Production Scheduling & Capacity Planning Flashcards

Input/output control in production scheduling is used primarily to:

Answer: Monitor and regulate the flow of work into and out of work centers to control queue levels

I/O control compares planned vs. actual input and output at work centers to manage WIP queues and lead times.

Which scheduling rule typically achieves the lowest average flow time for a set of jobs?

Answer: Shortest Processing Time (SPT)

SPT minimizes average flow time and average WIP by processing the quickest jobs first.

A 'load profile' in capacity planning shows:

Answer: The planned workload on a resource across future time periods

A load profile charts projected work center demand over time, highlighting overloads and underloads.

What is the effect of increasing the planning time fence in an MPS?

Answer: It increases schedule stability by protecting more periods from automatic changes

A longer planning time fence freezes more of the schedule, reducing nervousness but decreasing flexibility.

In job shop scheduling, 'makespan' refers to:

Answer: The total time from first job start to last job completion

Makespan is the total elapsed time to complete an entire set of jobs, from the start of the first to the finish of the last.

Which of the following best describes 'capacity cushion'?

Answer: The amount of capacity kept in reserve above expected demand

Capacity cushion is intentional excess capacity maintained to handle demand variability and unexpected surges.

When a production planner uses 'lot splitting' to address a bottleneck, the result is:

Answer: Dividing one order into smaller batches that can be processed in parallel or overlap operations

Lot splitting breaks a large order into smaller sub-lots that can start downstream operations before the entire lot is complete.