A study of priority rules for a levelled production plan

What is it about?

This paper looks as initial results of research into the validity of application of selected priority rules in the development of a levelled production plan. The development of a levelled production plan is the key stage of the authors’ own methodology of levelling production to mitigate the adverse impact of variable demand. A levelled production plan permits to maximize effects, defined as being able to deliver diverse products in a timely manner and at the same time reduce stocks and optimize efficient use of manufacturing resources. Application of an appropriate priority rule in the development of a levelled production plan is the key factor determining the effectiveness of the developed methodology. Initial research has been conducted for twenty automatically generated task sets. One hundred manufacturing schedules have been developed in total – five schedules for each set, according to the selected priority rules (shortest task time, longest task time, shortest processing time, longest processing time, first in first out). The schedules have been assessed in terms of meeting the selected key criteria for the objectives of levelled production.

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Why is it important?

In the literature of the subject, no guidelines related to priority rules dedicated to levelling production were found. The research aims at evaluation of validity of the use of priority rules in the development of a levelled production plan. The paper presents results of the study for selected priority rules. The developed production schedules have been evaluated and compared on the basis of three criteria with assigned weights.

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