Currently, the manufacturing industry and mining sector use the combination of two critical concepts in their operation, which are daily production scheduling and short-interval control (SIC). In other words, daily production scheduling is defined as the process of arranging production activities, equipment, and personnel to accomplish production goals during one-day work cycle. On the contrary, short-interval control is a scheduling tool used in lean management for division of the regular shift management into several intervals (Wang et al., 2023). As a result, the combination of both concepts creates a flexible framework, which connects planning and execution stages.
The purpose of using SIC in daily scheduling is to move from a reactive to proactive form of management. Despite the fact that daily scheduling provides a framework, its lack of regular checks may lead to problems, for example equipment breakdowns and lack of materials, thus influencing the output for the day negatively. In addition, by using SIC, it is possible to reduce the time intervals of supervision, as well as to eliminate time wasting and increase production efficiency (Wang et al., 2023).
The proper workflow starts with detailed on-site planning. In this stage, managers create a detailed daily schedule and a resource plan which logically corresponds to the overall production objectives. On-site planning allocates limited personnel and equipment to the right workstations so as to avoid conflicts and reduce idle-time (Wang et al., 2023). Such an important step should not be ignored since, without a detailed daily schedule, there will be no way to compare short-interval control results with anything.
After the creation of the daily schedule, the next step in the workflow involves short-interval schedule implementation and monitoring. The shift is divided into smaller time intervals, operations are controlled on a frequent basis so that any critical deviations are identified and fixed early enough, which ultimately minimizes possible production losses (Song et al., 2015). Modern SIC implementation is much more efficient than a previous approach of reporting because real-time information is utilized to keep the shift management fully informed about operations (Song et al., 2015).
The key factor of this workflow lies in the fast response made possible with the help of the PDCA cycle. Every time when data is collected in each interval, actual performance is assessed against the daily benchmark. If any delays occur, then corrective measures will be taken promptly. This continuous calibration process will help to avoid deviation during operations and will be useful for future intervals in terms of analyzing the present one (Wang et al., 2023). Hence, the daily schedule will be continuously changed in order to keep efficiency.
In conclusion, it can be stated that the right workflow to integrate short-interval control into daily production schedule involves the process of switching from general planning to execution. This includes making a schedule first, monitoring the process frequently, and taking corrective action by using the PDCA cycle. In this way, industries will be able to eliminate downtime, maximize the use of resources, and develop a culture of continuous improvement that will help to meet production objectives.
References
Song, Z., Schunnesson, H., Rinne, M., & Sturgul, J. (2015). An Approach to Realizing Process Control for Underground Mining Operations of Mobile Machines. PLOS ONE, 10, e0129572. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0129572
Wang, H., Zhang, X., Yuan, H., Wu, Z., & Zhou, M. (2023). A Lean Scheduling Framework for Underground Mines Based on Short Interval Control. Sustainability, 15, 9195. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15129195
