Comparative Analysis of Human and Artificial Intelligence Planning in Production Processes

Abstract

Artificial intelligence (AI) has found applications in enterprises′ production planning processes. However, a critical question remains: could AI replace human planners? We conducted a comparative analysis to evaluate the main task of planners in an intermittent process: planning the duration of production orders. Specifically, we analysed the results of a human planner using master data and those of an AI algorithm compared to the actual realisation. The case study was conducted in a large production company using a sample of production products and machines. We were able to confirm two of the three research questions (RQ1 and RQ3), while the results of the third question (RQ2) did not meet our expectations. The AI algorithms demonstrated significant improvement with each iteration. Despite this progress, it is still difficult to determine the exact threshold at which AI outperforms human planners due to the unpredictability of unexpected events. Even though AI significantly improves prediction accuracy, the inherent variability and incomplete input data pose a major challenge. As progress is made, robust data collection and management strategies need to be integrated to bridge the gap between the potential of AI and its practical application, fostering the symbiosis between human expertise and AI capabilities in production planning.