Production planning and control on the basis of control theory

Abstract

Steadily increasing dynamic changes in industry's environment are causing decreasing capability in planning production due to reduced forecasting horizons. Key figures published by companies show that on the one hand complexity has risen (e.g. number of variants); on the other hand, market demands call for shorter delivery time. A way to remedy this is to improve the reaction of the company to short-term changes in demand. Therefore the step from a static to a dynamic view is necessary to control objectives in the field of production logistics. For analysis and control of dynamic systems control theory provides excellent tools. Using the funnel model and the theory of the operating curve a continuous model of a production system was developed. Drawing conclusions for production logistics from this approach, three areas are to be changed in future. Firstly, new elements could enhance the understanding of processes and lead to new and more detailed knowledge in PPC. Secondly, it is possible to develop new and better algorithms and methods for PPC. Thirdly, the functional architecture of PPC systems must be changed to achieve a controlled process.