Managing the Production Queue

A production plan is never final.

Materials arrive late, priorities change, machines slow down, urgent orders appear.
Managing the production queue means continuously adapting the plan to reality.

This page explains:

• how the production queue works in P4,

• how to change priorities and sequence,

• how to deal with problems using Redbox.

What is the production queue?

Each Production Line has its own production queue.

The queue defines:

• which Production Items will be produced,

• in what order,

• and based on which priorities.

Production Items are executed from top to bottom in the queue.
Changing the order directly affects:

• start times,

• finish times,

• delivery performance.

The production queue is the operational heart of production planning.

Reordering Production Items

Reordering Production Items is a normal daily activity.

In Parallel Planning, you can:

• move Production Items within a line,

• change their sequence,

• group related items together.

Reordering is typically used when:

• a delivery becomes urgent,

• a changeover should be minimized,

• a downstream process is blocked.

The system immediately recalculates planned times based on the new order.

Moving Production Items between lines

Production Items can be reassigned between Production Lines if needed.

Typical reasons include:

• capacity issues,

• machine downtime,

• balancing workload.

When a Production Item is moved:

• it leaves the queue of one line,

• and becomes part of another line’s queue,

• with new planned times calculated automatically.

This allows planners to react without changing the original order data.

Understanding Redbox

Redbox highlights Production Items that require attention.

A Production Item may appear in Redbox because:

• materials are missing in production,

• constraints cannot be satisfied,

• planning or execution is blocked.

Redbox is not an error list.
It is a prioritized problem list.

Redbox answers the question:
“What prevents this Production Item from being planned or executed right now?”

Working with Redbox in daily planning

During daily planning, Redbox is used to:

• identify blocking issues,

• focus attention on the most critical items,

• restore flow in production.

Typical actions include:

• fixing logistic blocks,

• changing line assignment,

• adjusting priorities.

Once the issue is resolved, the Production Item can return to the normal queue.

Planned vs. realistic priorities

Not all priorities come from delivery dates.

In real production, priorities are often influenced by:

• material availability,

• setup and changeover logic,

• downstream dependencies,

• operational constraints.

P4 allows planners to:

• override theoretical priorities,

• apply practical sequencing decisions,

• keep control without breaking traceability.

This balance is essential for stable production.

Common first mistakes

• Treating the plan as fixed
  The plan is a tool, not a contract. Replanning is expected.

• Ignoring Redbox
  Redbox items usually block production later if not handled early.

• Optimizing only delivery dates
  Over-prioritizing one order can reduce overall throughput.

These behaviors typically disappear once planners gain confidence.

What you should be able to do now

After completing this step, you should:

• understand how production queues work,

• be able to reorder Production Items,

• reassign items between Production Lines,

• use Redbox as a planning tool, not a warning sign.

➡ Next step:
Executing Production: From Planned to Produced

This is where planning meets reality and production actually starts.