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1 – 10 of over 114000How large should a distribution facility be initially? What size additions to the facility should be planned and when? For example, should a regional distribution centre be built…
Abstract
How large should a distribution facility be initially? What size additions to the facility should be planned and when? For example, should a regional distribution centre be built to accommodate the projected inventory volume at the time of its completion or the projected volume some five, ten or fifteen years in the future? Should investments in the building and the materials handling system coincide or be planned separately? Finally, can planned expansions be economically postponed by temporarily leasing outside space or by temporarily expanding the work force to achieve above‐capacity utilisation of the existing facility?
Hendrik Winzer, Tor Kristian Stevik, Kaspar Akilles Lilja, Therese Seljevold and Joachim Scholderer
Tactical capacity planning is crucial when hospitals must cope with substantial changes in patient requirements, as recently experienced during the Covid-19 pandemic. However…
Abstract
Purpose
Tactical capacity planning is crucial when hospitals must cope with substantial changes in patient requirements, as recently experienced during the Covid-19 pandemic. However, there is only little understanding of the nature of capacity limitations in a hospital, which is essential for effective tactical capacity planning.
Design/methodology/approach
We report a detailed analysis of capacity limitations at a Norwegian tertiary public hospital and conducted 22 in-depth interviews. The informants participated in capacity planning and decision-making during the Covid-19 pandemic. Data are clustered into categories of capacity limitations and a correspondence analysis provides additional insights.
Findings
Personnel and information were the most mentioned types of capacity limitations, and middle management and organizational functions providing specialized treatment felt most exposed to capacity limitations. Further analysis reveals that capacity limitations are dynamic and vary across hierarchical levels and organizational functions.
Research limitations/implications
Future research on tactical capacity planning should take interdisciplinary patient pathways better into account as capacity limitations are dynamic and systematically different for organizational functions and hierarchical levels.
Practical implications
We argue that our study possesses common characteristics of tertiary public hospitals, including professional silos and fragmentation of responsibilities along patient pathways. Therefore, we recommend operations managers in hospitals to focus more on intra-organizational information flows to increase the agility of their organization.
Originality/value
Our detailed capacity limitation analysis at a tertiary public hospital in Norway during the Covid-19 pandemic provides novel insights into the nature of capacity limitations, which may enhance tactical capacity planning.
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Tan Miller and Matthew J. Liberatore
The impact off strategic capacity decisions on production and distribution.
Outlines previous research on capacity planning and considers how the underlying ideas can be applied to higher education institutions (HEIs). Illustrates the components of…
Abstract
Outlines previous research on capacity planning and considers how the underlying ideas can be applied to higher education institutions (HEIs). Illustrates the components of operational and capacity plans for an HEI, pointing out the differences from and similarities to the manufacturing and service sectors; and discusses various components of the capacity plan (e.g. classroom utilization, enrolment, scheduling etc.) in more detail. Believes that this approach to resources would improve on the present US system where external pressures (e.g. politicians, donors etc.) rather than need may determine expansion, but recognizes the practical barriers to this and calls for further research.
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Agneta Larsson and Anna Fredriksson
The purpose of this paper is to explore tactical planning potential within hospital departments. The study had two objectives: first, to develop a framework for tactical capacity…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore tactical planning potential within hospital departments. The study had two objectives: first, to develop a framework for tactical capacity planning in healthcare departments by identifying and structuring essential components for healthcare capacity management; and, second, to identify context-specific requirements and functionality demands on tactical planning processes within healthcare.
Design/methodology/approach
A framework for tactical capacity planning was developed through a literature review. Additionally, an exploratory multiple-case study was performed, with cases from three Swedish hospital departments, which provide the opportunity to study framework applicability in its natural context.
Findings
Findings illustrate how an active tactical planning process can facilitate adjustments to capacity. However, the multiple-case study shows that there are contextual differences between departments, depending on available treatments and resources that affect capacity adjustments, and how the planning process activities should be structured.
Originality/value
This project develops a framework for a tactical capacity-planning process adapted to healthcare provider contexts. By developing the framework, based on the literature and tactical level planning processes within three Swedish hospital case studies, the authors bridge gaps between theory and application regarding healthcare capacity planning.
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Jalal Ashayeri and Willem Selen
This paper aims to present a unified approach for effective capacity management, with the flexibility to position the organization across differing market‐orientations, anywhere…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to present a unified approach for effective capacity management, with the flexibility to position the organization across differing market‐orientations, anywhere from produce‐to‐stock to purchase‐and‐produce‐to‐order.
Design/methodology/approach
The unified planning system combines capacity management with the external market through the customer order decoupling point (CODP). The approach starts by determining the CODP, using commonality and effect‐cause‐effect analysis. The resulting CODP information is then used to determine the optimal master production schedule (medium‐term), as well as the detailed schedule (short‐term) at the bottleneck resource, using mathematical programming; to support decisions across different planning horizons in an integrated fashion.
Findings
This unified approach was applied to an electronics manufacturing company in the Netherlands. The unified capacity planning system not only reduces the number of capacity problems to be solved by production planners, but also more importantly enhances the organization's capabilities to respond faster and more focused to market changes.
Research limitations/implications
Further studies may test the robustness of this planning approach with additional empirical evidence.
Practical implications
The structured unified approach provides a comprehensive solution to a complex capacity management problem, in competitive environments where organizations have to be able to respond to dynamically changing market conditions, given the process choices within which they are operating.
Originality/value
Provides a unified approach for effective capacity management.
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Performance improvement for requirements planning systems is an issue which receives wide interest. Many programming approaches have been proposed to improve material requirements…
Abstract
Performance improvement for requirements planning systems is an issue which receives wide interest. Many programming approaches have been proposed to improve material requirements planning procedures. However, most of them appear to be too complex for large manufacturing problems. Alternatively it might be promising to explore the integration of materials requirements planning and capacity requirements planning. Several simple heuristics for integrated requirements planning systems are suggested. Several heuristics are offered to balance the load in the systems and several procedures presented to adjust the planned requirements so that the system will execute more smoothly. An industrial example supports the adequacy of the general concepts provided in this research. Results are presented which demonstrate the adequacy of these heuristics, and illustrate the ease of implementing the procedures into any MRP system.
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Patrik Jonsson and Stig‐Arne Mattsson
The applicability of manufacturing planning and control methods differs between environments. This paper explains the fit between the planning environment and material and capacity…
Abstract
The applicability of manufacturing planning and control methods differs between environments. This paper explains the fit between the planning environment and material and capacity planning on the detailed material planning and shop‐floor planning levels. The study is based on a conceptual discussion and a survey of 84 Swedish manufacturing companies. Results show the use of planning methods and their levels of user satisfaction in complex customer order production, configure to order production, batch production of standardized products and repetitive mass production, respectively.
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Li‐Chih Wang and Hung‐Lin Shih
The purpose of this paper is to develop a new approach called advanced overlapping production planning (AOPP) model which considers multi‐site process selection, sequential…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to develop a new approach called advanced overlapping production planning (AOPP) model which considers multi‐site process selection, sequential constraints, and capacity constraints in a manufacturing supply chain environment (MSCE). AOPP model may determine the capacity plan and order margin allocation for each site and machines in an MSCE and provide the capacity information for a production planner to effectively adjust the production strategies (e.g. outsourcing, overtime, or adding a work shift) of overloading resources.
Design/methodology/approach
First, an AOPP model is presented to model the production scheduling problem in a supply chain with the objective of minimizing the fulfilling cycle time of each order and the overloads of each machine group. Second, a genetic algorithm (GA)‐based approach for solving the AOPP model is developed. Finally, a heuristic adjustment approach is proposed for planners to adjust the production plan whenever there is an exception of production occurring.
Findings
The production schedule obtained from the GA‐based AOPP approach retains order margins in each operation against other overlapping operations, and it satisfies the capacity constraints of each machine group in an MSCE and results in a better performance in process planning and production planning with finite capacity. In practice, the overloading problem can be solved by adding a work shift or working overtime. The GA‐based AOPP model provides useful information for production planners to make such decisions.
Practical implications
Production planners need a more flexible production plan with order margins to compensate for the uncertainties which frequently occur in the supply and demand sides. This research develops a model to help planners manage the order margin of production planning in an MSCE and showing that order margins become a crucial factor for achieving effective production objective in terms of short OTD (or order cycle) time.
Originality/value
The overlapping production planning approach is a useful finite capacity planning approach for handling the capacity and order margin management in certain manufacturing environment (e.g. flow shop), but less on overcoming multi‐site process selection, sequential constraints, and capacity constraints in an MSCE. In addition, the capacity plan and order margin allocation information for each site and facilities are very important for a planner to effectively adjust the production strategies (e.g. outsourcing, overtime, or adding a work shift) of overloading resources. This research addresses both issues.
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R.D. Jack Hammesfahr, James A. Pope and Alireza Ardalan
Capacity is generally considered only in one sense – toprovide the means for producing a product or service. Defines capacityas serving two functions – to provide the means for…
Abstract
Capacity is generally considered only in one sense – to provide the means for producing a product or service. Defines capacity as serving two functions – to provide the means for producing a long‐run, stable level of a good or service, and to provide the means to adapt to fluctuations in demand over the short run and intermediate runs. Given this definition, develops the implications for strategic capacity planning and offers a model for firms to carry out this planning. Presents examples of where this model has been followed and discusses the implications.
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