Create a Production Plan

You can create a Production Plan using one of the following methods:

Create a Production Plan via the Production Plans section of the PLA Overview page.
Create a Production Plan via the New Plan button on the PLA Overview page.
Copy an existing Production Plan to create a new plan.

This topic describes how to create a Production Plan via the Production Plans section of the PLA Overview page.

Steps

Access the PLA Overview page.

Hint: You can also access the PLA Overview page for a particular Hierarchy Level.
Select the Production Plans tab.

A list of Production Plans available in the database appears.
Select .

The Production Plan Builder window appears, displaying the welcome message.
Select Next.

The Select Products screen appears.
In the Select Unit list, select the Production Unit for which you want to create a new Production Plan.

The list of available products appears.
Select check box to the left of the product that you want to add. You can select more than one product.

Note: If you want to create a Sequential plan, you must select at least two products.

Tip: If the list of products that you can add is long and you are having trouble finding the product that you want to add, you can search for a specific product by entering a value in the Search box.
Select Next.

The Select Plan Basis screen appears. You can use this screen to determine whether the plan will be time-based (i.e., you will define the time period for which you want to track production) or quantity-based (i.e., you will define the amount of each product that you plan to produce).
If you want to generate a time-based plan, accept the default selection, and then select Next.

-or-

If you want to generate a quantity-based plan, select Plan is quantity-based, and then select Next.

Depending on your selection, the Time-based Plan screen or Quantity-based Plan screen appears.
If you are creating a time-based plan, on the Time-based Plan screen:
1. In the Start Time box, enter or select the date on which the plan begins.
2. In the End Time box, enter or select the date on which the plan ends.
3. In the Production Model list, select the option that describes how the unit produces the products that you selected on the Select Products screen. You can select either of the following options:
  - Concurrent: The unit produces the products at the same time.
  - Sequential: The unit produces the first product first, and then begins producing the second product after production of the first product is complete. If you select the Sequential option, you must provide the following additional information:
    - In the Sequence column, by entering a numeric value, specify the order in which the products should be produced. For example, if you have three products called "A," "B," and "C," you can arrange to produce them in the following sequence "B" is first, "A" is second, and "C" is third.
    - In the End Time column, based on the order that you specified in the Sequence column, specify the date and time on which production of each product ends.
  Note: If you are producing only one product during this plan, the Production Model list is disabled.
-or-

If you are creating a quantity-based plan, on the Quantity-based Plan screen:
1. In the Start Time box, enter or select the date on which the plan begins.
2. In the Production Model list, select the option that describes how the unit produces the products that you selected on the Select Products screen. You can select either of the following options:
  - Concurrent: The unit produces the products at the same time.
  - Sequential: The unit produces the first product first, and it begins producing the second product after production of the first product is complete. If you select the Sequential option, you must provide the following additional information:
    - In the Sequence column, by entering a numeric value, specify the order in which the products should be produced. For example, if you have three products called "A," "B," and "C," you can arrange to produce them in the following sequence "B" is first, "A" is second, and "C" is third.
    - In the End Time column, based on the order that you specified in the Sequence column, specify the date and time on which production of each product ends.
  Note: If you are producing only one product during this plan, the Production Model list is disabled.
3. In each row in the cell in the Quantity column, enter the amount of product that you plan to produce.
Select Next.

The Useful Production Time screen appears.

You can use this screen to define the hours each day that you produce the specified products. By default, the builder assumes that, Monday through Friday, your production hours are the same (9:00:00 A.M. to 5:00:00 P.M.). It also assumes that you do not produce anything on Saturdays or Sundays.
To refine the hours each day that you produce the specified products, by selecting the appropriate tabs, define your shifts as necessary.
- If your shifts are the same Monday through Friday, you can leave the default I have the same useful production time from Monday through Friday check box selected, and then define the shift only for Monday. It will then be copied to Tuesday through Friday automatically.
- If your shifts are the same every day of the week (including weekends), you can select the I have the same useful production time for the whole week check box. You can then define the shift only for Monday, and it will be copied to Tuesday through Sunday automatically.
- If your shifts are on specific days, clear I have the same useful production time from Monday through Friday and I have the same useful production time for the whole week check boxes, and then manually define the shifts for each day.
When defining shifts:
- If you run only one shift all day (24 hours a day), make the start time and end time the same, as shown in the following image:
- If you run multiple shifts per day, back to back, make the start date and time of the second shift match the end date and time of the previous shift, as shown in the following image:
When you are finished defining shifts, select Next.

The Data Entry Frequency screen appears.

You can use this screen to define how often you enter Production Data and Production Loss information.
In the Data Entry Frequency list, select the frequency with which you enter Production Data and Loss information.

Note: If you want to enter Production Data only once over the course of the entire plan period, select Campaign.
Select Finish.

The plan is generated and appears in the Plan Details workspace.