Page 583 - Sensors and Control Systems in Manufacturing

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Ele v e n
Cha p te r

FIGURE 11.2 Communication network in a business organization.

• It must be presented in clear language and not buried under
a mass of unnecessary details.
• It must be received soon after the actual events, in time for
suitable action to be taken.

11.3.1 The Need for Timeliness
There is bound to be some lag from the time an activity is completed
to the time a report of that activity can be made available. It takes
time for the clerical staff to sort and total materials requisitions and
time tickets for posting to job-cost sheets or for use in cost-system
calculations. It takes time to prepare data for electronic data process-
ing (EDP), deliver it to a service bureau, and obtain the printed out-
put. If a report is delayed too long, it may be useless by the time it
finally reaches the people who need it.
Each manufacturing firm must decide in which areas of operation
quick reports are needed. For example, if a machining department is
overloaded with work, this should be known promptly so that work-
ers can be shifted to prevent a production bottleneck. Or perhaps
work can be routed to another department where machine time is
available. For this kind of scheduling, daily or even hourly perfor-
mance may be needed. Activity reports must be communicated
quickly where the situation is likely to change often.