Autor: Ralf Kapp

This technical contribution presents a digital planning environment for an integrated facility layout and logistics planning. The aim is a noticeable reduction of time and effort for middle- and long-term facility planning and production planning. Therefore current data from the shop floor and order management are provided in an object-oriented consistent digital structure. This data is used to forecast the need for action and to deduct alternative solutions. Planning becomes more effective, long-term planning tasks become day-to-day activities so that the flexibility of the enterprise increases.

The efficiency in manufacturing can be increased by using new local control methods in combination with situational working plans. New degrees of freedom and additional reaction possibilities are generated in manufacturing, if the resource allocation and the processing order of the working steps are not predetermined anymore. The following article describes a new planning chain, consisting of production planning, closed loop production control and process planning, that is able to make use of these degrees of freedom. New material flow requirements are pointed out.