Question 1

What is the difference between machine planning and capacity planning?

Accepted Answer

Machine planning determines which production order is carried out on which machine and when. Capacity planning takes a broader view of how much capacity you have available, for example across machines, employees and departments. In practice, you use capacity planning to determine what is feasible and machine planning to allocate the work to specific time slots.

Question 2

How do you calculate the capacity of a machine?

Accepted Answer

Start with the available working hours and subtract maintenance, downtime and work already planned. Also take changeover time into account. For example, a machine that is available for eight hours, requires one hour of maintenance and has four hours of production planned still has three hours of available capacity.

Question 3

What is the difference between machine hours and labour hours?

Accepted Answer

Machine hours indicate how long a machine is occupied. Labour hours indicate how much time an employee needs to spend actively working on an operation. These times don't have to be the same. For example, a machine can run independently for three hours while an operator is only needed for the first half hour.

Question 4

How do you account for maintenance in machine planning?

Accepted Answer

Plan known maintenance as unavailable time before allocating production orders. This prevents the same machine capacity from being used twice. After making a change, also check subsequent operations, as maintenance on one machine can affect multiple orders.

Question 5

How often should you update your machine plan?

Accepted Answer

Update your plan whenever relevant information changes. This could include machine breakdowns, employee sickness, delays, urgent orders or changes in material availability. In dynamic production environments, machine planning is therefore not a one-off task, but a continuous process of planning and making adjustments.