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Capacity planning is an activity that should be conducted in parallel with priority planning. The available capacity should match the workload; too little capacity decreases service levels and increases tied-up capital, whereas too much capacity is associated with unnecessary costs.
In a planning situation there are various capacity planning methods to choose from, capacity planning using overall factors (CPOF), capacity bill procedure, resource profile, and capacity requirements planning (CRP). Each specific method is more appropriate in certain planning environments [2, 3]. The method can be chosen by conducting an internal analysis in which the appropriateness of various approaches is evaluated or it can be chosen more randomly on the basis of intuition. Choosing a method that is appropriate for the planning environment, however, does not necessarily lead to satisfactory use. The method also needs to be applied properly, that is, time standards, routing information, planning periods, planning frequency, and so on need to be determined and carried out correctly.
Very few studies that analyze the use and perceived satisfaction of capacity planning methods have been done. Burcher [1] showed that CRP is a common planning method and that the absence of time standards and routing information or the unreliability of these data was the primary reason for the lack of success using it. Jonsson and Mattsson [2] analyzed the appropriateness of various capacity planning methods in companies with complex customer order production, production of optional products, batch production of standardized products, and repetitive mass production. CRP was the most common method, but it was also the method with the highest proportion of dissatisfied users, in all planning environments.
This article focuses on the following four research questions:
1. What capacity planning methods are used in Swedish manufacturing companies?
2. Why are the respective methods used?
3. How are the methods used?
4. How do satisfied users employ the methods?
The first objective is to describe the motives of choosing, modes of applying, and the use of various capacity planning methods in Swedish manufacturing industries. The second is to identify the characteristic modes of applying capacity planning methods among "satisfied" users. This article is structured in accordance with those objectives.
CAPACITY PLANNING METHODS
Four capacity planning methods-CPOF, capacity bill procedure, resource profile, and CRP-are included...