Read this essay to learn about:-1. Meaning of Production Order 2. Objectives of Production Order 3. Various Types of Charts Used 4. Steps in Constructing Production Order Charts. 

Essay # 1. Meaning of Production Order:

It is necessary that detailed information about the nature of items to be produced, the manufacturing systems, etc. should be provided for effective and proper implementation of production planning activities. The sequence of operations involving men, machine and material of the system should be properly analyzed and described in a systematic manner.

In short, the systematic arrangement of the information to carry out the production planning activities of an organization is known as production order. Through production order, the production control measures can be applied effectively. It also provides guidelines for economic and efficient location and layout of plant and equipment.

It can also be termed as the graphical representation of the activities performed by men, machine and materials of manufacturing system. It is an asset for formulating detailed and efficient production strategy.

Essay # 2. Objectives of Production Order:

The following are the main objectives/functions of production order:

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(i) Provides information about the:

a. Production design and other specification,

b. Desired output,

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c. Time by which product is to be produced and

d. Duration of various activities/operations and their sequence in the production process.

(ii) Providing basis for evaluating the performance f various components in a production process in terms of quality, time and expenditure.

(iii) Help in operation of production control.

Essay # 3. Various Types of Charts Used in Production Order:

Charts are the most important means to explain the requirements priorities and methods involved in a production order.

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These are:

(i) Process analysis charts.

(ii) Charts for the analysis of equipment utilization.

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(iii) Master schedule.

(i) Process Analysis Chart:

These charts completely depict the details of step-by-step movements of men, machine and material in the system from start to finish of the production process.

The study of these charts helps in locating the stages where improvements in the process are possible, so that wasteful, unnecessary and inefficient activities can be eliminated. There can be different types of process charts viz. Schematic chats, Process charts etc. 

(ii) Charts for Equipment Utilization Analysis:

For further analysis of the production process, the whole process is sub-divided into a number of sub-processes to have a more detailed study of the activities of man and machine in terms of time and their movements, i.e. Time and motion study is conducted.

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With the help of these charts steps can be taken to reduce idle time for man and machine and thus achieve efficient utilization of inputs. These charts popularly known as Activity charts or Man-Machine charts. 

(iii) Master Schedule:

It is the foundation for planning and controlling all manufacturing activities. Master schedule is prepared first by reviewing the previous production programmes, in terms of sales, delivery date etc. On the basis of this review, the feasibility of new production programme is evaluated.

Once the production rates for items already on the master schedule have been adjusted, the management can begin to schedule new production. A master schedule is a list showing how many of each item to make in each period of time. Thus the master schedule provides relevant statistics to meet the delivery and job requirement with maximum utilization of the plant resources.

It is prepared by analysis of customer orders and sales forecasts. It can be termed as a time table of production process, the starting and finishing periods of various activities/operations involved in producing the desired goods and services.

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There are two-fold objectives of a master schedule, namely the production plan should be completed:

(i) By due date and

(ii) With minimum time and cost.

The following information is required for the preparation of master schedule:

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(i) The nature of the items to be manufactured.

(ii) Period wise amount of items to be produced.

(iii) Specification of dates by which various operations involved in the production process are to be completed.

Operations or Process chars become the basis for preparing master schedules.

Fig.7.1 shows the form of typical master schedule.

Form of Typical Master Schedule

Scheduling must start with the final due date and work backlog if any. In the preparation of schedules, due consideration should be given to the capital involved in the production process to a minimum level and even loading of plant capacity. A good master schedule should be flexible so that every single order however small may be accommodated in it.

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Thus a typical master schedule is a statement to the production process objectives, which are to be completed within a predetermined period. It can be used for the long term planning of the organization: The master schedule generally contains the following details, when prepared in a Tabular from (see Table 7.1).

Master schedule

Essay # 4. Steps in Constructing Production Order Charts:

The following are the main steps and considerations in preparing various types of production order charts:

(i) Collection of reliable and relevant information about the characteristics of production process, quality and quantity specifications.

(ii) Process chart is drawn to identify and to find the sequences of various operations involved in production process.

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(iii) Schematic charts are drawn to determine the most appropriate method when there are a number of alternatives.

(iv) Time required to perform each operation or activity involved in the process is represented by means of activity charts.

(v) Using the various kinds of information obtained from various charts in steps (ii) to (iv), the plan is prepared for the distribution of jobs on machines/equipment, requisition of materials and application of production control operations effectively. The plan is framed in the form of Master Schedule.

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