material requirements
Once production requirements have been established, the required materials must be available when production is scheduled to begin.
Material Requirements Planning, or MRP, uses inventory levels and forecast demand to calculate what materials are required and when they are needed in production. This gives purchasing teams a clearer indication of what needs to be ordered and when it needs to arrive.
For make-to-stock manufacturers, balancing material availability against excess inventory is an ongoing planning challenge.
This balance becomes more important as production volumes increase and material lead times become longer. A production schedule is only workable if the materials needed to support it are available when each manufacturing order is due to begin.
Looking ahead
Planning establishes what needs to be manufactured, when production should occur and which materials will be required. However, once manufacturing begins, changing production conditions may require the plan to be adjusted.
Priorities shift, machines experience downtime, and manufacturing orders may need to move between work centres. Production teams must understand what is happening on the factory floor while keeping manufacturing activity aligned with material availability and customer demand.
In Part 2, we explore how ERP and Manufacturing Execution Systems, or MES, work together to link production planning with factory-floor activity and provide current production information as the work progresses.
Learn more
Explore how Abel supports different industries and operating environments:
- Plastics, Packaging and High-Volume Manufacturing
- Food and Beverage Manufacturing
- Other Industries Supported by Abel ERP
Talk to Abel about production planning, manufacturing orders and material requirements management to support greater flexibility in high-volume manufacturing environments.
