A decision support system for production planning and bid preparation for a small job shop manufacturer

With the advent of the inexpensive micro-computer, small manufacturers have been able to automate many applications in their day-to-day operations. Under the auspices of the State of Missouri “Productivity Improvement Program” - a program to aid small manufacturing businesses in improving their productivity, a Decision Support System (DSS) was developed to assist a small metals manufacturing company in production planning and bid preparation.

The DSS was developed at UMR by a graduate student as part of his master's thesis; the work was funded by both the Productivity Improvement Program and the small manufacturer. After development of the DSS, the graduate student was hired full time for one year to assist the manufacturer in implementing the DSS and to train on site personnel in its operation.

This paper discusses the development of the DSS, its implementation, and its utilization.