1. Aggregate Production Planning:
Aggregate production planning focuses on broad decisions regarding production capacity, inventory levels, and production rates. It provides an overall framework for production without detailing specific labor requirements.
2. Breakdown of Options:
Option 1: Scheduling of machines: This is not part of aggregate planning; it falls under the domain of production scheduling, which happens after the aggregate planning stage.
Option 2: Regular time production capacity: This is a critical decision in aggregate planning because it helps determine the amount of product that can be made during regular working hours.
Option 3: Amount of labour to be committed: This is not a typical decision made during the aggregate planning stage. Aggregate planning deals with the overall workforce levels, but the specific labor commitments are decided later in the scheduling stage.
Option 4: Inventory to be carried forward: Decisions about inventory management, including how much to carry forward, are part of aggregate production planning.