From an integration viewpoint to build a short-term production planning system for flexible manufacturing systems

From the point of view of integration, the production objective of flexible manufacturing systems (FMSs) should follow results of MRP/CRP. Thus, the planning goal of the short-term production planning (STPP) is to satisfy quantity and due rate requirements determined by MRP/CRP. An STPP system was built to solve the STPP problem of a FMS with multiple machine types, each with multiple machine units. This system adopts a variable-period flexible planning approach, using part mix and process selection flexibilities to solve STPP problems. It provides flexibility in operation sequence and machine routing to the dynamic operation planning system, resulting in better real-time schedules