> As I understand it pretty much all Dwarfs have a common goal of
> fixing/repairing/rebuilding the Cosmic Machine.
>
As a professional Dwarf I can tell you that we all have a common goal, which is to repair the World Machine. However the scheduling of such a task is of the utmost complexity and therefore we do not always agree on the most effiicient scheduling methods to use, or indeed, the data that is used. All would profess to be working toward the Mostali Production Schedule (MPS) but different inventory control and task control methods are used by different processes.
> But do all the Dwarf communities also agree on...
>
> - the schedule of tasks to be completed?
Knowing that some of the data is broken some Mostali would prefer to wait until all data has been corrected before making firm plans. Others realise that entropy cannot be properly measured so some sot of error must be expected and included in the calculations even though this means building in safety stocks and buffers at various stages to avoid downtime. Some departments, typically those that process simple raw materials, can happy plan work using so called Kan Ban methods, known to some theorists as the Darkness method. Others, with complicated assemblies use material requirement planning but assume an infinite capacity and backward shcedule, this si the Water method. The Sky method is also known as Finite Forward Scheduling and required accurate data and the most effort on the part of the schedulers - although theoretcially the best it can result in disaster if the various components do not work as expected, or if any part fo tghe process is afflicted with entropy.
> - the plans for achieving each task?
>
> I suppose I'm excluding the heretical groups from the second part of
> my question.
>
You will have heard of the Open handists who beleive work can be subcontracted to the sub-mostali creatures? How about the individualists who believe that there individual productivity is of value, and that they shoul d be rewarded on a piece rate?
> I apologise if this is the wrong forum to be raising such a question.
> If it is can anyone direct me to a (preferably on-line) forum for
> discussing Gloranthan issues from an HQ perspective?
>
HeroQuests are scheduled just as any other tasks. We do not call them 'HeroQuests' though. You may also have heard of the Iron Dwarfs. These are expensive. Most (but not all) Mostali believe they are needed to perform Unscheduled Maintneance. This is a horror to most dwarfs, who see Iron Dwarfs doing nothing useful until the forces inimical to the MPS invade and upset the schedule.
Eliyahu Gold-dwarf,
as translated by Keith Nellist
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