RolesRole: production planner
Practise being a production planner
Planners decide what the factory makes, when, and with which parts. Practise those decisions in a simulated manufacturer where customers, suppliers and machines react.
- Runs in
- A web browser, 3D included
- One exercise
- 20 to 55 minutes
- Practice levels
- Six, from worked example to exam
- Working tools
- 8 used in these exercises
A planner's morning
The master schedule says 400 units next week. MRP says a key component won't arrive in time, and the line is already full. You can split the order, pay for overtime or ask the customer for a later date. Pick one, and explain why.
How it works
Every exercise follows the same rhythm as the real job: a problem arrives, you investigate, you act, and the simulated company responds.
- 01
Learn the plant
Walk the factory in 3D and meet the people you plan for.
- 02
Build the plan
Forecast, agree the quarter, set the master schedule and run MRP.
- 03
Plan meets reality
Capacity runs out and suppliers slip. Re-plan and protect the customers that matter.
- 04
Get feedback
See your service level, cost and the decisions that drove them.
What you practise
Concrete tasks taken from the exercises on this page. Each one is done with real data, under real constraints, inside the same simulated company.
- T01
Demand forecasting
Including trends, seasons and a promotion.
- T02
Sales and operations planning
Commit a quarter the whole company can live with.
- T03
Master scheduling and MRP
What to make, what to order, and when.
- T04
Capacity and sequencing
Fit the plan onto real machines and shifts.
- T05
Disruption recovery
Late suppliers and broken machines.
What you get
Experience you can point to.
- 01
Job-ready skills
The core of the planner's job, practised end to end.
- 02
Understanding, not memorising
You see why the rules exist by watching what happens without them.
- 03
Examples for interviews
Real decisions you made and can explain.
The tools you work with
Working tools, not screenshots. They read the same live data as the rest of the simulated company, and what you change in one shows up in the others.
- 01
Forecasting
Compare forecasting methods, tune them, read the error and publish one.
- 02
Sales and operations plan
Compare level, chase and mixed plans on cost and service.
- 03
Master schedule
Build the weekly schedule and see what can still be promised to customers.
- 04
Material planning
Explode the bill of materials, net it against stock and release orders.
- 05
Capacity
Load against available hours per work centre, with overtime and offload options.
- 06
Job sequencing
Order released jobs by rule or by hand and compare how late each plan runs.
- 07
Supplier performance
Lead times, on-time-in-full, defect rates and quoted terms across suppliers.
- 08
Cost and trade-offs
Price each recovery option and compare the service each one buys.
Six levels, one exercise
Start by watching it done, then take the hints away one step at a time until you can do it alone.
- L1
Watch it done
The exercise solved step by step, with what each step changed.
- Hints
- Read only
- Graded
- No
- L2
Step by step
The next move is pointed out, every hint is open, goals update as you work.
- Hints
- All hints
- Graded
- Yes
- L3
With hints
Every hint is open, but finding the next step is up to you.
- Hints
- All hints
- Graded
- Yes
- L4
On your own
Hints stop short of the worked answer. Goals still update as you go.
- Hints
- Some hints
- Graded
- Yes
- L5
Exam
No hints and no AI helper. Results appear only after you submit.
- Hints
- None
- Graded
- Yes
- L6
Free play
An open what-if sandbox. Try anything; nothing counts towards a grade.
- Hints
- All hints
- Graded
- No
A debrief after every attempt
You see what went well, what did not, and what a stronger approach looks like, based on what you actually did.
Every action, in order
What was checked, who was asked, what was changed and when. Nothing is overwritten.
Scores by skill
Each exercise scores the skills it was built to test, from what was actually done.
Weak habits, flagged
Poor patterns in how the work was done are flagged, not only wrong final answers.
A replay of the attempt
Step through the session as it happened, with typed personal details masked.
- Learn the plant
- Build the plan
- Plan meets reality
- Get feedback
What does a production planner do?
A production planner decides what a factory will make and when, makes sure materials and machine time are available, and adjusts the plan when demand, suppliers or machines change.
Do I need a degree in industrial engineering?
No. It helps, but the exercises can be taken step by step, and the concept pages explain MRP and master scheduling in plain words.
Which tools will I use?
A forecasting tool, an S&OP planner, a master schedule, MRP, capacity planning and a scheduling board, all built in.
Related
Ready to try it?
Create an account and start your first exercise. It runs in your browser.