Glossary Updates12 new terms added to the glossaries · October 2, 2026, 22:44 CEST
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Glossary · System coordination, integration and orchestration

Production dispatching

Also known as: Dispatching, Shop floor dispatching

German: Produktionsdisposition

In manufacturing operations management (ISA-95 / IEC 62264), production dispatching is the activity of releasing scheduled production work to specific resources, such as work centers, lines or machines, at the right time and in the right order, taking current availability into account.

  • System integration
  • Standards

In one sentence

Production dispatching releases scheduled production work to specific lines or machines at the right time, based on current availability.

Example

The MES dispatches order 4711 to line 2 at 06:00 because line 1 is in maintenance, and sends the recipe and quantity to the line controller.

How it applies

  • Engineering: In the ISA-95 activity model, dispatching sits between detailed scheduling and execution. The interface to the control level transfers order data, recipe or parameters and receives start, progress and completion information.
  • Operation: Dispatching reacts to reality: machine breakdowns, missing material or quality holds. Define who may override dispatching decisions and how.
  • Integration: Keep order and resource identifiers consistent between ERP, MES and controllers; mismatches cause orders to be dispatched to the wrong resource or not at all.
  • Documentation: Document the dispatching interface (messages, states, error handling) for integrators, and describe the operator's view of dispatched orders in the MES or HMI manual.

Dispatching vs. scheduling

Scheduling plans which orders run on which resources over a time horizon. Dispatching releases the next work from that plan to execution now, adjusting to the current situation. A schedule can be perfect on paper and still need dispatching decisions when a machine stops.

By knowledge.aitechdoc.world · Published September 26, 2026 · Last reviewed

Source: IEC 62264-3, Enterprise-control system integration — Part 3: Activity models of manufacturing operations management

Definitions follow the cited standards and specifications. Where a source is a copyrighted publication, such as an ISO, IEC or EN standard, the definition is a close paraphrase, not a verbatim quotation, so as not to infringe copyright. We recommend reading the original publication. The sections “How it applies” are editorial commentary by AI TechDoc Knowledge and are not part of any standard.

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