What are the Objectives of Production planning?

Answer 1

Objectives of Production Control

The success of an enterprise greatly depends on the performance of its production control department. The production control department generally has to perform the following functions:

• Provision of raw material, equipment, machines and labour.
• To organize production schedule in conformity with the demand forecasts.
• The resources are used in the best possible manner in such a way that the cost of production is minimized and delivery date is maintained.
• Determination of economic production runs with a view to reduce setup costs.
• Proper co-ordination of the operations of various sections/departments responsible for production.
• To ensure regular and timely supply of raw material at the desired place and of prescribed quality and quantity to avoid delays in production.
• To perform inspection of semi-finished and finished goods and use quality control techniques to ascertain that the produced items are of required specifications.
• It is also responsible for product design and development.

Thus the fundamental objective of production control is to regulate and control the various operations of production process such a way that orderly flow of material is ensured at different stages of the production and the items are produced of right quality, in right quantity, at the right time with minimum efforts and cost.

The objectives or benefits of a system of production planning and control within a manufacturing firm are:

1. To ensure a system of regular availability and adequacy of labour, machines, and raw materials for production through the preparation of work and materials schedule thus allowing smooth and continuous production runs with reduced possibilities of disruptions and fewer stocking of raw materials.

2. To ensure that orders are met and that production targets and schedules are achieved in quantity, quality and cost.

3. To facilitate the co-ordination of production with other functions of business and ensure harmony with other sectional policies and the corporate objectives of the company.

4. To provide a basis for the maintenance of material and stock records

5. To ensure conformity of output with quality standards by maintaining constant touch between the design and the sales sections and the actual production department.

6. To use the best method of manufacture and minimize costs i.e. to ensure that the resources (costs) budgeted are not exceeded.

7. To make sure that machines and workers are co-ordinated and used efficiently i.e to prevent under and over utilization of equipment and manpower through the preparation of machine utilization schedules otherwise called machine loading.

8. To make sure that production workers understand what they are required to do through a clear definition of targets - what they are required to produce and the pace at which they are to work.

9. To respond to the pattern of demand and prevent unnecessary pilling of stocks at the factory.

10. To point to or specify the actions that are needed to remedy deviation from planned or target output.

11. To ensure that the right raw materials and components are used for producing goods.

12. To avoid delays in production and errors arising form a stampede, rush or fire brigade approach.

13. To ensure that raw materials, finished goods and work in progress are generally maintained at the optimum levels with the cardinal aim of ensuring an uninterrupted system of production to meet demand.