Visualization for Production Management

Once the production schedule is set and manufacturing begins, production management  ensures that everything runs according to plan. Several key areas must be monitored, including:

• Incoming orders and order backlog
• Material procurement
• Inventory fluctuations
• Outsourcing
• Production progress
• Pegging sales orders, production, orders, purchaser orders, and inventories

By systematically managing these factors, production can reliably follow the planned schedule. However, even a small delay or a single missing part could bring an entire production order to a halt. When manufacturing products with a large number of components or complex processes, production management tasks become highly diverse and extensive, requiring extreme diligence.

Many companies operate with a reactive, results-based approach, where issues are only addressed after they have occurred—a “death certificate system.” But production controllers have no influence over past results. This reactive approach, similar to firefighting, is the reality for most businesses that rely solely on ERP-based scheduling and MRP calculations. It offers no process synchronization and is far from a just-in-time production model. For a deeper understanding of the limitations of ERP-MRP calculations, refer to this blog post: Incorrect MRP Calculations Can Cause Both High Inventory and Frequent Missing Parts.

Instead, production requires a proactive “health monitoring system” that enables control over future processes and outcomes—weeks and months in advance.

The question is: how far ahead should scheduling extend? At a minimum, for the period where adjustments are still possible. For example:

• If a component has a lead time of one month, all orders and forecasts should be scheduled at least three months in advance.

• If a component has a lead time of six months, scheduling should extend at least 18 months ahead—updated on a rolling daily basis.

What happens when a manufacturing operation involves hundreds or even thousands of components, a vast number of processes, or highly complex workflows with parallel and merging steps? Managing these in scattered ERP system tables or Excel spreadsheets results in thousands of rows and columns containing part numbers, required quantities, lead times, production data, and more. How can Just-in-Time delivery, process synchronization, delays, early production, shortages, excess inventory, and more be proactively controlled through a sea of numbers and text?

To maintain centralized control, manufacturers need a system that brings together all relevant information and visualizes it on a single screen— displaying the current and future status of orders, production status, inventory fluctuations, and the broader supply chain. This is precisely what a powerful APS system is designed to do.

The importance of an APS tool’s visualization capabilities is underscored by the fact that the human brain processes visual stimuli up to 60,000 times faster than text. Approximately 40% of all neural pathways connected to the brain are directly linked to the retina of the eyes, highlighting the fundamental role of vision in our information processing. In total, visual data accounts for up to 90% of the information processed by the brain—demonstrating that our perception and understanding of the world are primarily shaped by visual stimuli and highlighting the critical role of visualization in production management.