The Production Scheduling process acknowledges the existence of variability, and therefore, does not establish fixed baseline schedules as conventional scheduling does for project controls, but rather facilitates the process of constantly planning and re-planning of production workflows through a collaborative method with involvement of those directly responsible for the work.
Process standardization and repeated execution for process improvement are key for work optimization. As such, SPS|PM enables planning, controlling and improving work through the use of standard processes supported by a library of standard processes. A standard process is a set of physical and / or support activities that may repeat itself more than once (e.g., erect steel components, install pumps, install pipe spools, secure permits, etc.). Standard processes can be identified in any type of process including business processes such as procurement or engineering. Due to its repetitive nature, it is important that standard processes are co-created by those directly responsible for the work. Applied to similar milestones, the use and application of standard processes do not necessarily require the physical product to be standard.
The effective use of standard processes enables a rapid creation of Production Schedules as well as minimizing repetitive task entry for the completion of specific products, which occur repeatedly on site (e.g., walls, floors, columns, rooms, pipe spools, etc.). For example, an individual Milestone in the Lookahead may represent the completion of a specific instance of a given product (e.g., Column 213 Ready). By creating a standard process for the completion of a column, teams can enter a series of Milestones (e.g., Columns 213, 214, 215, 216 Ready, etc.) and then attach the “Column” standard process to each Milestone, and therefore, build a Production Schedule.