MRP Production Scheduling & Capacity Planning 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: In MRP-driven environments, what is the primary purpose of time fencing in the Master Production Schedule (MPS)?
- To limit the number of open purchase orders
- To stabilize the near-term schedule by restricting automatic changes (Correct answer)
- To separate production from distribution planning
- To define safety stock replenishment triggers
Correct answer: To stabilize the near-term schedule by restricting automatic changes
Time fences protect the firm portion of the MPS from automatic system changes, reducing schedule nervousness.
Question 2: What is schedule 'nervousness' in MRP systems?
- Excessive overtime caused by poor capacity planning
- Frequent rescheduling of planned orders due to minor input changes (Correct answer)
- Worker absenteeism affecting production throughput
- Inaccurate bill of materials causing excess WIP
Correct answer: Frequent rescheduling of planned orders due to minor input changes
MRP nervousness occurs when small changes in demand or parameters trigger large cascading reschedule messages.
Question 3: Which capacity planning technique provides the MOST detailed analysis of work center loads?
- Resource Requirements Planning (RRP)
- Rough-Cut Capacity Planning (RCCP)
- Capacity Requirements Planning (CRP) (Correct answer)
- Capacity Bills
Correct answer: Capacity Requirements Planning (CRP)
CRP uses actual routing and planned order data to produce detailed load profiles by work center and time period.
Question 4: A production planner needs to evaluate MPS feasibility quickly without full routing detail. Which tool is most appropriate?
- Capacity Requirements Planning (CRP)
- Rough-Cut Capacity Planning (RCCP) (Correct answer)
- Input/Output Control
- Dispatch list analysis
Correct answer: Rough-Cut Capacity Planning (RCCP)
RCCP uses bill of resources or capacity bills to quickly check critical resource feasibility of the MPS.
Question 5: In finite capacity scheduling, what happens when a work center is fully loaded for a given time period?
- Orders are automatically cancelled
- Additional orders are queued to the next available period (Correct answer)
- Safety stock is consumed to meet demand
- The system increases the planned lead time permanently
Correct answer: Additional orders are queued to the next available period
Finite scheduling enforces capacity limits and moves excess load to available future periods rather than overbooking.
Question 6: Which metric measures the ratio of actual output from a work center compared to the standard or planned output?
- Efficiency (Correct answer)
- Utilization
- Throughput ratio
- Capacity cushion
Correct answer: Efficiency
Efficiency compares actual output to standard output, reflecting how well a work center performs relative to expectations.
Question 7: A firm planned order (FPO) in MRP differs from a regular planned order because it:
- Is always for a larger quantity than regular orders
- Cannot be modified by the planner under any circumstances
- Is protected from automatic rescheduling by the MRP system (Correct answer)
- Is placed directly with suppliers without approval
Correct answer: Is protected from automatic rescheduling by the MRP system
Firm planned orders are frozen by the planner and will not be automatically changed by MRP regeneration runs.
MRP Production Scheduling & Capacity Planning 3
In MRP-driven environments, what is the primary purpose of time fencing in the Master Production Schedule (MPS)?