Key factors of a production plan Effective planning hinges on a sound understanding of key activities that entrepreneurs and business

managers should apply to the planning process. Here are some examples: Forecast market expectations: To plan effectively you will need to estimate potential sales with some reliability. Most businesses don't have firm sales or service figures. However, they can forecast sales based on historical information, market trends and/or established orders. Inventory control: Reliable inventory levels feeding the pipeline has to be established and a sound inventory system should be in place. Availability of equipment and human resources: Also known as open time, this is the period of time allowed between processes so that all orders flow within your production line or service. Production planning helps you manage open time, ensuring it is wellutilized, while being careful not to create delays. Planning should maximize your operational capacity but not exceed it. It's also wise not to plan for full capacity and leave room for the unexpected priorities and changes that may arise. Standardized steps and time: Typically, the most efficient means to determine your production steps is to map processes in the order that they happen and then incorporate the average time it took to complete the work. Remember that all steps don't happen in sequence and that many may occur at the same time. After completing a process map, you will understand how long it will take to complete the entire process. Where work is repeated or similar, it is best to standardize the work and time involved. Document similar activities for future use and use them as a base-line to establish future routings and times. This will speed up your planning process significantly. During the process map stage, you may identify waste. You can use operational efficiency/lean manufacturing principles to eliminate waste, shorten the process and improve deliveries and costs. BDC Consulting can assist businesses in process mapping and other operational efficiency principles and tools. Risk factors: Evaluate these by collecting historical information on similar work experiences, detailing the actual time, materials and failures encountered. Where risks are significant, you should conduct a failure mode effect analysis method (FMEA) and ensure that controls are put in place to eliminate or minimize them. This method allows you to study and determine ways to diminish potential problems within your business operations. This type of analysis is more common in manufacturing and assembly businesses.

How to plan work All other activities are initiated from the production plan and each area is dependant on the interaction of the activities. Typically, a plan addresses materials, equipment, human resources, training, capacity and the routing or methods to complete the work in a standard time. In order to do a good sales forecast, you should base it on a history of firm orders. The production plan initially needs to address specific key elements well in advance of production in order to ensure an uninterrupted flow of work as it unfolds.

Material ordering. Materials and services that require a long lead time or are at an extended shipping distance, also known as blanket orders, should be ordered in advance of production requirements. Suppliers should send you materials periodically to ensure an uninterrupted pipeline Equipment procurement. Procuring specialized tools and equipment to initiate the production process may require a longer lead time. Keep in mind that the equipment may have to be custom made or simply difficult to set up. This type of equipment may also require special training Bottlenecks. These are constraints or restrictions in the process flow and should be assessed in advance so you can plan around them or eliminate them before you begin production. When you assess possible bottlenecks, be aware that they may shift to another area of the process. Dealing with bottlenecks is a continual challenge for any business Human resources acquisitions and training. Key or specialized positions may demand extensive training on specialized equipment, technical processes or regulatory requirements. These employees should be interviewed thoroughly about their skills. When hiring them, allow sufficient time for training and be sure that they are competent in their work before the job begins. This will ensure that your process or service flows smoothly

The production plan provides a foundation to schedule the actual work and plan the details of day-to-day activities. As sales orders come in, you will need to address them individually based on their priority. The importance of the sales order will determine the work flow and when it should be scheduled. After this, you should evaluate whether or not you are ready for production or to offer the service. You will need to determine:

If the inventory is available at the point where work is to start? If not, then the work needs to be rescheduled when supplies become available. There is no point in scheduling work that you will not be able to complete Are your resources available? Do you have the necessary staff to complete the task? Are the machines being used? Does the standard time fit within the open time allowed? If not, then the work should be rescheduled You should be careful to minimize risk factors; allowing too many what-ifs can delay delivery and be counter productive

Communicate the plan After you have determined that you have met the criteria to start production, you will need to communicate the plan to the employees who will implement it. You can plan the production on spreadsheets, databases or software which usually speeds the process up. However, a visual representation is preferred as a means to communicate operation schedules to floor employees. Some businesses post work orders on boards or use computer monitors to display the floor schedule. The schedule also needs to be available to employees ahead of time and kept up to date. Consider change One of the many challenges of production planning and scheduling is following up with changes to orders. Changes happen every day; you may lack materials; delivery time is moved up or work parameters have to be adapted. You will need to adjust your plan in line with these changes and advise the plant. Dealing with change is not always easy and may take as much effort as creating the original production plan. You will need to follow up with the various departments involved in order to rectify any problems. As well, computer software can be helpful in tracking changes, inventory, employees and equipment. Get outside help BDC Consulting has experienced consultants who can help businesses with production planning, scheduling and lean manufacturing principles. They provide simple and effective solutions for a full range of business needs.

Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerks Coordinate and expedite the flow of work and materials within or between departments of an establishment according to production schedule. Duties include reviewing and distributing production, work, and shipment schedules; conferring with department supervisors to determine progress of work and completion dates; and compiling reports on progress of work, inventory levels, costs, and production problems. (O'Net 43-5061.00) Reported job titles: Advertising Dispatch Clerk, Aircraft Log Clerk, Airplane Dispatch Clerk, Alterations Workroom Clerk, Assignment Agent, Assignment Clerk (view all job titles) Career Video Tasks Work Activities Education & Training Requirements

 Wages Employment Trends Industries of Employment

Knowledge Skills Abilities

Interests Work Styles License Information

Schools Other Resources Related Occupations

Career Video for Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerks

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Wages for Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerks Locations hourly rates Average Vermont Burlington-South Burlington, VT Metropolitan NECTA $ 20.76 $ 20.68 Median Midrange $ 19.62 $ 19.60 $ 15.88 $ 25.42 $ 15.29 Average $ 43,190 $ 43,000 May 2012 annual rates Median $ 40,810 $ 40,760

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Midrange $ 33,040 $ 52,870 $ 31,800 -

$ 25.79 Southern Vermont Balance of State Northern Vermont Balance of State $ 21.80 $ 19.68 $ 21.10 $ 17.96 $ 17.18 $ 26.08 $ 45,330 $ 43,890

$ 53,640 $ 35,740 $ 54,250

$ 15.75 $ 32,760 $ 40,940 $ 37,360 $ 23.14 $ 48,140 source: Occupational Employment Statistics, Vermont Labor Market Information, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, released May 2013.

Employment Trends for Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerks Location 2010 Vermont Burlington-South Burlington, VT Metropolitan NECTA Southern Vermont Balance of State 540 254 170 Employment 2020 556 258 172

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Annual job Annual % change openings (compounded) (due to growth and net replacements) 0.3% 0.2% 0.1% 16 7 4 3

Northern Vermont Balance of State 120 121 0.1% source: Employment Projections, Vermont Economic & Labor Market Information, in cooperation with U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, statewide estimates released August 2012, area estimates released April 2013.

Industries of Employment for Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerks No industries of employment data for this occupation.

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Tasks for Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerks

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Examine documents, materials, and products, and monitor work processes, in order to assess completeness, accuracy, and conformance to standards and specifications. Review documents such as production schedules, work orders, and staffing tables to determine personnel and materials requirements, and material priorities. Confer with department supervisors and other personnel to assess progress and discuss needed changes. Revise production schedules when required due to design changes, labor or material shortages, backlogs, or other interruptions, collaborating with management, marketing, sales, production, and engineering. Confer with establishment personnel, vendors, and customers to coordinate production and shipping activities, and to resolve complaints or eliminate delays. Record production data, including volume produced, consumption of raw materials, and quality control measures. Requisition and maintain inventories of materials and supplies necessary to meet production demands. Calculate figures such as required amounts of labor and materials, manufacturing costs, and wages, using pricing schedules, adding machines, calculators, or computers. Distribute production schedules and work orders to departments. Compile information, such as production rates and progress, materials inventories, materials used, and customer information, so that status reports can be completed. source: Occupational Information Network: Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerks updated December 2006

Knowledge for Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerks

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 Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods. Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction. Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming. Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources. English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar. Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications. Clerical - Knowledge of administrative and clerical procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office procedures and terminology. source: Occupational Information Network: Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerks updated December 2006

Skills for Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerks

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Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times. Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents. Coordination - Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions. Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively. Active Learning - Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and

decision-making. Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one. Time Management - Managing one's own time and the time of others. Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience. Service Orientation - Actively looking for ways to help people. Mathematics - Using mathematics to solve problems. source: Occupational Information Network: Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerks updated December 2006

Abilities for Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerks Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.

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Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences. Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand. Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand. Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer). Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem. Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person. Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).

 Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you. Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense. source: Occupational Information Network: Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerks updated December 2006

Work Activities for Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerks

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Getting Information - Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources. Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates - Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person. Interacting With Computers - Using computers and computer systems (including hardware and software) to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information. Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work - Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work. Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events - Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events. Monitor Processes, Materials, or Surroundings - Monitoring and reviewing information from materials, events, or the environment, to detect or assess problems. Scheduling Work and Activities - Scheduling events, programs, and activities, as well as the work of others. Making Decisions and Solving Problems - Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems. Processing Information - Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or verifying information or data. Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships - Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time. source: Occupational Information Network: Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerks updated December 2006

Interests for Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerks

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Conventional - Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow. Enterprising - Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business. source: Occupational Information Network: Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerks updated June 2008

Work Styles for Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerks Attention to Detail - Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks. Dependability - Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations. Cooperation - Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude. Stress Tolerance - Job requires accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high stress situations.

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Independence - Job requires developing one's own ways of doing things, guiding oneself with little or no supervision, and depending on oneself to get things done. Initiative - Job requires a willingness to take on responsibilities and challenges. Persistence - Job requires persistence in the face of obstacles. Adaptability/Flexibility - Job requires being open to change (positive or negative) and to considerable variety in the workplace.

 Self Control - Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations. Achievement/Effort - Job requires establishing and maintaining personally challenging achievement goals and exerting effort toward mastering tasks. source: Occupational Information Network: Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerks updated December 2006