Application of a generic manufacturing planning and control system reference architecture to different manufacturing environments

This paper describes a generic reference architecture for a manufacturing planning and control (MPC) system, which is tested in the context of the functional specification of MPC systems in medium-sized batch manufacturing companies. While the proposed reference architecture is an adaptation of the manufacturing resource planning (MRPII) model, it can also represent other approaches such as multilevel finite capacity scheduling and hybrid systems incorporating pull control (e.g. kanban). Furthermore, it is not as functionally rigid as the MRPII approach and can support the development of manufacturing planning and control systems to support the identified business processes. It is shown how the reference architecture can be used to represent companies who operate very different MPC approaches. It is also shown that the architecture can support different projects (i.e. business process re-engineering, performance measurement and the implementation of computerized MPC systems). Field tests demonstrate that the architecture is generic, has a broad application, yet is detailed enough usefully to represent the functionality of a suitable MPC system in individual manufacturing environments.