A computer implemented method, apparatus, and computer program product for planning in a manufacturing process. In one embodiment, a library of standard manufacturing processes is created. The library comprises a plurality of master process objects. In response to generating a manufacturing project, a set of master process objects is selected from the plurality of master process objects in the library. The set of master process objects is associated with the manufacturing project to create a set of process usage objects within the manufacturing project. The set of master process objects in the library of standard manufacturing processes are linked to the manufacturing project without copying the set of master process objects into the manufacturing project. The set of usage process objects in the manufacturing project is populated with information specific to the manufacturing project.