THE IMPACT OF PRODUCTION PLANNING AND CONTROL ON A MANUFACTURING PROCESS

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background of the study: Production planning and control is simply the analysis involved in transforming raw material or components into finished products, integrated synergistically to reduce waste in time and finance with maximum obtainable profit. With reference to services (intangible), production is the discharge of a function with some degree of utility, which for goods (tangible) production is viewed as the fabrication, interchange and re-use of physical objects through machines, human resources and any other pertinent applicable tools (Bartak, 1999). The objectives of production planning can be summarized and is to provide the capacity and production to meet agreed or projected demand, ensure timely and positional availability of materials and components, provision of a steady flow of work through all departments, provide a balanced work between various departments involved in production operation, make available adequate manufacturing instructions to enable proper management, and supervision and records and Provide adequate information to arrest failure and delay (Pounds, 1999). Planning is a continuous process which involves decisions or choices, about alternative ways of using available resources with the aim of achieving a particular product at some time in the future (Silver, Pyke & Peterson, 1998). The relatedness of production planning to effective operation in any organization has been indicated and recognized as enhancement to organizational output and reduced operational cost.

For many manufacturers the task of meeting the ever rising demand and customer expectations and lowering operational costs in an environment of more products, more complexity, more choice and competition is placing great stress on the effectiveness of their planning of activities in the production process (Pounds, 1999). Organizations have already adopted solutions with vary degrees of planning and controlling capabilities. Yet, operation executive acknowledge that these same systems are becoming out dated, lacking the speed, flexibility and responsiveness to manage their increasing complex production environment.

Effective production planning and controlling is vital to the success of every manufacturing business. Regardless of the industry, finding the best way to purchase, allocate and utilize the production resources to efficiently satisfy the customers while minimizing operational costs is a constant challenge (Banjoko, 2005). But, without the right production planning and control, it is near impossible. The process of production planning is central to the success of any manufacturing company. In general terms, the production planning process involves generating a plan to satisfy customers in a manner that results in a reasonable profit. The specifics of the production plan should vary company to company, and industry to industry. Production planning is an important part of the process for manufacturing firms. The organization of production relies in general on the implementation of a certain number of basic functions, among which the control function plays an essential role. Magee (2006) emphasized the interrelationships between these two important production management activities. Irrespective of organizational status, it is generally recognized that production planning and control, are closely interrelated. In theory, problems are frequently classified according to type of problems, example distribution, queuing or sequencing. However, real industrial problems often do not fit into rigid categories.

1.2 Statement of the problem

Every manufacturing activity requires resource input in terms of men, materials, money and machines. Hence any business that produces a product or service production activity must be related to market demands as indicated by the continuous stream of customers' orders. Jain and Aggarwal (2008) state th that for maximum effectiveness, this must be done in such a way that customers’ demands are satisfied, but at the same time production activities are carried on in an economic manner. However, the researcher is of the opinion that the process of developing this kind of relationship between market demands and production capability must be the function of production planning which has been described by several researchers as the predetermination of manufacturing requirements of such things as available basic materials, detailed equipments, production runs, order priority, money, man and production process within the scope of the enterprise for efficient production of goods to match its sale requirements. Control can be effected principally through the management of workflow, inventories and backlogs, and changing levels of operation (Winston, 2004). It is on this note that the researcher is examining the impact of production planning and control on manufacturing process with specific focus on Nigeria bottling company in Aba, Abia State.

1.3 Objective of the study

The broad objective of this study is to examine the impact of production planning and control on manufacturing process using  Nigeria bottling company in Aba, as case study. Specifically the study seeks to:

1. Ascertain if  poor scheduling in meeting jobs completion times.

2. Investigate if the  rules adopted in job loading and their impact on job flows.

3. Examine if production planning and control will have effect on the  profitability of Nigeria bottling company.

4. Determine if production planning and control will have any significant impact on organizational performance Nigeria bottling company.

 

1.4 Research Questions

1. Does poor scheduling has any effect on the productivity of manufacturing firms?

2. Does rules adopted in job loading during production planning impact the  job flows?

3. Does production planning and control  have any  effect on the  profitability  and organizational effectiveness of Nigeria bottling company.

1.5 Research hypotheses

HO1: Production planning and control has no significant  impact  on  manufacturing process.

HO2: Production scheduling and control has no significant influence on profitability and organizational effectiveness of Nigeria bottling company.

1.5 Significance of the study

The outcome of this study will educate the manager of industries and other stakeholders in the manufacturing sector on ways by which production planning and control can drastically reduce the operational cost in an industry. It will also educate on the effect of production planning and control on organizational effectiveness, profitability and productivity. This research work will constitute a body of literature to the existing scholarly materials on the impact of production planning and control on operational cost to help strengthen and promote organizational development.  Empirically, the study would  serve as a reference material to scholars and student who wishes to conduct further studies in related field.

1.6 Scope of the study

This study is limited to the staffs of Nigeria bottling company Aba factory in Abia State. It will also cover the effect of production planning and control on operating cost of manufacturing, productivity, profitability and organizational effectiveness.

1.7 Limitation of the study

Like in every human endeavour, the researchers encountered slight constraints while carrying out the study. The significant constraint was the scanty literature on the subject owing that it is a new discourse thus the researcher incurred more financial expenses and much time was required in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature, or information and in the process of data collection, which is why the researcher resorted to a limited choice of sample size. Additionally, the researcher will simultaneously engage in this study with other academic work. Despite the constraint  encountered during the  research, all factors were downplayed in other to give the best and make the research successful.

1.8 Definition of terms

Planning: Planning is the process of thinking about the activities required to achieve a desired goal. Planning is based on foresight, the fundamental capacity for mental time travel. 

Production: Production is the process of combining various material inputs and immaterial inputs (plans, know-how) in order to make something for consumption (output). 

Manufacturing Process: Process manufacturing is a production method that creates goods by combining supplies, ingredients or raw materials using a formula or recipe. It is frequently used in industries that produce bulk quantities of goods.