Block planning
Block planning is an industrial planning system used for in-house production. A product type can be produced in different variations using the same resources and following the same basic process plan. Block planning supports the production planning and scheduling for this type of system. A block represents a pre-defined sequence of production orders of variable size.
Block planning enables the planning or pre-assignment of resource capacities in the production process for products with specific attributes. It enables a more rational and efficient use of those capacities. Blocks are defined with specific duration and attributes, for example, three days per block on which products are manufactured in various colours.
In piece-oriented sectors such as metal and paper production, upstream planning is often used to define the type of products and which attributes are to be produced. This typically relates to plant needing to be set up in a particular way, when it is inefficient in terms of time and costs to change the set-up more than is necessary.
There is more emphasis, in piece-oriented production, on the resource for which only one production step is executed. It is usual for an order for run over several resources, in which each of the operations could be grouped according to different aspects.
By contrast, the process industry commonly groups several orders together as a ‘campaign’, which is more defined by the material characteristics of the end product. The emphasis is more on an order level, as the process cannot normally be interrupted once it has begun.
[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki
- Advanced manufacturing.
- Agile.
- Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DfMA).
- Just-in-time manufacturing.
- Lean construction.
- Line of balance (LOB).
- Logistics management.
- Major cast metal components.
- Metal fabrication.
- Modular buildings.
- Offsite manufacturing.
- Output-based specification.
- Prefabrication.
Featured articles and news
The need for a National construction careers campaign
Highlighted by CIOB to cut unemployment, reduce skills gap and deliver on housing and infrastructure ambitions.
AI-Driven automation; reducing time, enhancing compliance
Sustainability; not just compliance but rethinking design, material selection, and the supply chains to support them.
Climate Resilience and Adaptation In the Built Environment
New CIOB Technical Information Sheet by Colin Booth, Professor of Smart and Sustainable Infrastructure.
Turning Enquiries into Profitable Construction Projects
Founder of Develop Coaching and author of Building Your Future; Greg Wilkes shares his insights.
IHBC Signpost: Poetry from concrete
Scotland’s fascinating historic concrete and brutalist architecture with the Engine Shed.
Demonstrating that apprenticeships work for business, people and Scotland’s economy.
Scottish parents prioritise construction and apprenticeships
CIOB data released for Scottish Apprenticeship Week shows construction as top potential career path.
From a Green to a White Paper and the proposal of a General Safety Requirement for construction products.
Creativity, conservation and craft at Barley Studio. Book review.
The challenge as PFI agreements come to an end
How construction deals with inherited assets built under long-term contracts.
Skills plan for engineering and building services
Comprehensive industry report highlights persistent skills challenges across the sector.
Choosing the right design team for a D&B Contract
An architect explains the nature and needs of working within this common procurement route.
Statement from the Interim Chief Construction Advisor
Thouria Istephan; Architect and inquiry panel member outlines ongoing work, priorities and next steps.
The 2025 draft NPPF in brief with indicative responses
Local verses National and suitable verses sustainable: Consultation open for just over one week.
Increased vigilance on VAT Domestic Reverse Charge
HMRC bearing down with increasing force on construction consultant says.
Call for greater recognition of professional standards
Chartered bodies representing more than 1.5 million individuals have written to the UK Government.