Implementing finite capacity production scheduling: lessons from a practical case

Many studies that have addressed the production scheduling problem refer to modelling and developing a solution. However, the academic literature presents a research–practice gap in this area with a lack of studies examining the implementation of production scheduling solutions in real contexts. This paper presents the lessons learned from the empirical findings of an action research on a successful implementation of computational simulators for finite capacity scheduling that were designed to help production schedulers in a large production plant of a global multinational motorcycle manufacturer. Although modelling the problem was important and required effort from the researchers, the main challenge revealed from the research was the model’s implementation on the shop floor. Issues regarding human, organisational and technological aspects were highlighted throughout the implementation process and proved essential for the solution to be effective.