Production Schedule
A detailed plan that specifies what products will be manufactured, in what quantities, and when, coordinating resources across the shop floor. Production schedules balance customer demand, available capacity, material availability, and operational constraints to optimize delivery performance and resource utilization.
RELATED TERMS
Material Requirements Planning
A production planning and inventory control system that calculates what materials are needed, how many are required, and when they must be available to meet production schedules. MRP uses bill of materials data, inventory levels, and master production schedules to generate purchase orders and work orders.
Work Order
A document that authorizes and provides instructions for manufacturing a specific quantity of a product. Work orders specify the materials, labor, equipment, and steps required to complete production, and serve as the primary record for tracking job progress, costs, and completion.
Takt Time
The rate at which products must be completed to meet customer demand, calculated by dividing available production time by customer demand. Takt time sets the pace for production and helps balance workloads across operations to achieve smooth, synchronized flow without overproduction or shortages.
Capacity Utilization
The percentage of available production capacity that is actually being used to produce goods. Capacity utilization helps managers understand how efficiently resources are being employed and whether additional capacity is needed or if existing capacity could handle more volume.
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