Plan production orders in detail and realistically
Detailed planning translates production targets into an executable sequence: work operations are allocated to specific machines, staff, tools and time slots. Visual Planning® can display this operational planning on a shared graphical planning board and make short-term changes transparent.
This page complements the parent Production planning. Whilst these orders and capacities are considered as part of the overall picture, detailed planning focuses on sequencing, scheduling and resource allocation in day-to-day operations.
What does detailed production planning involve?
Robust detailed production planning takes more than just the order deadline into account. It brings together various interdependent pieces of information and shows whether the planned sequence can be implemented under the current conditions.
Orders and work steps
Production orders are broken down into individual operations, prioritised and arranged in a realistic processing sequence.
Machines and workstations
Bookings, capacity limits, downtime and alternative workstations are taken into account in the planning process.
Staff and Qualifications
Available staff, shifts, absences and required skills are matched against the work processes.
Tools and equipment
Shared tools, fixtures or test equipment can be scheduled as additional resources.
Set-up and transition times
Set-up operations, waiting times and dependencies between work stages become visible, rather than remaining solely within the experiential knowledge of individual planners.
Dates and priorities
Delivery dates, rush orders and internal priorities form the basis for the specific sequence of tasks and short-term rescheduling.
Clearly distinguish between production planning and detailed planning
| Level | Typical question | Planning horizon |
|---|---|---|
| Production planning | Which orders and capacities need to be scheduled within a given period? | medium to long term |
| Capacity analysis | Are there enough staff, machines and workstations to cope with the planned workload? | ranging from strategic to operational, depending on the process |
| Detailed planning | Which work process takes place when, where, in what order and with which resources? | at short notice and on an operational basis |
The different levels are interlinked. However, even good high-level planning can fail if a qualification, a tool, a maintenance task or a specific machine allocation is missing from the detailed planning. For this reason, the various stages of planning should be linked together and responsibilities clearly defined.
Detailed planning with Visual Planning®
Shared graphical planning board
Orders, work steps and resources can be combined in customisable views. Colours, statuses, symbols and warning messages help users find their way around quickly. Depending on the configuration, tasks can be moved using drag-and-drop and assigned to other resources or time slots.
This provides planners with a common working basis for resource planning, coordination and prioritisation. The software does not make technical decisions itself, but clearly presents relevant information and conflicts to the responsible personnel.
Planning rules and conflicts
Overlaps, double bookings, insufficient capacity or invalid allocations can be highlighted, depending on the data model set up. Shifts, absences, scheduled maintenance and restricted periods can also be included in the booking check.
For further details on the planning of machinery and plant, please see Machine planning; the allocation of available staff is carried out in the Staff deployment planning in depth.
Typical changes during day-to-day operations
Detailed planning must not only reflect the initial plan, but above all be able to respond to deviations.
- Urgent job: Priorities and subsequent bookings are checked and reordered.
- Machine breakdown: Affected processes become visible; alternative machines or time slots can be assessed.
- Staff absence: The planning shows which work processes require a specific qualification and where cover might be available.
- Material or tool shortage: Dependent tasks are identified and, where necessary, rescheduled.
- Postponement: The impact on follow-up orders, delivery dates and capacity becomes clear.
- Maintenance window: Planned downtime is taken into account as fixed or flexible unavailability periods.
Usefully supplement data from ERP and PPS systems
Visual Planning® can be used as a graphical operational planning layer alongside an existing ERP or PPS system. Order, item, date or resource data can be imported as part of an interface project. Feedback and status information can be exchanged, depending on the systems involved, data quality and the agreed scope of integration.
An interface is no substitute for clear processes. Before implementation, therefore, the primary data sources, responsibility for planning, update intervals and the handling of manual changes should be defined. The decision-making guide digital planning board or ERP/PPS helps with classification.
For which companies is detailed production planning particularly relevant?
Specialised detailed planning is particularly useful when many orders are running in parallel, several resources are interdependent, or short-notice changes occur regularly. Typical areas of application include mechanical and plant engineering, contract manufacturing, workshops, assembly, multi-stage manufacturing and production-related services.
Where there are few regular orders and straightforward resource allocations, an existing ERP view or a straightforward planning board may suffice. The decisive factor is not the number of functions, but whether the planning effort, the frequency of conflicts and the required response speed justify a more detailed operational solution.
Practical application: Planning resources and capacities across multiple sites
The GROB Case Study shows how a centralised resource overview can replace decentralised Excel-based planning and support collaboration between sites. The example does not document the universal benefits of detailed planning, but it does illustrate the organisational basis: shared data, transparent capacities and a centralised planning status.
Tailor detailed planning to your production process
In a personalised online demonstration, we will show you how orders, work stages, machines, staff and equipment can be integrated into a single planning system.