2.2. Priority Assignment.

There are several methods for assigning priorities to the work performed in a work center. The rules
discussed below apply to both service and manufacturing operations. Although more complex rules
have been developed for specific applications (multiple machines, for example), their analysis is beyond
the scope of this chapter.
Among the basic rules are:

- Expiration date (also known as the earliest expiration date). As its name indicates, this rule selects the
task with the earliest due date to be executed first. In case of a tie, a secondary rule (from this list) can
be used to determine the order of priority. This rule is often used in operations whose planning is based
on the MRP system, since the due date is inherent to this method, and the system generates it naturally.

- Shorter processing time (TPC). Again, the name of the rule is quite descriptive. The tasks are arranged
in order of priority according to the estimated processing time to perform them (the task with the
shortest processing time is placed at the top of the list). One of the advantages of this method is that
many tasks will be completed quickly. Unfortunately, the rule has no parameters to indicate when the
customer requires his order. On the other hand, using this rule sometimes results in more complex tasks
being left at the bottom of the list, leading to delays in their completion; this condition is undesirable in
environments where complex tasks are often related to large and valuable customer orders.

- Total clearance. According to this rule, a specific task is chosen, then the total time required to
perform all the remaining operations of the job in question is calculated, and then the total time that
will elapse until the task is due. Subtracting the total processing time from the total time to maturity
yields a value called slack. In reality, slack is time in temporary storage or time that can elapse without
danger of delaying the task. The rule is to select those tasks that allow the least slack time and perform
them first, since they are the ones most likely to be delayed if left unattended.

- Slack per operation. This is a variant of the total clearance. According to this rule, the total float is
divided by the number of remaining operations. The task with the smallest total float per operation is
scheduled first. This provides more information than the total float rule, i.e. the average float of each
operation instead of the total float of the entire task.

- First come, first served. This is the rule most commonly used by service organizations, such as banks
and retail stores, but often because they have no alternative. The inherent assumption is that the first
task is also required first. In addition, this rule is often perceived as fair, since the task that enters the
operation first will have execution priority.

- Critical ratio. In the case of this rule, a unitless ratio is calculated by dividing the remaining time to
maturity by the remaining work. The remaining work is the total processing time, while the remaining
time is the time that elapses until the task is due. If the critical ratio is greater than 1, it means that there
is slack; if it is equal to 1, there is no slack and the job should be carried out without delay; if it is less
than 1, the task is already behind schedule; obviously, this rule indicates that the task with the lowest
critical ratio should be scheduled first. Many people consider this to be the best rule, as it takes into
account both the maturity date and the slack time.

EXAMPLE
Suppose a work center has the following six tasks awaiting processing (they are presented in the order in
which they arrived at the work center):

We need to analyze what is the "best" program to perform the work in this center. Note that no matter
what we decide, there is very likely to be a problem. Task A, for example, is due within the next 3 hours,
and we only have 4 more hours of work.We can also observe that there are 19.5 hours of total work,
and that the task with the latest due time is due within 19 hours, which means that at least some other
task will be delayed. In any case, we need to review the sequence of tasks under the perspective of the
different "rules" to determine the most effective order of priority:

Expiration date. With this rule, prioritization is simple. We simply look at the due date of the tasks, and
the one that is due first will have the highest priority. We must also take into account the implications
for the order "delay", assuming we start at time "0":

Shorter processing time. Note that when we apply this rule we have a "tie" between two tasks, A and F.
Therefore, we will use a secondary rule - in this case, due date - to determine the order of priority.
In the case of the due date, we had four of the six tasks late, but none too late. The total delay for the
four tasks was only 3 hours, but in the case of the TPC, only two tasks were delayed, but by too much
time. The combined delay of the two tasks was 12 hours.

Total clearance. To determine the order of processing we need to calculate the delay and then set the
priority from this. In this case, the delay is simply the difference between the remaining work and the
time remaining to maturity.

It is quite obvious that this method may not be the best for the group in our case, although none of the
delayed tasks is delayed for too long, there is only one activity that will not be delayed according to our
plans.

Critical ratio. The last rule we will exemplify is the critical ratio. Remember that the ratio is calculated by
dividing the remaining time to maturity by the remaining work. Tasks with the lowest critical ratio are
considered first.
Even though this method may have great appeal because it incorporates almost all the information, it is
clearly not the best method for this particular group of tasks. Only one of the tasks will be on time; the
rest are behind schedule, especially two of them.based on the results we have obtained in this example,
it must be recognized that there is rarely an "ideal" method.

Programming in MRP and drag-and-drop environments

The scheduling rules described above are usually applied in production environments where integrated
production control systems are not used, e.g. in small workshops. In those environments where
integrated methods are used (e.g. MRP or Kanban pull systems), it is the systems themselves that
provide inherent scheduling priorities.

- MRP systems. Since the master schedule is "exploited" by MRP logic, the due date noted in the master
schedule for each item and the lead time adjustments used by the MRP logic will generate due dates for
all subassemblies and components, and these due dates are then used to establish the order of priority
for production. Consequently, the MRP method uses due date priority scheduling as part of the basic
logic of the system.

- Kanban pull systems. Drag systems are, in essence, reactive systems that generate demand
information from material usage. Production signals come from the need to replace material that has
been "carried over" from inventory for processing. In this sense, drag systems are basically first-come,
first-served priority systems. The main difference between the two arises when there are multiple,
virtually simultaneous dragging requirements to the work center. In other words, it may be difficult to
determine which requirement was generated first. On the other hand, in addition to recognizing a
trailing signal that reaches the plant first, it is almost always important to assess the implied material
requirements. The change in the order of priority is a result of production rate information or material
requirement as it is used in subsequent work centers. In this regard, the recommendation is that when a
pull signal arrives for multiple parts at virtually the same time, it is best to process the material that is
used most quickly in subsequent work centers first.