The Research Group in Planning and Analysis of Operations and Production Systems - PLANASP started its activities in December 1998 and is associated with The Postgraduate Program in Production Engineering (PPGEP) of the Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE). The research projects developed by the group are linked to the production and service areas. The group has been developing research projects within the current PPGEP/UFPE research lines and count on the cooperation of teachers from the PPGEP teaching staff, professors from other departments, graduate and undergraduate students.

The main purpose of PLANASP is to carry out research in the action areas of the group aiming to provide improvements in the productive systems of organizations. Its activity areas are related to Production Engineering. This engineering specialty aims at "designing, improving and implementing integrated systems of people, materials, information, equipment and energy. The Production Engineering uses the specialized knowledge in Mathematics, Physics and Social Sciences with analysis and engineering design to specify, predicts and evaluates the results obtained by such systems "(concept proposed by IIE- Institute of Industrial Engineers).

The main methods of the Production Engineering are directed to four basic components: work, materials, technology and information. In order to achieve its central objectives, which accompany or anticipate the context of the industry, the Production Engineering acts in the design, implementation and improvement of systems that result in the production of operations and services. In line with the Production Engineering, the main research projects developed by the PLANASP group are based on the following specialties: Environmental Management; Economic Management; Human Resource Management; Planning and Quality Management; Production Planning; Support Decision Making Systems. These subjects are distributed in the PLANASP research lines.