**7. Summary**

Both the very process of planning manufacturing processes and the structure of the manufacturing processes require applying a conditional-event mechanism that is naturally represented in the Petri networks technique. This chapter briefly outlines the broad opportunities of applying this technique to design of discrete production processes. The period 1990s are the most intense development period of Petri networks technology. We are currently at the stage of applying already mature programming tools, increasingly frequently integrated in heterogeneous planning systems. The greatest advantages of Petri networks technique visible and acknowledged by engineers include: an opportunity to generate models with various levels of detail, graphic user interface at the stage of acquisition, verification and processing a model, ease of modification and expansion of a model using its hierarchical and block character. The fact that each model contains production knowledge is the greatest advantage of applying modeling techniques in the planning of production processes. Hence, the premises for automation of the design process, at least in the area of implementing routine works. An engineer's intellectual efforts might therefore be aimed at introducing innovative solutions and improvements.
