If in the production cycle your company:
- the same item or similar products are produced for a long time
- the lots are not predefined
- the production frequency is constant over time
- the sequence of work centers does not change
Then…….
It is not appropriate to use discrete production as a method of planning and control, since there will be:
- production orders that remain open for a long time
- a considerable effort to control the processing status
- high effort for the traceability of the components
With the use of repetitive production, on the other hand, both the management and the control of the production process are optimized.
The discrete and repetitive production is compared below.
| Discrete Production | Continuous Production |
|---|---|
| Production based on individual orders | Production based on period (certain quantities per period) |
| Work Center Sequence Variation (Complex Routing) | Constant flow through production |
| The product changes frequently | The product does not change over a long period of time. |
| Processing status | Reduced control effort (without processing status) |
| The components are organized with reference to the order | The components are assigned to the lines periodically and anonymously |
To use repetitive production and simplify the planning and control area, SAP has created a dedicated component called Repetitive Manufacturing (PP-REM) that is part of the Production Planning (PP) module.
Repetitive manufacturing can be implemented in both make-to-stock and make-to-order environments, such as in the automotive industry.
Solution
The Repetitive Production module allows you to manage orders for standard anonymous articles and standard items on order. Production orders are planned based on the capacity of the work center that controls the production rate (bottleneck work center). Below the characteristics of this component.
Master data
Specific master data for repetitive production is required. These include the repetitive production profile, the production version and the product cost collector.
Schedule table
In the context of repetitive production, planning and control are performed on the basis of “Time Buckets”. Starting from the situation of existing requirements, it is possible to plan production quantities according to periods. The planning data of the products and product groups are divided into a series of “Time Buckets”, which are presented with periodic views for monitoring and review purposes.
Sequencing
Sequencing can be used to perform a planning based on strategies that determine the sequence in which planned orders are proposed on the production line. Sequencing simplifies the shipping process, especially for high volumes and allows you to view them in a graph.
Pull List
You can use the pull list to control the flow of internal material, supplying the production with the required components. The pull list controls the inventory situation in the production line, calculates the missing parts and generates the request for the latter.
Backflush
Confirmations of completion of production are simplified and are made with reference to the material to be produced. Completion confirmation usually includes backflushing components and entering production costs.
Cost Control
In repetitive production, costs per material or production version are fed through a product cost collector (product cost per period).
Benefits
The benefits of repetitive production are:
- Considerable decrease in setup time
- Decreased effort management control of the production process
- Reduction of errors deriving from production backorders (with reference to discrete production)
This component opens the door to further developments that allow the automation of some operations and the interaction with external systems that make, for example, the insertion of data automatically.
By:
Carlos Vera – Linkedin