Manufacturing operations glossary
Clear definitions of the terms behind modern manufacturing operations — from finite scheduling and changeovers to operational digital twins and AI agents. Each term links to related concepts and the ConstraintFlow capability it relates to.
Advanced planning and schedulingAPS
Software that plans what to make and schedules how and when to make it, accounting for real constraints.
Bottleneck
The resource that limits how much the whole operation can produce.
Capacity planning
Making sure you have enough machines, labor, and time to meet demand.
Changeover
The work to switch a line or machine from making one product to another.
Constraint
Anything that limits what the operation can do.
Finite scheduling
Scheduling that respects the real, limited capacity of machines, labor, and materials.
Forecast accuracy
How close forecasts are to what actually happens.
Forecast bias
A consistent tendency to forecast too high or too low.
Human-in-the-loop AI
AI that proposes decisions for people to approve, adjust, or automate.
Infinite scheduling
Scheduling that assumes unlimited capacity, ignoring real resource limits.
Inventory turns
How many times you sell through and replace inventory in a year.
Machine capability
What a specific machine can and cannot make.
Manufacturing AI agent
Software that reasons over your operations and recommends or takes actions.
Manufacturing control tower
A live view of operations that also recommends what to do.
Manufacturing operational intelligence
Turning connected operational data into optimized, explainable decisions.
Master production scheduleMPS
The plan of what finished products to make and when.
Material requirements planningMRP
Calculating what materials to buy or make, and when, to meet the plan.
On-time in-fullOTIF
The share of orders delivered complete and on the promised date.
Operational digital twin
A living data model of how your operation runs, used to make decisions.
Overall equipment effectivenessOEE
A single score for how well a machine is really being used.
Production sequencing
Deciding the order in which jobs run on a line or machine.
Safety stock
Extra inventory held to absorb variability in demand or supply.
Setup time
The time to prepare equipment before a run can start.
Throughput
How much the operation actually produces in a period.