Describing the Structure and the Elements of a Production Order

A production order has a predefined structure. The order header contains the most important information, for example production dates and quantities as well as the manufactured product. Each order contains a sequence of operations that model the manufacturing process. The operation’s order must be respected to correctly assemble a product. In addition, the components that are assembled in each operation are contained in the bill of material. To support the production process, additional information might be required. Watch this video to get an overview of all elements of a production order and their respective functions.

Now that you have obtained an overview of the elements of a production order, let us apply this to our bike manufacturing example:

• The order header contains the material number of the bike to be manufactured and the order quantity.
• The list of operations contains a list of operations that must be executed to transform the individual components into a bike. Typical steps are, for example, pre-assembly, assembly, quality inspection, and packaging. Usually, the steps are executed sequentially.
• The list of components contains all required components of the bike and their respective quantity. Typical examples are two wheels, one frame, one chain, one shipping box, and so on. Usually, the list of components and the list of operations are connected, since some components are assembled in the first operation, whereas other components are assembled in the second operation, and so on.

In the example, the first production operation (for example pre-assembly) is executed where the frame is consumed. Then the partially assembled bike moves to the next operation (for example assembly), where the wheels and the chain are attached to the frame. Afterwards, the quality inspection is executed, until finally, the bike is packaged for storage or shipment to the customer.