GRAPHICAL APPROACH TO AGGREGATE PLANNING FOR A ROOFING SUPPLIER. A Juarez, Mexico, manufacturer of roofing supplies has developed monthly forecasts for a family of products. Data for the 6-month period January to June are presented in Table 13.2. The firm would like to begin development of an

Question

GRAPHICAL APPROACH TO AGGREGATE PLANNING FOR A ROOFING SUPPLIER. A Juarez, Mexico, manufacturer of roofing supplies has developed monthly forecasts for a family of products. Data for the 6-month period January to June are presented in Table 13.2. The firm would like to begin development of an aggregate plan.

TABLE 13.2	Monthly Forecasts
MONTH	EXPECTED DEMAND	PRODUCTION DAYS	DEMAND PER DAY (COMPUTED)
Jan.	900	22	41
Feb.	700	18	39
Mar.	800	21	38
Apr.	1,200	21	57
May	1,500	22	68
June	1,100	20	55
	6,200	124

APPROACH [latex]\blacktriangleright[/latex] Plot daily and average demand to illustrate the nature of the aggregate planning problem.

Accepted Answer

SOLUTION [latex]\blacktriangleright[/latex] First, compute demand per day by dividing the expected monthly demand by the number of production days (working days) each month and drawing a graph of those forecast demands (Figure 13.3). Second, draw a dotted line across the chart that represents the production rate required to meet average demand over the 6-month period. The chart is computed as follows:

Average requirement = [latex]\frac{Total expected demand}{Number of production days} = \frac{6,200}{124} = 50[/latex] units per day

INSIGHT [latex]\blacktriangleright[/latex] Changes in the production rate become obvious when the data are graphed. Note that in the first 3 months, expected demand is lower than average, while expected demand in April, May, and June is above average.

LEARNING EXERCISE [latex]\blacktriangleright[/latex] If demand for June increases to 1,200 (from 1,100), what is the impact on Figure 13.3? [Answer: The daily rate for June will go up to 60, and average production will increase to 50.8 (6,300/124).]
RELATED PROBLEM [latex]\blacktriangleright[/latex] 13.1

Question 13.EX.1: GRAPHICAL APPROACH TO AGGREGATE PLANNING FOR A ROOFING SUPPL...

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