Successful implementation of an order release mechanism based on workload control: a case study of a make-to-stock manufacturer

Figures & data

Figure 1. Overall process flow at the case company.

Table 1. Assessing the fit of WLC to the company (adapted from Hendry, Stevenson, and Huang 2013).

Table 2. Implementation issues at the case company.

Figure 2. Workload control cockpit – a visual decision support tool.

Table 3. Design options for order release mechanisms based on WLC (Bergamaschi et al. 1997).

Dimensions	Options
Order release mechanism	Load limited	Time phased
Timing convention	Continuous	Discrete
Workload measure	Number of jobs	Work quantity
Aggregation of workload	Total shop load	Bottleneck load
Measure	Load by each work centre
Workload accounting	Time bucketing	Probabilistic
Over time	Atemporal
Workload control	Upper bound only	Upper and lower bounds
	Lower bound only	Workload balancing
Capacity planning	Active	Passive
Schedule visibility	Limited	Extended

Figure 3. Development of average lead times before and after the implementation project.

Hendry, L. C., M. Stevenson, and Y. Huang. 2013. “Workload Control: Successful Implementation Taking a Contingency-Based View of Production Planning & Control.” International Journal of Operations & Production Management 33 (1): 69–103.10.1108/01443571311288057

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Bergamaschi, D., R. Cigolini, M. Perona, and A. Portioli. 1997. “Order Review and Release Strategies Ina Job Shop Environment: A Review and a Classification.” International Journal of Production Research 35: 399–420.10.1080/002075497195821

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