Finite Capacity Scheduling: Management, Selection, and Implementation

This book was written for manufacturing management at all levels interested in increasing productivity, thus profits. It is non-technical in nature and easily understood by all that will be positively affected by its well constructed contents.One must remember that MRP was created in the early days by hardware vendors intent upon selling iron. It was an algorithm designed for purchasing material needed for production based upon a nebulous forecast that ran backwards in an infinite mode. To make a point, think about infinity in a backward mode before you go to sleep tonight-go to bed early.Unfortunately, the computer power at the time was insufficient to solve the real problem on shop floor-planning and scheduling of very finite capacities to consume the material that MRP recommended. The obvious result: bloated inventories.MRP soon became a creed not to be violated no matter that the better half of the problem of shop floor control was still unsolved by expensive automation.This book should be made required reading by all manufacturing management staff. The result will be a very pleasant surprise for all involved.

1-5? definitely a five star bookShould you buy and read the book Finite Capacity Scheduling?Yes, and they should require it at Havard Business School, Manchester School of Business, Havard, Columbia, Wharton and Stanford Business School as required reading. Additionally the theories, which are now being proven in many industries will soon hit the service industry markets. It is a wonder how we can keep up the smaller and smaller margins in the manufacturing sector and still do everything the old way? If you really want to win the game and understand how to maximize every resource in the manufacturing process, you have to read this book. Buy a highlighter. There is so much great information, you will definitely need it.

The authors have done the FCS community a service by providing a unified treatment with a taxonomy that can clear the air in a market filled with meaningless jargon and narrow agendas. While not a "how to" (and never pretends to be so this is not a criticism), there is useful broad advice in how to select a package to insure that the business needs will be addressed with a FCS system. The one area lacking is for all the authors' efforts to tackle the top-level issues in FCS, they missed a golden opportunity to remind the readers to not be distracted by the glitz in APS because at the heart of every APS is the need to address a real world FCS problem. The importance of a quality FCS engine, reinforced by the book, cannot be overstated for any business considering some form of scheduling technology.

For more than 20 years, I have been looking for someone to easily explain the basic principles and practices of FCS. Here's a book that takes the complexity out of the subject and makes it simple to understand with examples and antedotes that clearly illustrate the subject details. Rarely have I been able to pick up a book on a techical subject and find myself "getting into it" because the style and content is so interesting.There are few experts on the subject of FCS. Bill Kirchmier and his associate have, both, demonstrated their expertise and writing skill to put across a difficult subject in such easy to understand laymans language.I commend this book to anyone who has the idea of evaluating and/or implementing Finite Capacity Scheduling as a process for improving their current or future manufactuirng production throughput.

Anyone who has been trying to run a factory with traditionally infeasible production schedules will find this book hard to believe. We have been using infinite capacity backward pass scheduling and rough cut capacity planning for so many decades that it has become a dogma among those concerned with materials management. We have used these unreliable scheduling tools for so long that the idea of a feasible and current production schedule may seem absurd. The more vested we are in dispatch lists, expediting, excess inventory, frustration, and overtime; the more difficult it will be to switch our allegiance to finite capacity scheduling. For some it may be as difficult as denouncing their deity. This timely book helps us realize that the technology for finite capacity scheduling has matured during the last two decades of continual application and improvement. The information it presents should help management understand why they can finally have feasible schedules for whatever resources are important to their business. The core problem in production management has been solved. Rejoice! We can continue to plan in units of production, but we can now schedule in units of time.