Course syllabus

COURSE-PM

LMU305 Production logistics, lp2 HT24, 7.5 Credits

Course is offered by the department of Technology Management and Economics

Contact details

EXAMINER / TEACHER:

Patricia van Loon (PvL), Tel: 772 18 75, patricia.van.loon@chalmers.se

ADDITIONAL TEACHERS:

Patrik Jonsson (PJ), Tel: 031-772 13 36,  patrik.jonsson@chalmers.se

Altahir Ali (AA), Tel: 031-772 24 06, altahir@chalmers.se

 

Course purpose

The aim of the course is to give a fundamental understanding of manufacturing planning and control. The student shall become familiar with manufacturing planning and control terminology and concepts and be able to apply some basic models and methods for planning and controlling material flows. Further the course aims to introduce the fundamental principles for Lean production.

Learning outcomes (after completion of the course the student should be able to):

• describe the production task and the task and goal for production logistics.
• describe the efficiency variables for production logistics.
• describe and analyze different types of production systems.
• apply simple methods for line balancing and ABC classification.
• describe and analyze the function of inventory and different ways to classify inventory.
• describe and apply calculation of safety stock and methods for lot sizing.
• describe sales and operation planning, master planning, materials planning, shop floor scheduling, and materials supply.
• describe and apply materials planning methods and forecast methods.

• describe important aspects of customer and supplier relationships.

• describe the principles of Lean production.
• describe the Lean tools: 5S, visual management, standardized work, value stream mapping, kanban, SMED, Kaizen and PDCA.
• describe push and pull principles and systems and generation of push flows.
• apply and analyze the value stream mapping method.
• describe production logistics aspects of circularity and remanufacturing.

 

CONTENT

The teaching includes lectures, exercises, games, and literature seminars.

The lectures address the basic concepts in production logistics. Concepts such as profitability, delivery service, etc. are discussed. Furthermore, planning in the company is treated at different levels and concepts such as master planning, materials planning, inventory management, and shop floor control are reviewed. Great emphasis is placed on the concepts that the company today focuses on, such as pull production, short lead times, low tied up capital, and resource efficiency.

The lectures deal with:

• the production task and the task and goal for production logistics
• efficiency variables
• production systems
• line balancing
• ABC-classification
• inventory management
• Sales and operation planning, master planning, materials planning and shop floor scheduling
• materials planning methods
• quantitative forecast methods
• customer and supplier relationships
• remanufacturing
• principles for Lean production and the Lean tools 5S, visual management, standardized work, value stream mapping, kanban, SMED, Kaizen and PDCA

The course includes various games to illustrate the theoretical concepts. The first two (the job-shop game and game of dice) are not mandatory to attend but will show the difficulties of managing a job-shop or line production process. The third game (the beer game) is mandatory to attend and will illustrate the effects that decisions in a supply chain have on inventory levels and costs. Furthermore, the course includes mandatory project work for practicing Value Stream Mapping which includes two mandatory game sessions. The course further involves a mandatory factory visit to see Lean production in practice and two mandatory literature seminars to discuss the course material, one on production logistics and one on lean production. For these seminars, questions that have been distributed in advance must be answered. In addition, attendance at the seminars itself and active participation in the discussions are required. Two minor tests, one in production logistics and one in lean production, will be carried out in connection with each part of the course. Three short exercise lectures (not mandatory) are included for students to practice their knowledge before the tests/exam.

 

Course literature

• Jonsson, P. and Mattsson, S-A. (2020), Introduction to manufacturing planning and control, Course compendium LMU305, Chalmers University of Technology.

• Jeffrey Liker, 2021, The Toyota Way – 14 Management Principles from the World’s Greatest Manufacturer, 2^nd McGraw-Hill (available as e-book)
• Exercises published on the course website.
• Other material that is distributed during the course or published on the course's website
• A few scientific articles

 

Examination form

To pass the course requires:

• Passed on both minor tests (for grade 3) or passed on the final exam (for grade 3,
  4 or 5)
• Approved literature seminars
• Approved assignment - Value Stream Mapping
• Attendance at all compulsory elements (games, assignment, visit, and literature seminars). Absence from one compulsory part results in an individual written submission of a supplementary assignment which is determined in consultation with the examiner. Absence from several compulsory parts is compensated by participating in the missed parts the next time the course takes place.

Aids for minor tests and exams are a type-approved calculator.

 

COURSE EVALUATION

At the beginning of the course, in the middle and after the end of the course, a course evaluation meeting will take place. At these meetings, the examiner / teacher, course coordinator and student representatives meet. The purpose of the first two meetings is to identify possible improvements during the course and the purpose of the last meeting is to evaluate the completion of the course and suggest improvement measures for the next time the course is completed.

Meeting 1: Tuesday 5/11 after the lecture L1 in Svea 219

Meeting 2: Friday 29/11 after the lecture L12 in Svea 239

Meeting 3: Invitation is sent by the program manager after the end of the course

 

COURSE SCHEDULE