GMCS: a 2-day course on Master Production Scheduling (MPS)

The Course Notes relating to this two-day training course on master production scheduling (master planning) are awaiting transfer to this site.
The company's master plan is the linchpin of its control over business, production and inventory - the force which welds its operational departments into a single team with a single purpose.
At the sales & operations planning stage of master plan formulation, senior managers are able to impose their view in such areas as inventory holding and general levels of marketing/production activity. At the detailed planning stage, the concern of middle management is with the creation of practical plans, paying special attention to their feasability from the capacity and scheduling viewpoints.
After formulation, the master plan is released as a total company commitment, among other things becoming the driver of all manufacturing and purchasing effort. The MPS is also the reference point for Sales & Marketing as orders are placed by customers. Because customer orders rarely arrive smoothly, in companies which make to stock the master scheduler will need to "consume the forecast" if he/she is to avoid continual plan rescheduling. Erratic order arrival is dealt with in make-to-order companies by the master planning technique of "available to promise".
But powerful as the techniques of master planning are, the real messages of this 2-day course are those concerning our responsiblities to the company-wide team and the commitment by all team members to make sure things really happen as the plan intends they should.

This course covers the complete spectrum of master planning and is intended for all those requiring a full understanding of the subject, whether from manufacturing, materials, marketing or purchasing. It is intended also for existing master schedulers who have not recieved formal education, and for others in planning who may wish to implement a master scheduling system.
Course Agenda:

1. Introduction to the MPS and to Master Scheduling: Why master scheduling is for end-products only • The MPS horizon and the 'standard display'.

2. MPS Formulation I - Sales & Operations Planning: How senior management uses the system • Using the MPS to plan stock and order book levels.

3. MPS Basics: How the MPS is created and rescheduled • The use of time fences for MPS stability.

4. MPS Formulation II - Detailed Master Scheduling: Rough-cut capacity planning (RCCP) • Capacity management and the use of APS in master scheduling.

5. MPS Management: How to deal with uneven customer demand • SOP and 'available-to-promise'.

6. Sales Forecasting: Patterns of data including seasonality and step-change; The naive and causal forecasting techniques including exponential smoothing and multi-model systems; Bayesian forecasting.

7. The BOM and 2-level Master Scheduling: The role of the bill of materials, and the use of planning bills • 2-Level master scheduling for products with numerous customer options • 'Quick Response.'

8. Implementing the MPS System: The master scheduler; The Mission Statement • Hints on implementation.

Because this course has a duration of 2 days, the in-house charge for in-company presentations is £3000 plus instructor's expenses. See link below for purchase of Course Notes.