Keep work moving.
Operations consulting for production planning, purchasing and the handovers between them.
Describe the issueChoose a work area
to see what we do.
Dates keep slipping
Review the plan
We use a sample of current orders to check what each delivery date depends on. The review identifies unresolved decisions about capacity, materials and the order of work.
In scope: Backlog, capacity and schedule changes.
A weekly load view with the material and capacity assumptions behind each date.
Production planning scopeUse this starting pointA defined piece of work.
Agreed with your team.
An assignment can focus on one routine or follow an order across departments.
Planning, purchasing
and handovers.
We work with the people responsible for each step, then document and test the agreed changes.
- Planning
- We review order commitments against available people, machines and materials. The weekly plan records priorities and the assumptions behind each date. Planning scope
- Purchasing
- The assignment can cover the request, internal approvals and supplier commitments, with a process map showing where orders wait and who follows up. Purchasing scope
- Handovers
- A changed sequence, substituted material or quality hold needs to reach the next shift. We review the instruction, its approval and the point where an exception returns to supervision. Handover work
- Daily systems
- We review daily system use and workarounds with the people doing the work, then test and document a revised routine with its owner. Daily system routines
How we work
with your team.
Each assignment has an agreed scope and owner. We carry the change through a practical test and handover.
Observe
We follow a recent order from acceptance to delivery, checking the records with the people responsible for each step.
Review findingsA process map showing delays, decisions and handovers.
Agree
Together we define what will change, who can approve it and how the team will judge whether it helped. We record the assumptions and practical limits.
Trial briefA short brief with scope, ownership and a testable measure.
Test
We check where the revised routine still needs manual workarounds during the agreed trial. We update the procedure before it is used more widely.
Trial logA test record of what changed, what held up and what needs revising.
Hand over
The owner receives the documented procedure and training. Before handover, we agree on a review date and the warning signs that would call for another change.
Handover packA usable procedure, named responsibilities and a review date.
Notes for the next meeting.
Practical notes on delivery dates, purchasing delays and a changed production sequence.
Check the promise
Every job may have a date in the system. That does not mean the hours, materials and sequence add up.
Choose three orders due this week. Check the remaining work against the people, machines and materials actually available. Include the jobs already ahead of each order.
Record any date that depends on overtime, an early supplier delivery or an unplanned changeover. Bring those assumptions to the planning meeting. Agree who will decide between competing orders, and by when.
Count the whole wait
Supplier lead time measures only part of the wait. A request can sit in an inbox, an approval queue or a spreadsheet before purchasing sees it.
Track five recent urgent purchases from the first request to delivery. Separate internal waiting time from supplier time. If most of the delay happens before the order is sent, start there.
Approve a schedule change
Before moving an urgent order forward, check which jobs will lose their allocated time and whether the required material is ready.
Record who approved the change and which delivery dates it affects. Give production and customer service the revised sequence before the next shift.
Send an
operating brief
Tell us where a production order or purchase is being delayed. Include the departments involved.
contact@ridgeford-operations.com