Production plan and production structure. Step seven: production plan. Section Highlights

The production plan is an integral part of any business plan, which should describe all the production or other work processes of the company. Here it is necessary to consider all issues related to industrial premises, their location, equipment and personnel, as well as to pay attention to the planned involvement of subcontractors. It should be briefly explained how the system for the release of goods (provision of services) is organized and how production processes are controlled. It is also necessary to pay attention to the location of production facilities and the placement of tools, equipment and workplaces. This section should indicate delivery times and list the main suppliers; describes how quickly a firm can increase or decrease the output of goods or services. An important element of the production plan is also a description of the company's requirements for quality control at all stages of the production process.

The main task of this section of the business plan is to determine and justify the choice of a particular production process and equipment by the company.

It should be noted that industry specialized design companies are involved in the preparation of this section of the business plan, which is quite understandable, since the choice of technology and method of organizing the production process largely determines the effectiveness of any production project.

production system

Any organization has a production system, which receives various inputs (personnel, technology, capital, equipment, materials and information) and in which they are converted into goods or services (Fig. 1).

Rice. 1. Production system

Production planning

Production plans are usually classified by breadth (strategic and operational), time frame (short-term and long-term); nature (general and specific) and method of use (one-time and permanent) (Table 1).

Table 1. Types of production plans

Speaking of long term strategic planning, then decisions are made at this level in four main areas: capacity utilization (how much a product will be produced or a service will be provided), location of production facilities (where the product will be produced or a service will be provided), production process (what production methods and technologies will be applied to produce a product or provide a service) and the placement of tools and equipment (how work centers and equipment will be located in enterprises). Having resolved these strategic questions for himself, the developer must also compile and include in production plan of its business plan, the following three documents: a general (aggregate) plan (what is the general production plan for all types of goods or services offered by the company), the main work schedule (how many units of each type of product or service the company will have to produce or provide for a certain period of time ) and a plan for the company's need for material resources (what materials and in what quantity the company will need to complete the main work schedule). These plans are called tactical.

Capacity utilization planning

Assume that ABC decides to produce lawn mowers. Through a comprehensive marketing research and market analysis, it determines that middle-class instruments are in the greatest demand among consumers. So the firm knows what it should produce. Next, she needs to determine in what quantity to produce the goods, i.e. how many lawnmowers of the selected model should be produced in a certain period of time. It is from this decision that other issues related to planning the utilization of production capacities will depend.

Capacity utilization planning is based on forecasts of future demand, which are translated into production volume requirements. For example, if ABV will produce lawn mowers of only one specific model, it plans to sell them for an average of 3,000 rubles. per piece and assumes that during the first year it will be able to reach a sales volume of 3 million rubles, which means that it will need production facilities to produce 1,000 mowers per year (3,000 x 1,000 = 3,000,000 rubles). This is how the physical requirements for loading production capacities are determined. It is clear that if ABV produces several models of lawn mowers and some other equipment, then in this case the calculations will be more complicated.

If the company has been around for a long time, then the commercial forecast of future demand is compared with its actual production capacity, which allows you to determine whether it will need additional capacity for such demand. It should be noted that capacity utilization planning is an activity that not only manufacturing firms, but also service companies are engaged in. Yes, administrators educational institutions similarly determine the number of seats needed to support the educational process for the predicted number of students, and fast food chain managers determine how many hamburgers they need to cook at rush hour.

Once the business forecast data for future demand has been translated into capacity utilization requirements, the company then proceeds to develop other plans to meet those specific requirements. However, both the firm and the persons to whom it presents its business plan should remember that plans for the utilization of production capacities can subsequently change - both upwards and downwards. In the long run, these figures change quite significantly, because the firm acquires new equipment or sells its existing production facilities, but in the short run, the modifications should not be significant. The company can introduce an additional work shift, change the volume overtime work, reduce the duration of certain work shifts, temporarily suspend production or invite third parties as subcontractors to perform certain operations. In addition, if the company's product can be stored for a long time, and especially if it is seasonal (as, for example, lawn mowers from ABC), it can create additional stock during periods of downturn in demand and sell them during periods of peak sales, i.e. at a time when its existing production capacity is not able to fully satisfy the demand for its goods.

Production capacity planning

If the firm plans to expand its production capacity in the future, in the section of the business plan we are describing, it should indicate what buildings and structures it will need to ensure a normal workflow. This activity is called capacity planning. The location of buildings and structures of any company, first of all, is determined by what factors most affect its overall production and distribution costs. These are factors such as the availability of qualified personnel, labor costs, the cost of electricity, the proximity of suppliers and consumers, etc. It should be noted that the importance and significance of these factors tend to vary depending on the business in which the company operates.

So, for example, many high-tech firms (and primarily in need of a large number of qualified technical specialists for normal functioning) are concentrated in large cities where there are universities and large research centers. On the other hand, many labour-intensive manufacturing companies locate their manufacturing facilities overseas, usually in low-income countries. wages. For example, many companies developing software, are actively creating research and development centers in India, which has recently become famous for its specialists in this field, capable of working with no less high productivity than their American and European counterparts, but at a much lower cost. American tire manufacturers have traditionally built their operations in northern Ohio, which allows them to operate in close proximity to their main customers, the giant automakers in Detroit. In the case of service firms, customer convenience is usually the deciding factor, with the result that most large shopping centers located on major highways, and cafes and restaurants - on busy city streets.

What factors will be the most important for the company ABV from our example? Clearly, it will need skilled technicians who can design and build lawnmowers. In this case, the location of consumers also plays a no less important role, which means that it is best for it to locate its enterprises near large agricultural centers. After choosing a region, the firm will need to select a specific location and land.

Production process planning

During the planning of the production process, the company determines how its product or service will be produced. When drawing up a production process plan for inclusion in its business plan, a firm must carefully analyze and evaluate its existing production methods and technologies and select those that will most effectively contribute to achieving its specific production goals. When choosing any production process, both in the production and in the service sector, there are various options. For example, starting your journey in restaurant business, the company can choose between a quick service business; a fast food restaurant with a limited menu; an enterprise specializing in the delivery of ready-made meals or in servicing motorists; she can opt for a deluxe restaurant offering gourmet cuisine, and so on. When planning its production process, a firm must answer a number of key questions that will determine its final choice. What technology will it use: standard or personalized? To what extent will its production process be automated? What is more important for the company: efficiency or flexibility of the production system?

So, for example, ABC may well choose such a common and effective way of organizing the production process as assembly line, especially if it does not plan to produce lawn mowers for special customer orders. But if a company is going to produce personalized products tailored to the specific wishes of consumers - which, admittedly, is becoming an increasingly common approach in both manufacturing and service areas - then it will, of course, need completely different technologies and production methods.

It should be noted that the planning of the production process is an extremely important and complex task. It is very difficult to determine the optimal combination of such indicators as the level of costs, quality, labor efficiency, etc., since there is a close relationship between them. This means that even a slight change in one component of the production process usually entails a number of changes in its other components. It is because of this complexity that the task of planning production processes, as a rule, is assigned to highly qualified specialists in the production sector, whose activities are directly controlled by the top management of the company.

Equipment placement planning

The last strategic decision when drawing up the production section of the business plan is to evaluate and select the optimal placement of equipment, tools and work centers. This procedure is called equipment placement planning. The goal here is to physically locate equipment, tools, work centers and locations in a way that maximizes the efficiency of the manufacturing process while also making it easy for staff—and often customers—to use them.

Planning for equipment placement begins with an assessment of the physical space required for this. At this stage, the company must determine which production areas, tool and equipment storage rooms, warehouses, workshops, employee break rooms, offices, etc. she will need to ensure the normal production process. Then, based on the production plans it already has, the company can evaluate the various options for configuring and placing equipment in terms of its production efficiency. In this case, a variety of methods and tools help firms to develop a solution - from elementary scaled plans and maps to complex computer programs, which allow you to process huge volumes of variable indicators and print different options for the layout of machines, tools and other equipment.

There are three main approaches to the physical organization of the production process. In the scheme of the production process, all elements (work centers, equipment, departments) are arranged in production areas based on the similarity of the functions they perform. The second way to place equipment and jobs is a linear (or in-line) layout of equipment placement. In this case, the components of the production process are distributed in space in accordance with the successive stages of the production of goods. The third approach is the layout, due to the fixed position of the product. It is used in cases where, due to its impressive size or for some other reason, the manufactured product must remain in one place, in a fixed position throughout the entire production process, and materials, tools, equipment and personnel are delivered to it. Hangars in aircraft construction or shipyards in shipbuilding can serve as examples of such a layout.

Drawing up a general (aggregate) plan

Having decided on strategic issues, the company proceeds to make tactical decisions and, above all, to the general, aggregate planning of its production activities and the production resources necessary for it. The result of this process is a document known as a general (aggregate) plan, which is drawn up for a certain period of time - usually for one year.

General (aggregate) planning allows the company to include in the business plan, as they say, the big picture. When drawing up a general (aggregate) plan, based on forecasts of future commercial demand and capacity utilization planning, the firm determines the levels of stocks, production rates and the number of personnel (per month) that it will need over the next year. It should be remembered that the main focus here is on the general concept of production, and not on specific details. Thus, in the course of aggregate planning, whole categories of goods are considered, and not their individual types. For example, in the general plan of a company specializing in the production of paints and varnishes, it will indicate how many liters of facade paint it will need to produce in a certain period, but it will not specify what colors and in what packaging it will be released. Such plans are especially important for large manufacturing enterprises that produce a wide range of goods. In a small firm with a single product (like ABC in our example), the overall plan will be more like a master schedule, except for a longer period (more on this in the next section). Thus, we can say that a correctly drawn up general (aggregate) plan reflects two main indicators of the company's activity: the optimal production rate and the total number of personnel that the company will need in each specific period within the framework of this plan.

Preparation of the main work schedule

The main work schedule is compiled on the basis of the general (aggregate) plan described above. We can say that this is a more detailed version of the aggregate plan. The main graph indicates the quantity and type of each type of product manufactured by the company; how, when and where they will be made the next day, next week, next month; it also includes information about the required labor force and the needs of the company in inventory (ie, the totality of all stocks of the enterprise, including stocks of raw materials and materials, components and semi-finished products, work in progress and finished goods).

First of all, the main work schedule is drawn up in order to disaggregate the general (aggregate) plan, i.e. break it down into separate, detailed operating plans for each product or service the company offers. Subsequently, all these separate plans are combined into a common master schedule.

Material requirements planning

Having determined what types of goods or services it will produce or provide, the company must analyze each of them and determine as accurately as possible its needs for raw materials, materials, components, etc. Material requirements planning is an advanced planning concept that includes modeling elements and the ability to create different scenarios for the development of events depending on the situation. Using this concept, a firm can accurately chart its future material requirements for the production of its final products, expressed in specific numbers. Thanks to the advent of the most sophisticated computer programs, modern managers have been able to analyze in detail all the specifications and specifications of their goods and services, as well as to accurately determine all materials, raw materials and components necessary for their production or provision. This critical information, combined with computerized inventory data, allows managers to determine the quantity of each part in stock and therefore calculate how long the firm is stocked. After the company has decided on the lead time (i.e., the time between the confirmation of the order for materials and the receipt of these materials) and the requirements for buffer (reserve) stocks (we will talk about them later), all these data are entered into the computer, and they become the basis for providing the company with the necessary material resources. Thus, thanks to the material requirements planning system, the firm has fairly reliable guarantees that all the materials it needs will be available and in the right quantity when they are needed in the production process.

The latest material requirements planning software is truly powerful in terms of production planning and scheduling. Thanks to him, managers, when making decisions about the allocation of company resources, can take into account various limiting and situational factors, such as equipment downtime, lack of labor resources, narrow places production process, shortage of important raw materials, etc.

Production planning tools

Next, we consider production planning tools that can significantly improve the efficiency of this process and present a truly clear and complete plan for its future production activities in its business plan.

If you observe the work of lower-level managers for several days, you can be sure that they are constantly discussing what work needs to be done by their subordinates, in what order, who exactly and what operations will be performed and by what date this or that work should be completed. . All this activity is united under one common name - time-based (calendar) planning. Below, we will look at the three main tools that managers use in this process: the Gantt chart, the load distribution chart, and the PERT network analysis.

Gantt Chart

This tool - the Gantt chart - was created in the early 1900s by Henry Gantt, an associate of the famous theorist and practitioner in the field of scientific management Frederick Taylor. In fact, the Gantt chart is a histogram on which time periods are plotted horizontally, and all types of work activities for which, in fact, a schedule is drawn up vertically. The columns display the planned and actual results of the production process for a certain period of time. Thus, the Gantt chart clearly displays which production tasks should be performed and when, and allows you to compare the planned result with the actual performance of the work. This is a fairly simple, but handy and useful tool that allows managers to determine fairly precisely what else needs to be done to complete a particular work order or project, and assess whether it is being done ahead of schedule, on schedule, or behind schedule. In the latter case, they should take steps to remedy the situation.

Load distribution scheme

The load distribution scheme is nothing more than a slightly modified Gantt chart. Unlike the Gantt chart, it does not indicate the types of work vertically, but departments or specific organizational resources. Thanks to this tool, firms can more effectively plan and control the use of the organization's production capacity.

PERT network analysis

However, it should be noted that the Gantt chart and the load distribution scheme are convenient if it is necessary to control the execution of a relatively small number of different types of work, and not interconnected. If a firm needs to plan a large-scale project - for example, aimed at a complete reorganization of one of its divisions, to reduce costs, or to develop a new type of product or service - then it will need to coordinate the actions of employees of various departments and services. Sometimes, when implementing such projects, hundreds and even thousands of types of work have to be coordinated, many of which must be carried out simultaneously, and others can only be started after the previous ones are completed. It is clear, for example, that during the construction of a building it is impossible to lay a roof without erecting walls. In such situations, managers use another tool known as PERT (Program Evaluation and Review Technique) network analysis.

Network analysis PERT is a diagram that shows the sequence of all the work that must be performed within the project, as well as time and money spendings for each of them. This method was developed in the late 1950s to coordinate the construction of the Polaris submarine, a project that involved more than three thousand different contractors. Through PERT network analysis, the project manager can determine what exactly needs to be done within the project and which events will depend on each other, as well as identify potential project problems. In addition, with the help of PERT, he can easily compare how one or another alternative action can affect the schedule of work and the cost of the project. As a result, thanks to the PERT network analysis, the manager, if necessary, can redistribute the resources available to his company, thereby preventing the project from deviating from the planned schedule.

In order to build a PERT network graph, you need to know and understand four important concepts: events, activities, decline period, and critical path. Events are endpoints that separate major activities from each other and indicate the completion of one and the beginning of the next. Activities are the time or resources required to move from one event to another. The recession period is the period of time during which the execution separate species work can be slowed down, and this will not lead to a slowdown in the implementation of the entire project. The critical path is the longest or most time-consuming sequence of events and activities in the PERT network. Any delay in the completion of events on the critical path will invariably delay the completion of the project as a whole. In other words, activities on the critical path have a zero decay period.

In order to draw up a PERT network diagram, a manager needs to identify all the major activities needed to complete the upcoming project, arrange them in order of completion, and estimate how much time it will take to complete each of them. This process can be represented in five stages.

1. Identify all significant activities to be performed to complete the project. During the execution of each of these types of work, certain events occur or certain results are achieved.

2. Determine the order of events that occurred in the previous stage.

3. Draw a diagram of the flow of work types from start to finish, identifying each type of work separately and its relationship with other types of work. Events in the diagram are indicated by circles, and activities by arrows; the result is a clear block diagram, which is called a PERT network (Fig. 2).

4. Estimate the time required to complete each type of work. This operation is performed through the use of the so-called weighted average. To obtain this indicator, an optimistic estimate of time, t 0 , is taken, i.e. assessment of the duration of the performance of a particular type of work in ideal conditions; the most probable time estimate, t m ​​, i.e. an estimate of the duration of this type of work under normal conditions; and a pessimistic time estimate, t p , i. e. an estimate of the duration of the work in the worst possible conditions. As a result, we have the following formula for calculating the expected time t e:

5.

6. Using a network diagram that estimates the completion time for each type of work within the project, plan the start and end dates for each type of work and the project as a whole.

Rice. 2. PERT network diagram example

As we said above, a tool such as PERT network analysis is usually used to plan very complex projects consisting of hundreds or even thousands of events. Therefore, the calculations in this case are performed using computer technology using special software.

Production planning methods

Modern managers have to solve a very difficult task - to plan the activities of their organizations in a complex and extremely dynamic external environment. For its solution, well-established: project management and scenario-based planning. Both methods have one primary goal - to increase the flexibility of the company, without which it is impossible to succeed in today's ever-changing business world.

Project Management

Today, many manufacturing firms work on a project basis. A project is a series of interrelated activities that has clear start and end points. Projects vary in importance and scope; it can be both a project to launch a spacecraft, and an organization sporting event at the local level. Why are companies increasingly organizing and planning their activities around projects? The fact is that this approach is best suited to a dynamic external environment that requires modern organizations to have increased flexibility and the ability to quickly respond to any changes in the situation. Modern firms implement unusual and even truly unique production projects related to solving a huge number of complex interrelated tasks, the implementation of which requires specific skills and qualifications. All this absolutely does not fit into the standard production planning procedures that a company can use in its routine, daily activities. What are the features of project planning?

Project planning process

During a typical project, work is carried out by a dedicated project team whose members are assigned to work on the project on a temporary basis. All of them report to the project manager, who coordinates their work in cooperation with other departments and divisions. However, since any project is a temporary event, the project team exists only until such time as it completes its tasks. The group is then disbanded, and its members are transferred to work on other projects, or they return to the departments where they work full-time, or leave the company.

The planning process of any project, including production, includes a number of stages. It starts with a clear definition of the goals of the project. This stage is mandatory, because the manager and team members must clearly know what they need to achieve by the time the project is completed. Then it is necessary to determine all types of work to be performed within the framework of the project, and the resources required for this. In other words, at this stage it is necessary to answer the following question: what labor and material costs will be required to implement this project? This stage is often associated with certain difficulties and requires considerable time, especially if the project is fundamentally new or even unique, i.e. when the company has no experience in implementing projects of this type.

After determining the types of work, it is necessary to determine the sequence of their implementation and the relationship between them. What needs to be done first? What jobs can be done at the same time? In this case, the production project planner can use any of the production planning tools described earlier: create a Gantt chart, a workload distribution chart, or a PERT network diagram.

Then a project implementation schedule should be drawn up. The first step is to preliminarily estimate the deadline for each work, and on the basis of this estimate, a general project schedule is drawn up and the exact date of its completion is determined. After that, the project schedule is compared with the previously set goals and the necessary changes and adjustments are made. If it turns out that the project timeline is too long—which is not in line with the company's goals for the project—the manager can allocate additional resources to the most important activities to speed up the timeline for the entire project.

With the advent of many kinds of computer programs running on the Internet, the procedure for planning and managing production projects has been greatly simplified. It should also be noted that often suppliers of the company and even its consumers take an active part in this activity.

Scenario planning

A scenario is a forecast of the probable future development of events, which is characterized by a certain sequence of these events. In this case, it is estimated how this or that development of events will affect the environment in which the company operates, the company itself, the actions of its competitors, etc. Different assumptions can lead to different conclusions. The purpose of such an analysis is not to try to predict the future, but to clarify the situation as much as possible and make it as definite as possible, “losing” possible scenarios for the development of events, taking into account different initial conditions. Even the scripting process itself forces company leaders to rethink and better understand the nature of the business environment, because in the course of this activity they consider it from a point of view that they might never have.

Although scenario planning is a very useful way of predicting future events (which can be predicted in principle), it is clear that it is very difficult to predict random, arbitrary events. For example, hardly anyone could have predicted such a rapid spread and incredible popularity of the Internet in recent decades. Similar events will undoubtedly occur in the future. And although it is extremely difficult to predict them and correctly respond to them, managers need to strive to somehow protect their organizations from their consequences. This goal is served by scenario planning, including in the manufacturing sector.

Production control

An important element of the production plan in any business plan is a description of how the firm intends to exercise control over its production system, in particular over its elements such as costs, purchases, Maintenance and quality.

Cost control

It is believed that American managers often treat cost control as a kind of corporate " crusade which is undertaken and conducted from time to time under the guidance of the firm's accounting department. It is the accountants who set the cost per unit of output, and managers must find an explanation for any deviation. Have the company's costs increased? May not be used effectively enough work force? Perhaps, in order to reduce the amount of marriage and waste, it is necessary to improve the skills of workers? However, most specialists are now convinced that cost control should play a major role already at the stage of developing and planning the organization's production system, and that all managers of the company, without exception, should constantly engage in this activity.

Currently, many organizations are actively using the cost control approach based on the so-called cost centers. These are responsibility centers for which separate cost accounting is maintained, but which are not directly related to making a profit; the effectiveness of the activities of such units is determined based on the correspondence of actual costs to the planned or standard volume.

Since all costs must be controlled at some organizational level, the company needs to clearly define at what level certain costs are controlled, and require company managers to report on those costs that fall within their sphere of competence.

Procurement control

In order to effectively and efficiently produce certain goods and provide services, the company must be constantly provided with all the necessary resources, including materials. She needs to constantly monitor the discipline of deliveries, monitor the characteristics of goods, their quality, quantity, as well as prices offered by suppliers. Effective control over procurement not only ensures that all the resources the company needs in the right amount, but also their proper quality, as well as reliable long-term and mutually beneficial relationships with suppliers. All these points should be reflected in the production section of the business plan.

So what can a company do to make it easier and more efficient to control inputs? Firstly, to collect the most complete and accurate information about the dates and conditions of delivery. Secondly, to collect data on the quality of supplies and how they correspond to the company's production processes. And, thirdly, to obtain data on the prices of suppliers, in particular, on the correspondence of actual prices to the prices that were indicated by them when placing an order.

All of this information is used to rank and identify unreliable suppliers, allowing the firm to select the best partners in the future and monitor various trends. So, suppliers can be evaluated, for example, by the speed of their response to changes in demand, by the quality of service, the level of reliability and competitiveness. We will discuss supplier relationships in more detail in the next section.

Supplier control

Modern manufacturers strive to form strong partnerships with suppliers. Instead of dealing with dozens of sellers who will certainly compete with each other for a customer, manufacturers today often choose two or three suppliers and establish close relationships with them, ultimately increasing both the quality of the products supplied and the effectiveness of this cooperation.

Some firms send their design engineers and other specialists to their suppliers to solve all sorts of technical problems; others regularly dispatch teams of inspectors to supplier sites to evaluate various aspects of their operations, including supply methods, manufacturing processes, statistical controls that suppliers use to identify defects and their causes, and so on. In other words, today companies in all countries are doing what they have traditionally always done in Japan - they seek to establish long-term relationships with their suppliers. Suppliers partnering with a manufacturing company are able to provide higher quality inputs and reduce reject rates and costs. If there are any problems with suppliers, open and direct communication channels allow them to be resolved quickly and efficiently.

Inventory control

In order to effectively and efficiently achieve its goals, any company must control the replenishment of its inventory. To do this, a reorder system is used when a certain stock level is reached.

This type of reordering system is used to minimize the ongoing cost of inventory and to provide a good level of customer service (because it reduces the chance that the right item will be out of stock at some point).

Using various statistical procedures, companies typically set the reorder point at a level that guarantees that they have enough inventory to last between the reorder and fulfillment. At the same time, they usually retain some additional "safety net" stock, which allows them to avoid the complete depletion of the stock in unforeseen circumstances. This so-called "buffer" or reserve provides the company with reliable protection if a greater than usual demand for a product or material arises between the reorder and its fulfillment, or if replenishment of the stock is delayed for unforeseen reasons.

One of the simplest yet very effective ways to use the reorder system when a certain stock level is reached is to store traceable inventory in two different containers. At the same time, goods or materials are taken from one container until it is empty. At this moment, a reorder is made, and before it is completed, the products are taken from the second container. If the company has correctly identified the demand, then the reordered goods will arrive before the second container is empty, and there will be no delay.

The second modern and already very common method of reordering upon reaching a certain level of stock is based on computer control. In this case, all sales are automatically recorded by a central computer that is programmed to initiate a new order procedure when stock reaches a certain critical level. Currently, many retail stores are actively using such systems. Another fairly common system is the reorder system after a certain time interval. In this case, inventory control is carried out solely on the basis of a well-defined time factor.

Maintenance control

The production section of the business plan should also indicate how the firm will monitor the effectiveness of maintenance. In order to provide consumers with goods or services quickly and efficiently, a company must create a production system that guarantees the most efficient use of equipment and its minimum downtime. Therefore, managers, among other things, must constantly monitor the quality of maintenance. The significance and importance of this activity depends to a large extent on the production technologies used by the company. So, for example, even a minor glitch in a standard assembly line can bring down hundreds of workers.

There are three main types of maintenance in production organizations. Preventive maintenance is carried out before the accident. Restorative repair requires a complete or partial replacement of the mechanism or its repair on the spot immediately after the breakdown. A conditional repair is a major overhaul or replacement of parts based on the results of an earlier technical inspection.

It should be noted that the need for maintenance control should be taken into account already at the design stage of the equipment. So, if a failure or downtime of equipment leads to serious problems in the production system or costs the company too much, then it can increase the reliability of mechanisms, machine tools and other tools by adding additional characteristics to the equipment design. In computer systems, for example, redundant, redundant subsystems are often introduced for this purpose. In addition, equipment may be designed from the outset to make future maintenance easier and cheaper. It should be borne in mind that the fewer components are included in the equipment, the less breakdowns and malfunctions occur. In addition, it is advisable to place parts that often fail in an easily accessible place or even mount them in separate units that can be quickly removed and replaced in the event of a breakdown.

Quality control

Quality control is a comprehensive, customer-focused program aimed at continually improving the quality of a company's manufacturing processes and the products or services it provides. The production section of the business plan should indicate how the firm will implement quality control.

This activity involves constantly monitoring the quality of products so that they consistently meet the established standard. Quality control must be performed several times, starting with the initial entry of inputs into the firm's production system. And this activity should continue throughout the entire production process and end with the control of finished goods or services at the output of the production system. This procedure also provides for quality assessment at intermediate stages of the transformation process; it is clear that the sooner you identify a marriage, or an inefficient, or an extra element of the production process, the lower your costs for correcting the situation will be.

Before performing quality control, managers must ask themselves whether 100% of the goods (or services) produced should be tested, or whether samples can be dispensed with. The first test option is appropriate if the cost of permanent evaluation is very low, or if the consequences of statistical error are extremely serious (for example, if a company manufactures complex medical equipment). Statistical sampling is cheaper and sometimes the only quality control option that makes economic sense.

Selective control upon acceptance consists in the evaluation of materials or goods purchased or manufactured by the company; it is a form of proactive or feedback control. In this case, a certain sample is taken, after which the decision on whether to accept or reject the entire lot is made based on the results of the analysis of this sample, based on a risk assessment.

Process control is a procedure in which sampling is carried out in the process of converting inputs into goods or services, thereby determining whether the production process itself has gone out of control. With this type of control, statistical tests are often used, with the help of which, at different stages of the production process, it is determined how much the deviations have fallen outside the acceptable level of quality. Since no production process can be considered perfect and some minor deviations are simply inevitable, such tests allow the company to identify serious problems in time, i.e. quality issues that companies need to address immediately.

Production control tools

It is obvious that the success of any organization is largely due to its ability to efficiently and effectively produce goods or provide services. This ability can be assessed using a number of production control methods.

Production control, as a rule, consists in monitoring the production activities of an organization or a separate unit in order to ensure its compliance with a previously drawn up schedule. Production control is used to determine the ability of suppliers to provide the appropriate quality and quantity of supplies at the lowest cost, as well as to monitor the quality of manufactured products to ensure that they meet established standards and to check the condition of production equipment. We have already discussed the main aspects of production control, but two essential tool production control - the TQM control chart and the economic order quantity model - deserve closer attention.

TQM Control Charts

It should be remembered that effective quality control, which we talked about above, is not only aimed at producing quality products or providing quality services. To ensure the high quality of both the products themselves and the processes by which they are produced, companies must control all aspects of their production system. Modern firms accomplish this task with a tool known as the TQM control chart.

The TQM control chart is an effective production control tool. In essence, it is a graph that indicates the statistically determined upper and lower control limits and displays the results of measurements for the reporting period. Control charts visually show whether the production process has gone beyond the pre-set control limits for it. As long as the results of checks at different stages of the production process are within a certain acceptable range, the system is considered to be under control (Fig. 3). If the measurement results are outside the established limits, then the deviations are considered unacceptable. Continuous quality improvement efforts should narrow the range between the upper and lower control limits over time as they eliminate the most common causes of deviations.

Rice. 3. Example of a control chart

When drawing up such a schedule, it is necessary first of all to take into account that in each production process there can be two sources of deviations. The first of these is unpredictability, due to which corresponding deviations can occur. Such deviations are possible in any process, and it is impossible to control them without fundamental changes in the process itself. Another source is non-random circumstances. Such deviations can be identified, and they are subject to control. It is clear that control charts are used to identify precisely such causes of deviations.

Control plots are based on some basic statistical concepts, including the well-known normal distribution (which states that deviations tend to be distributed in a bell-shaped curve) and standard deviation (a measure of variability in a group of numbers). When drawing up a control chart, the upper and lower limits are determined by the degree of deviation that is considered acceptable. According to the law of normal distribution, about 68% of the set of values ​​are in the range from +1 to -1 of the standard deviation indicator. (As the sample size increases, the sampling distribution tends to become more and more normal.) With 95% of the values ​​lying between +2 and -2 of the standard deviation. In the process of controlling manufacturing operations, limits are usually set in the range of three standard deviations; this means that 97.5% of the values ​​must lie within the control range (Fig. 4).

Rice. 4. Example of a control plot with a control range of three standard deviations

If the sample mean is outside the control range, i.e. is above its upper limit or below its lower limit, this means that the production process, apparently, is out of control and the company needs to do everything possible to identify the causes of the problem.

Model EOQ

We have already said that the control of the firm's inventory is the most important aspect of production control. Firms' investment in these reserves is usually significant; therefore, each organization strives to determine as precisely as possible how much to order new goods and materials and how often this should be done. The so-called EOQ model helps them in this.

The Economic Order Quantity (EOQ) model is designed to determine the quantity of items that should be ordered to meet projected demand and minimize the cost of holding and acquiring inventory.

Using the EOQ model, two types of costs are minimized - order fulfillment and operating costs. As the volume of orders increases, the average number of inventories increases, and the current costs of their maintenance grow accordingly. However, placing large orders means fewer orders, and therefore a reduction in the cost of fulfilling them. The lowest total costs and, accordingly, the most economical order size are observed at the bottom of the total cost curve. This point, at which order fulfillment costs and running costs are equal, is called the most economical order size point. To calculate this indicator, the following data is needed: the forecasted need for stocks for a certain future period (D); the cost of placing one order (OS); costs or purchase price (V) and current costs associated with the storage and processing of the entire volume of inventory, in percent (CC). With all this data, you can use the standard EOQ formula:

However, it should be remembered that the use of the EOQ model assumes that the need and lead time of the order are precisely known and constant. Otherwise, it should not be used. So, for example, it is generally not applicable to determining the order volumes of parts used in the production process, since they, as a rule, come from the warehouse in large and uneven lots. But does this mean that the EOQ model is useless for manufacturing firms? Not at all. It can be used to determine the optimal cost and identify the need to change the size of the order lot. Although, it should be recognized that more complex models are used to determine the size of lots in conditions of intermittent needs and in other non-standard situations.

Modern aspects of production

When preparing the production section of a business plan, it is important to keep in mind the modern realities of the production sector. Today, companies face many of the most difficult tasks associated with increasing productivity. They should strive to maximize the benefits of new technologies, implement the described concept of TQM; certify their products by obtaining ISO 9000 certification; constantly reduce inventories; build partnerships with suppliers; achieve a competitive advantage through flexibility and quick response to changes in demand, etc. Therefore, the firm should reflect in its business plan how all these tasks will be performed.

Technologies

Ever-increasing competition in most markets is forcing manufacturers to supply consumers with ever higher quality products at ever lower prices, while significantly reducing their time to market. Two factors contribute to accelerating the process of developing new types of products: the company's focus on shortening the development cycle and the effectiveness of investments in new technologies.

One of the most effective tools by which modern manufacturers reduce the time to bring new products and services to the market is the integrated automation of production (Computer Integrated Manufacturing - CIM). CIM is the result of the union strategic business plan and production plan of the company with computer software. It is based on computer-aided design (CAD) and computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) technologies. As a result of the emergence and wide distribution of all kinds of automation tools, the old way of developing products is hopelessly outdated. With the help of computer technology, which allows visual display of graphic objects, design engineers design new products much faster and more efficiently than before. Automated production made possible by the use of computers in the management of the production process. So, numerically controlled machines can be programmed to produce new models in just a matter of seconds.

According to experts, further improvement of CIM technology will ensure the continuity of the entire production cycle. If each stage, from placing an order for raw materials to shipping finished products, can be displayed in the form of numerical indicators and processed on a computer, companies will be able to react very quickly to any changes in the market. They can make hundreds of changes to a project in a matter of hours, quickly scale to a wide range of product variations, and produce very small batches. An organization that uses integrated manufacturing automation will not have to stop the assembly line and spend valuable time replacing press dies or other equipment to produce a new standard or non-standard product. One change in the computer program, which takes a few seconds, and the production process is completely rebuilt.

The most important condition effective work modern companies is the continuous updating of the technology by which the input stream of raw materials is converted into a stream of finished products. Major technological changes usually involve the automation of production, which we discussed above, as well as the introduction of new equipment, tools or work methods and computerization.

However, by all appearances, the most significant technological change in last years became a general computerization. Most organizations today have developed sophisticated Information Systems. For example, in many retail chains scanners connected to computers are used, with the help of which you can instantly get complete information about the product you are interested in (its price, code, etc.). And of course, today you will not find a single office that does not use computer technology.

Implementation of TQM

At present, the TQM philosophy has already been implemented by many companies. The idea of ​​total quality management covers not only large, but also small firms and enterprises. TQM (total quality management) is a concept that involves the participation of all company employees in improving the quality of products and services, optimizing production processes and management, etc.

Unfortunately, it must be admitted that not all efforts aimed at implementing the concepts of TQM have been successful. Research in this area does not confirm that firms that have implemented TQM consistently perform better than firms that have not. There are a number of factors that can significantly reduce the effectiveness of TQM. In particular, the researchers found that the success of applying some of the core concepts of TQM—for example, the use of teams, benchmarking, additional training, and employee empowerment—is highly dependent on the current performance of the company.

From a technological perspective, the TQM concept focuses on the development of flexible processes that are designed to support continuous quality improvement. The fact is that employees who have adopted the TQM philosophy are constantly looking for what can be improved or corrected, so work processes should easily adapt to constant changes. In this regard, for successful implementation TQM program the company must constantly improve the skills of its staff. It needs to provide its employees with the opportunity to acquire and develop skills in areas such as problem solving, decision making, negotiation, statistical analysis and team work. Employees of these companies must be able to analyze and interpret data, and firms should provide their work teams with all the necessary information about the quality of their products, in particular, damage rates, rejects, waste, etc. They must also inform staff about the opinions of consumers, provide them with the information necessary for the preparation of control schedules and work with them. And, of course, the structure of the organization must provide the work teams with sufficient authority to continuously improve manufacturing operations.

Reengineering

Reengineering is a term for a radical change in all or part of the company's work processes in order to increase productivity and improve financial indicators. In the process of reengineering, the structure, technologies and personnel of the company undergo major changes, since in this case the methods of doing work in the organization are revised almost from scratch. During reengineering, managers constantly ask questions: “How else can this process be improved?” or “How can this be done? work order faster and better? etc.

Regardless of whether the need for change is due to fluctuating demand, changing economic conditions, or a change in the strategic direction of the organization, the person who decides to reengineer must first evaluate the effectiveness of the work of people and the quality of interaction between people within the organization. After a critical assessment of work processes, the company begins to look for ways to improve labor productivity and product quality: start implementing a TQM program, change organizational culture or implement other changes. However, in any case, the essence of reengineering is that the company completely abandons the old ways of working and decides to radically change its workflow.

You may be wondering: Isn't the term "reengineering" synonymous with TQM? In no case! Although both of these processes are aimed at introducing changes in the organization, their goals and means are completely different. The TQM program is based on the idea of ​​continuous, incremental change. This means continual improvement in the performance of an organization that is generally doing well. In addition, TQM is implemented from the bottom up, and the main emphasis is on the participation of employees in decision-making regarding the planning and implementation of this program. And reengineering is a radical change in the way an organization operates. This process involves fundamental changes and a complete restructuring of working methods. Reengineering activities are initiated by the top management of the firm, but when this process is completed, almost all employees are usually given greater authority in their workplaces.

A characteristic feature of reengineering is that you have to start from scratch and rethink and rebuild the entire scheme of work, i.e. structure of all work processes. Traditional, well-known ways and methods are immediately excluded. In other words, the company completely abandons the gradual transformation of the production system, as the ways and methods by which the company will produce goods or provide services are radically changed. Completely new workflows and operations are being invented and implemented. In reengineering, what was before should by no means even serve as a starting point, because reengineering is a radical, fundamental change in the very foundations of an organization. Despite the significant stress and increasing uncertainty of the staff, which usually accompany the process of reengineering, it is capable of producing excellent results.

ISO standards

In order to openly and clearly demonstrate their commitment to quality improvement, modern organizations are trying to achieve ISO certification. What is its essence? These are quality management standards that companies around the world are guided by. They cover literally everything: from the rules for drawing up a contract to the development of products and their supply. ISO standards are set by the International Organization for Standardization and are used as an international benchmark for comparing firms operating in the global market. The fact that the company has a certificate indicates that it has developed and implemented an effective quality management system.

Quality certificates are now awarded to small sales and consulting companies, software firms, city utilities, and even some financial and educational institutions.

However, it should be remembered that although the certificate provides the company with a lot of advantages and significantly strengthens its competitive position, the main goal of the company should be the process of improving the quality of its products or services. In other words, obtaining a certificate should not be an end in itself; in order to achieve this, the company must create work processes and a production system that will allow all its employees to carry out their work with a consistent high quality.

Inventory reduction

As we have said, a very significant part of the assets of most companies is its inventories. Firms that manage to substantially reduce their inventory levels—i.e. raw materials, semi-finished products and finished goods in stock, can significantly reduce the cost of their storage and thus increase their productivity. How the firm intends to solve this problem should also be reflected in the production section of the business plan.

Modern companies take this problem very seriously. In recent years, managers in all countries have been actively looking for ways to improve the efficiency of inventory management. Thus, at the input stage, they seek to improve the informative link between internal production schedules and projected customer demand. Increasingly, marketing managers are required to have accurate and up-to-date information about future sales volumes, which is then combined with specific data about the company's production systems and as a result determines the optimal production volume that can satisfy existing demand. Production resource planning systems are the best fit for this function.

Today, companies around the world are actively experimenting with another technique that has been successfully used in Japan for a long time and is called the Just-In-Time (JIT) system. Under this system, goods and materials are delivered to the manufacturer at the exact moment they are needed in the production process, rather than stored in a warehouse. Final goal implementation of the JIT system - completely get rid of raw material warehouses due to the most precise coordination of the production process and the supply process. If such a system works effectively, it provides the manufacturer with significant benefits: reduced inventory, reduced equipment setup time, accelerated product cycle through the conversion processes, reduced production time, freed up production space, and often even improved product quality. Of course, in order to achieve all this, it is necessary to find suppliers who will supply quality materials on time.

However, it should be borne in mind that not every manufacturer can use the JIT system. So, for its implementation, it is necessary that suppliers are located close to the enterprises of the buyer and supply materials without defects. This system also requires reliable transport links between suppliers and the manufacturer, effective methods acceptance, processing and distribution of materials, careful planning of the production process. If all these conditions are met, JIT will help to significantly reduce the company's warehouse costs.

Outsourcing and other types of partnerships with suppliers

The manufacturing section of the business plan should also indicate how the company intends to work with suppliers and improve the efficiency of this process. As already mentioned, one of the most important areas in the manufacturing sector in recent years has been a steady trend towards the formation of partnerships between manufacturers and suppliers. It should be noted that, among other things, this often involves the transfer of work, when manufacturers, in an effort to reduce high labor costs, transfer the production process of some parts and components to their suppliers, who can manufacture them at a lower cost. This relationship is called outsourcing.

Today, alliances between manufacturers and suppliers have become much closer and stronger. Suppliers are increasingly involved in the manufacturing process of a product manufacturer. Many operations that used to be exclusively the responsibility of manufacturers are now performed by their main suppliers, i.e. there is a transfer of part of the work to third-party performers. At the same time, manufacturers increasingly play the role of "conductors" and limit themselves to only coordinating the activities of different suppliers. According to experts, the trend towards strong and close partnerships between suppliers and manufacturers will continue in the future, as the latter are constantly looking for new sources of competitive advantage in the global market, and one of these sources is close relationships with suppliers.

Flexibility as a competitive advantage

In today's rapidly changing business world, companies that are unable to quickly adapt to change are doomed to fail. Since this ability is provided by the flexibility of the manufacturing process, many organizations are actively developing and implementing flexible manufacturing systems.

Modern factories and factories often resemble scenes from a science fiction movie in which remote-controlled carts transport workpieces to computerized machining centers. Robots automatically change the position of workpieces, and the machine, manipulating hundreds of tools, turns the workpiece into a finished part. Every minute and a half, a finished product leaves the assembly line, somewhat different from the previous ones. There are no workers or conventional machines in the shop. No costly downtime required to change dies or tooling. One modern machine is capable of producing dozens and even hundreds of very different parts, making them in any programmed order.

A unique feature of agile manufacturing systems is the integration of computer-aided design, engineering and production processes, enabling factories to produce small, custom batches at prices previously only possible with mass production.

As a result of the use of flexible manufacturing systems, economies of scale are being replaced by economies of breadth. Organizations no longer need to produce thousands of identical products to keep their unit costs down. To move on to the release of a new product, they need not change the machines and equipment, but only make changes to the computer program.

Speed ​​as a competitive advantage

It is known that a company that is able to quickly develop and bring new products and services to the market provides itself with significant competitive advantage. Consumers prefer a particular firm, not only because its products or services are cheaper, have an original design, or are of high quality, but often because they highly value the opportunity to get them as soon as possible. There are many examples of companies that have achieved significant success in reducing the time it takes to design and produce goods and services. To speed up the production process and increase the pressure on competitors, many organizations around the world are seeking to reduce bureaucratic restrictions and simplify their organizational structures; they create complex working groups, restructure the sales structure, use JIT methods, CIM systems, flexible manufacturing systems, etc. And all this needs to be reflected in the production plan, indicating what opportunities you have at your disposal to accelerate the cycle of bringing new products or services to the market.

A prerequisite for the success of economic activity is its implementation in accordance with the developed plan. It allows you to predict the situation and seamlessly navigate the implementation of an entrepreneurial strategy, and, if necessary, correct it. What is the production plan of the enterprise, what is it formed from and how to draw it up?

What is a production plan

general information

A document that displays information about the organization of the subject's activities and its control at all stages of the company's functioning is called a production plan.

It lays down the basic working positions of the organization, which must be guided by in order to achieve the goal. The planning elements displayed in the documentation allow for effective control of the work of all structural divisions companies, determine the amount of expenses incurred and compare them with planned and actual profitability.

Depending on the scale of the company's functioning, its activity plan can be drawn up for the entire enterprise as a whole or broken down into its structural divisions. The document is developed at each enterprise by independently responsible specialists under the control of management. Due to the specifics of the work of each business entity, it is impossible to find a ready-made plan template in any sources. However, in practice there are generally accepted algorithms for compiling documentation, the use of which greatly simplifies the procedure.

The validity period of the plan developed and approved by the management is not regulated by a specific date, since it requires constant adjustment with the slightest change in the functioning of the company. It can be classified as a permanent regulation of the enterprise, which is relevant at the time of consideration, for which the responsible persons are responsible. In it, a business representative should cover the entire range of activities necessary to ensure activities, including the organization of the production process, the implementation of labor results, as well as the necessary human resources, machinery and equipment.

A competently executed document will allow you to effectively predict activities and evaluate its prospects. It should cover all aspects of the functioning of the company in terms of volumetric and qualitative assessment. The entrepreneur and the person interested in his activities must find in the documentation the answers to all possible questions related to the work of the subject.

Compilation purposes

The production plan in the business plan, an example of which can be found on the resources of the worldwide network, is drawn up with the aim of effective organization labor of workers, as well as the rational use of resources, operation of equipment, which will ensure maximum productivity. The purpose of its compilation is to plan:

• arrived;
• ratio of expenses and incomes;
• the number of units of products or services rendered for profit in a certain amount;
• financial indicators;
• raw material costs.

From the contents of the document it becomes clear how the quality control of products is carried out, what requirements are imposed on it, and where they are regulated. When compiling a document, a business representative lays down in it the procedure for optimizing the process, controlling its capacity and using labor resources, as well as evaluating the effectiveness of the sales service.

Types of production plans

Contents of the "Production plan" section

Depending on the timing of planning, there are three types of production plans that differ in coverage of time parameters. They are short term, medium term and long term. The need for their compilation is determined by the scale of the activity of the business entity.

Short term

Short-term production plans are drawn up for a maximum of two years. They can be broken down into monthly, quarterly or semi-annual periods.

Read also: Is taxable income and tax base the same thing?

medium-term

The medium-term production plan is a document that takes into account the activities of organizing and controlling the functioning of the company for 2-5 years. Its purpose is to determine the optimal parameters of production activities. The document should disclose the issues of determining the number of employees required to ensure the production of the planned capacity. It identifies the organizational structure, the volume of capital investments and annual income received, and also reveals the need for loans or investments.

Long term

Long-term plans are drawn up for a period exceeding a ten-year period. Their goal is to form an economic strategy that allows you to determine your place in the market for the provision of similar services, as well as to reach a competitive level. Long-term plans are always specified at the expense of the medium-term plan, and the medium-term plan is refined by data from the short-term plan. All three types of document must be coordinated with each other. They should not contain contradictions.

Document structure

The business plan of the enterprise should be drawn up in such a way that the investor who decides to get acquainted with it can obtain information about the production and the nuances of its technological processes.

The document should disclose information about the equipment used and the number of personnel serving it. The content of the documentation should clearly display the parameters and characteristics of a business entity, under which its manager will be able to produce high-quality products in the planned volume. It should also confirm the expectations of the partner that the contractor will be able, if necessary, to quickly adjust the production process and cope with the task within the time specified in the contract.

Section structure

It is important to display in the document whether the enterprise is operating, or whether it is at the stage of an implementation project. It also needs to include a marketing plan for finished products, taking into account the timing and planned costs for this stage of activity.

Manufacturing process

In the section reflecting the subject of the production process, it is necessary to disclose all the stages of the technology, taking into account its nuances. It should reflect the list of raw materials and Supplies, with information about their suppliers and delivery methods. You also need to specify the scheme for implementing the results of activities and ways to promote the project.
When administering trading activities with the opening of the store, the entrepreneur in the plan needs to reflect the order of delivery of the goods, their placement in the warehouse and the showcase, as well as ways to sell them.

Raw material

In the section that reveals the issues of raw material supply, it is necessary to list the types of raw materials and materials used, the requirements put forward for them regulations and technology regulations, as well as ways to implement quality control. When planning their storage and transportation, the order of such operations should be specified. It is necessary to list the suppliers with whom cooperation is planned, as well as provide for their alternative options, which may become relevant in case of violation of the timeliness of deliveries.

Property objects

The plan must indicate the basis for the right to dispose of the building, equipment and land necessary to ensure the work process. Objects may be in the personal ownership of an entrepreneur or legal entity, or be leased. For clarity, it is necessary to display the registration information of the document giving the right to use or operate the object for profit.

The document must include a plan for the location of premises with different purposes. On the diagram, it is necessary to separately highlight the places of storage of raw and finished products and the placement of equipment.

If at the time of drawing up the plan, the entrepreneur has not decided on the operational facilities, then the document must indicate the requirements for the entrepreneur to their parameters.

It should also contain information on the terms in which the issue of renting or purchasing, as well as installation of equipment, must be resolved. A separate subsection should reflect the actual or planned amount of money to invest in a purchase or lease. All financial information related to property objects must be included in the investment section of the business plan.

The basis for planning the work of any enterprise is the production plan. This document fixes the volume and procedure for the production of goods or the provision of services with related characteristics: the volume of raw materials used, cost, labor costs. Consider how a production plan should be drawn up, what goals it serves, what must be reflected in this document and its sample.

A production plan is a document by which the management of an enterprise organizes work and controls labor process, consumption of raw materials and energy, employment of personnel. The production plan is the basis of the company's activities. Without it, it is impossible to effectively control the enterprise, track profits and losses, and find ways for optimization.

Such a document sets a task for each department/structural unit. The production plan is drawn up at each enterprise independently. Finding a ready-made template is virtually impossible: each organization has its own specifics. At the same time, there are generally accepted approaches and algorithms for compiling this document. Their use greatly simplifies the procedure. It is also important to know that you cannot write planning once and use it all the time. The document requires regular updating.

Work according to the production plan is more promising

What does he give

Any production plan serves several purposes simultaneously:

1. Determination of the number of units of goods and services needed to make a profit.
2. Planning a specific amount of profit, the ratio of expenses and income, any other important financial indicators.
3. Evaluation of the efficiency of the use of resources and raw materials.
4. Quality control. In the document, you can fix the specific characteristics of the goods and achieve them.
5. Planning the cost of raw materials.
6. Search for ways to optimize the process and work options.
7. Power control.
8. Monitoring the efficiency of the use of labor resources.
9. Evaluation of sales effectiveness.
10. Development of optimal ways to use the budget.
11. Reporting standardization.

Thus, the list of tasks to be solved by the production plan is very wide. In addition, depending on the wishes of the management, any other indicators and goals for structural units can be included in the document. The document helps to develop a development strategy - a list of specific actions of the enterprise necessary to achieve the goals of the work. The plan helps to allocate resources efficiently.

Varieties of production plans

All production plans can be divided into the following types:

1. Short-term - 1-2 years. They are divided into quarters and semesters. Establish what goals the company must achieve during the year.
2. Medium-term - from 2 to 5 years. The main goal is to determine the organizational structure, the number of employees, capital investments and production capacity, the volume of annual income and growth dynamics, the need for investment, loans.
3. Long-term - from 10 years and above. The goal is to develop an economic strategy, determine the place of the organization in the market, position among competitors.

The long-term plan is specified in the medium-term, the medium-term - in the short-term. All three plans must be consistent with each other. They cannot contradict each other. Planning should provide for the dynamics of development. From the documents it should follow what indicators the enterprise will consistently achieve.

Large organizations make up all 3 types of plans, smaller ones - only medium and short-term. The work of any enterprise, especially one that produces material values, without a plan is inefficient. A development strategy is needed even in services and trade.

Drawing up a plan is best left to specialists with specialized education.

Features of drawing up a plan

The production plan is not one document, but several at once. The most standard set includes:

1. A plan for the main activity, fixing the goals of the enterprise, categories of goods and volumes of their production.
2. Schedule of work - a list of categories of goods indicating their quantity, cost, raw materials needed. Dynamics of production - how much goods to produce and sell in each month, in each year.
3. Table of the company's needs for funds, investments, loans.

Among the important indicators that the plan of any manufacturing enterprise, should be called:

• tariffs for public Utilities, the cost of their payment;
• wage fund;
• consumption of raw materials per unit of goods or services;
• production process technology;
• marginal profit;
• availability of specialists with a certain level of qualification;
• amounts borrowed money, percentage size.

Identification of capacity utilization

Determination of capacity utilization - that is, the optimal methods for using equipment and raw materials to produce the maximum volume of production - is one of the most important parts of the production plan. How is it calculated?

1. They determine the categories most in demand on the market and specific models of goods.
2. Calculate the amount of resources that must be used to manufacture one unit.
3. Predict the number of units of goods that can be sold in the shortest possible time.
4. Determine how many units of goods and in what terms the existing equipment can produce.
5. They analyze how long it takes to produce the required batches of goods on existing equipment.

This is a simplified power calculation algorithm. As a rule, these operations are trusted by professional economists. To correctly calculate modes, you need to know the productivity of the equipment, the speed of the staff and the consumption of raw materials. This process is associated with planning and guessing the market situation. It is almost impossible to establish the exact required volume of production. Success is considered to achieve the indicators closest to reality.

Sample production plan indicating the units of production for each month of work

Reflection of the production process

Any sample production plan for an enterprise must necessarily include a description of the production process: both globally and with respect to each product model. Only accurate fixation of the entire process will help to plan and optimize the work correctly.

It is most convenient to reflect the production process in the form of a diagram, where each action will be displayed in stages.

A clear flowchart showing the equipment, personnel and raw materials involved will help management evaluate the effectiveness of the existing workflow and, if necessary, find ways to improve. Based on the analysis, best practices can be determined.

Operating schedule

The production plan includes a section that describes the work schedule, namely:

• number of shifts, duration;
• number of days off / no days off;
• the number of employees in a shift;
• expected productivity of each shift.

Room or area for equipment placement

Such a document describes all available premises with an indication of their purpose. It is necessary to fix the area, ceiling height, condition (whether repairs are required), connected communications, entrances, exits, windows, if necessary, describe the finish. Make a conclusion about the suitability of the premises for production in the medium and long term.

If the analysis of the premises shows that it is unsuitable for increasing productivity, the search for suitable real estate with specification of specific requirements should be included in the medium-term plan. It is important to reflect the advantages and disadvantages of the existing workshop in order to achieve maximum profit.

The enterprise can plan the opening of new shops, the creation of representative offices in other regions - all this must also be fixed in the medium and long-term planning. Mandatory with a description of the requirements for real estate.

The drafters of the plan independently think over its structure

Need for materials and suppliers of raw materials

Planning helps to use resources wisely, but only if it contains information about materials and their suppliers. Information about the quality and cost of raw materials will help evaluate the quality of products and the feasibility of working with a particular supplier. Information about the conditions of work with counterparties will help, if necessary, to quickly predict how a change in the price of any of its goods will affect production.

The most convenient way to describe the need for materials and their suppliers is tables for each product. Specify:

• weight/color/size of goods;
• its key characteristics;
• full composition indicating the volumes of raw materials used;
• the possibility of replacing any components;
• supplier information;
• the price of each component.

fixed costs

An important section, which will present a list of fixed costs similar to most enterprises:

• rental of premises;
• Communal expenses;
• raw materials and starting materials;
• taxes and obligatory payments;
• logistics and transport;
• wage fund.

The document should record the current and planned values ​​of each expense, possibly indicating acceptable limits. This approach will help make the plan more flexible, adapted to changing market conditions. Knowing the allowable limits of each direction of fixed costs will help, if necessary, to more quickly regulate product prices.

Production cost

The manufacturer necessarily considers the full cost price for each of his goods. Without knowledge of this indicator, it is impossible to correctly select the price, which means that it threatens with losses. To calculate the total cost, add up all the values ​​​​of the spent resources:

• source materials;
• equipment depreciation;
• utilities and other energy costs;
• employee's salary;
• management staff salary;
• insurance premiums;
• transport costs;
• advertising;
• marketing expenses.

Production plan example

A typical example of a 1 year production plan is shown in the image below. It is made according to the most common structure and reflects the most important indicators for the manufacturer. You should not use other people's plans, but you can analyze them and adapt them for your own production.

Production plan option

Common mistakes

The most common mistakes in compiling such a document are incorrect accounting for the consumption of materials, incorrect assessment of the capacity of equipment, and an overestimated expectation of demand. These inaccuracies are detrimental to the content of the document: it is less connected to reality. An incorrect development strategy, built on erroneous calculations, will inevitably lead to bankruptcy.

Therefore, it is extremely important to monitor indicators as accurately as possible and, if necessary, adjust them. The more the company will monitor the content of the production plan, the more likely it is to achieve the optimal ratio of income and expenses.

When planning, it is extremely important to take into account the possibility of sudden events: equipment breakdown, a large private order, or a disruption in the supply of raw materials. The company must have measures in place for each such case. It is wiser to initially set lower indicators, not at the limit of the equipment's capabilities, but with success, slightly increase them.

Control over the implementation of the plan

The implementation of the control plan is carried out by virtually the entire management of the enterprise in its area of ​​​​responsibility. So, the head of production controls the production of the required batch of goods within a specific time frame, the head of the supply department monitors how much raw materials they need to receive and ship every day, and so on. Control over all areas and the implementation of the plan as a whole is the responsibility of the head.

The business plan of an enterprise is a comprehensive document covering all areas of activity of a business being created. The production plan is one of the main components of the final document. In this section, production costs are calculated, the maximum capacity of the enterprise is determined, and savings reserves are identified.

The concept and essence of the production plan

The production plan is necessary to determine the prospective indicators of the created or growing business. The purpose of this section of the business plan is to describe the ways of organizing the production process, identifying possible problems and methods for solving them.

The production plan is the most complex part of the system of operational and long-term plans, since it covers almost all factors of the enterprise's functioning. If planning was done without taking into account all possible negative conditions and force majeure, then all other components of a comprehensive business plan become meaningless.

Before starting to draw up a production plan, the management of the enterprise must have an accurate idea of ​​\u200b\u200bthe available material and human resources, sources of production costs, the maximum possible scale of the business and other factors.

Often novice entrepreneurs do not pay due attention to this part of the business plan, believing that the most important thing is its financial part and marketing activities to promote goods or services. But future income and costs cannot be determined without a competent and reasonable production program.

What is included in the production plan

The production plan substantiates and calculates a large number of business processes related to all areas of the planned business. The main components of this part of the overall plan are:

• nomenclature of products, costs and expenses for the release of each unit;
• costs for quality control and compliance with technical conditions and GOSTs;
• the required volume of raw materials in warehouses and in production;
• the cost of a unit of production and the cost of its manufacture;
• logistics costs;
• cost of goods and services;
• optimal number of staff;
• the cost of acquiring new and upgrading existing equipment;
• production capacity;
• depreciation costs for equipment and buildings;
• expenses for training and advanced training of personnel;
• rent payments;
• determination of the list of works that can be subcontracted and outsourced;
• taxes;
• profit under various development scenarios.

In addition to these indicators, the production plan must include requirements for the technologies used, which take into account:

• characteristics of production areas, their size and zoning;
• possible equipment suppliers, comparative analysis prices and technical features of machines and machines similar in performance;
• production technologies, the cost of patents, the possibility of using their own developments.

This list of indicators is rather arbitrary, since the production plan depends on the characteristics of each particular business. The main thing when drawing up this section of the general business plan is to take into account all possible factors that affect the final result of the enterprise.

When forming a production plan, it is also important to clearly know. This will help to more clearly define all the necessary indicators.

Production Plan Tasks

The production plan is closely related to other sections of the business plan, and when drawing up it, a formal approach should not be allowed, because it is the basis for calculating the required investment. The production plan is aimed at achieving the following goals:

• development client base, attracting new categories of consumers of goods or services;
• minimization of costs and full use of the resource base;
• technological development and increasing competitiveness in its market segment;
• introduction of new quality standards;
• improving logistics and reducing transportation and storage costs;
• work with the best suppliers in terms of price-quality;
• optimization of credit lines and reduction of costs for funds attracted from outside;
• creation of optimal production reserves for long-term development;
• development of long-term strategies taking into account various scenarios of the impact of external factors.

How to start developing a production plan

Any business plan has two purposes: it is used as an internal document of the company to determine current and prospective costs and income, or to provide potential investors to raise funds to create or develop a business. For investors, it is important whether the business is operating or whether it is a start-up. When creating a new enterprise, it is important to demonstrate to future partners the return on investment with visual calculations, so all figures in the production plan must be real and justified.

When drawing up a production plan, a beginner is repelled by the following main points:

1. First, sales activities for goods or services are planned: for this, the usual scheduling or more advanced tools like the Gantt chart.
2. It is necessary to describe in detail all business processes, from the purchase of equipment and materials to work with potential customers. At this stage, the prospects for improving technologies and the possible costs of modernization should be assessed.
3. Market assessment of competitors: what technologies they use, the duration of the production cycle, marketing policy mechanisms.
4. It is very important to consider all the offers of potential suppliers, it is necessary to monitor prices, study reviews on the quality of raw materials and materials, and calculate logistics costs.
5. Determine the need for production and storage facilities. They must not only comply with technological processes in terms of area, but also meet sanitary requirements.
6. Correctly calculate the cost of production and possible costs, this will help determine the profitability of the business.

If an entrepreneur decides to draw up a production plan on his own, he should study the business plans of successful startups. They are easy to find in the public domain on the Internet. Though real numbers may be hidden in these documents, they will still be informative in terms of items of income and expenses that need to be taken into account.

A plan for the production of a new or developing turnkey business can be ordered from the specialists of our company.

Personnel plan

Despite the fact that such a plan is often allocated in a separate section of the business plan, the calculation of the need for various categories of personnel is mandatory when drawing up the production program. Proper selection and placement of qualified personnel, determining the need for human resources will help increase the efficiency of the projected business.

At the personnel planning stage, the optimal organizational structure, the number of managerial and production units, the necessary qualifications and professional skills of employees, the costs of advanced training or attracting specialists from other regions or countries should be determined.

If you decide to start growing cucumbers, then you cannot do without a production plan. In , you can familiarize yourself with it.

Cost planning

successful and profitable business characterized by a low level of production costs, so the main point of the production plan should be cost forecasting and evaluation of ways to reduce them. The efficiency of an enterprise is defined as the difference between costs and revenues, so the amount of profit remaining at the disposal of the company directly depends on how the cost management process is organized.

The main production costs include the following types of costs:

• remuneration of production, management and support personnel;
• the cost of depreciation of fixed production assets;
• expenses for materials, components and new equipment;
• contributions to off-budget funds;
• payment for electricity, water and other utility costs.

The costs of the enterprise depend on many factors, which are divided into internal and external. The dependence on these factors is determined on the basis of a SWOT analysis, which is also a mandatory section of the business plan.

Internal factors affecting the value of production costs are:

• correctly and competently developed production program;
• fixed in the accounting policy of the enterprise method of calculating depreciation;
• the system of wages applied at the enterprise;
• gross turnover.

External conditions, which include inflation, the dollar exchange rate, the political situation and others, cannot be adjusted by the enterprise. Their negative impact on the final result is taken into account when developing the production program.

To obtain a reliable picture of costs and determine methods for reducing them, it is necessary at the planning stage to calculate each cost item with maximum detail. The accuracy of the analysis also depends on the planning horizon - the shorter the calculation period, the more accurate the indicators. Ways to reduce costs depend on the scope of the enterprise and the characteristics of the market.

A competent production plan will help the business to develop successfully, so its development should be entrusted to professionals.

The economists of our company will draw up a business plan and calculate forecast indicators as soon as possible.