1.

Write Short notes on

a. Material control and material handling
b. Labour Productivity
c. Personnel Productivity
d. Strategic decision making

a. Material control and material handling

Introduction

Raw materials form a critical part of manufacturing as well as service organization. In any
organization, a considerable amount of material handling is done in one form or the other. This
movement is either done manually or through an automated process. Throughout material,
handling processes significant safety and health; challenges are presented to workers as well as
management. Therefore, manual material handing is of prime concern for health and safety
professional, and they must determine practical ways of reducing health risk to the workers.

Material Handling

Manual material handling ranges from movement of raw material, work in progress, finished
goods, rejected, scraps, packing material, etc. These materials are of different shape and sizes as
well as weight. Material handling is a systematic and scientific method of moving, packing and
storing of material in appropriate and suitable location. The main objectives of material handling
are as follows:

It should be able determine appropriate distance to be covered.

Facilitate the reduction in material damage as to improve quality.
Reducing overall manufacturing time by designing efficient material movement
Improve material flow control
Creation and encouragement of safe and hazard-free work condition
Improve productivity and efficiency
Better utilization of time and equipment

It is critical for manufacturing organization to identify importance of material handling principle

as the critical step in promoting the job improvement process. Manual material handling
significantly increases health hazard for the workers in from lower back injuries.

In the current competitive and globalized environment, it is important to control cost and reduce
time in material handling. An efficient material handling process promotes:

Design of proper facility layout

 Promotes development of method which improves and simplifies the work process
It improves overall production activity.
Efficient material handling reduces total cost of production.

Principles of Material Handling

Material handling principles are as follows:

Orientation Principle: It encourages study of all available system relationships before

moving towards preliminary planning. The study includes looking at existing methods,
problems, etc.
Planning Principle: It establishes a plan which includes basic requirements, desirable
alternates and planning for contingency.
Systems Principle: It integrates handling and storage activities, which is cost effective into
integrated system design.
Unit Load Principle: Handle product in a unit load as large as possible
Space Utilization Principle: Encourage effective utilization of all the space available
Standardization Principle: It encourages standardization of handling methods and
equipment.
Ergonomic Principle: It recognizes human capabilities and limitation by design effective
handling equipment.
Energy Principle: It considers consumption of energy during material handling.
Ecology Principle: It encourages minimum impact upon the environment during material
handling.
Mechanization Principle: It encourages mechanization of handling process wherever
possible as to encourage efficiency.
Flexibility Principle: Encourages of methods and equipment which are possible to utilize
in all types of condition.
Simplification Principle: Encourage simplification of methods and process by removing
unnecessary movements
Gravity Principle: Encourages usage of gravity principle in movement of goods.
Safety Principle: Encourages provision for safe handling equipment according to safety
rules and regulation
Computerization Principle: Encourages of computerization of material handling and
storage systems
System Flow Principle: Encourages integration of data flow with physical material flow
Layout Principle: Encourages preparation of operational sequence of all systems
available
Cost Principle: Encourages cost benefit analysis of all solutions available
 Maintenance Principle: Encourages preparation of plan for preventive maintenance and
scheduled repairs
Obsolescence Principle: Encourage preparation of equipment policy as to enjoy
appropriate economic advantage.

b. Labour Productivity

Labor productivity is a measure of economic growth within a country. Labor productivity

measures the amount of goods and services produced by one hour of labor; specifically, labor
productivity measures the amount of real gross domestic product (GDP) produced by an hour
of labor. Growth in labor productivity depends on three main factors: investment and saving
in physical capital, new technology, and human capital.

BREAKING DOWN 'Labor Productivity'

Labor productivity is defined as real economic output per labor hour. Growth in labor
productivity is measured by the change in economic output per labor hour over a defined
period of time.

For example, suppose the real GDP of an economy is $10 trillion and the aggregate
hours of labor in the country is 300 billion. The labor productivity would be $10 trillion
divided by 300 billion, equaling about $33 per labor hour. If the real GDP of the same
economy grows to $20 trillion the next year and its labor hours increases to 350 billion, the
economy's growth in labor productivity would be 72%.

The growth number is derived by dividing the new real GDP of $57 by the previous real
GDP of $33. Growth in this labor productivity number can usually be interpreted as
improved standards of living in the country.

The Importance of Measuring Labor Productivity

Labor productivity is directly linked to improved standards of living in the form of higher
consumption. As an economy's labor productivity grows, it produces more goods and
services for the same amount of relative work. This increase in output makes it possible to
consume more of the goods and services for an increasingly reasonable price.

Growth in labor productivity is directly attributable to fluctuations in physical capital, new

technology and human capital. If labor productivity is growing, it can be traced back to
growth in one of these three areas. Physical capital is the amount of money that people
have in savings and investments. New technologies are technological advancements, such
as robots or assembly lines. Human capital represents the increase in education
 and specialization of the workforce. Measuring labor productivity allows an economy to
understand these underlying trends.

Labor productivity is also an important measure of the short-term and cyclical changes in
an economy. High-level labor productivity is a combination of total output and labor hours.
Measuring labor productivity each quarter allows an economy to measure the change in its
output in relation to the change in its labor hours.

If output is increasing while labor hours remains static, it could be a sign that the economy
is advancing technologically and should continue to do so. Conversely, if labor hours
increases in relation to flat output, it may be a sign that the economy needs to invest in
education to increase its human capital.

c. Personnel Productivity

So, what about your personal productivity? Is it measured in the same way? Probably not. You
may not be particularly concerned about how many widgets you make beyond how it contributes
or detracts from your paycheck. Chances are, you see personal productivity in terms of how many
dollars you get for an hour of work. But even that, I would suggest, is short-sighted.

Let me give you an example: Dave Givens works for Cisco as an electrical engineer. Lets say he
makes $100,000 per year. This works out to about $48 per hour. So if Dave looks at his personal
productivity in terms of how much he makes for an hours worth of work, $48 per hour probably
doesnt seem too bador does it? Dave lives in Mariposa, CA. Cisco is in San Jose. San Jose is
186 miles away from Mariposa. Dave spends seven hours on the road each day. So, suddenly, he
is only making $25 per hour. Now when we consider depreciation and gas costs of $0.50 per mile
(IRS standard that includes gasoline, insurance, maintenance, depreciation, etc.), Daves wage
comes to $13.24 per hour.

Now, maybe Dave makes more than $100,000 per year and maybe he drives a Geo Metro with
500,000 miles on it, so his actual costs are lower than $0.50 per mile. On the other hand, maybe
he makes $80,000 per year and he drives a nicer, more expensive car since he spends more waking
hours in his car than he does at home.

Regardless, there is much more to the picture than simply looking at how much money he makes
per year and dividing it by the number of hours he is at the office. Oh, and just in case you think I
made up this example, Dave won $10,000 from Midas for having the longest commute back in
2006. The really really sad part is that he had been doing this since 1989. As of June 2008, he was
still doing this. (Dave needs to read our article on asking your boss to let you work from home.)

There are other aspects to your personal productivity as well, and income is only one part of the
equation. Another useful metric is to look at how many hours of your life you have to trade for
enough money to buy particular items. This can vary greatly depending on where you live. An
average house in the town where I live is around $80,000. In San Francisco, youll probably pay
12 times that. If you make $50,000 in small town rural Kansas, youd have to make $150,000 to
live comparably in San Francisco.

D. Strategic decision making

Strategic decision making,or strategic planning, involves in the process of creating an organization's
mission, values, goals and objectives. Deciding upon a particular action plan a company also involves in
altering strategies based on observed outcomes. Strategic decision making can transform companies into
large groups and industries.

Some entrepreneurs have the ability to make strategic decisions quickly, sometimes with limited
information. While taking a calculated risk, you must set a threshold to qualify your decisions. Just for
instance, a major client drops out when you are about to execute a big marketing plan, what do you do?
You agree on the minimum feasible outcome you want. The impact, strategic management and leadership
styles can have on strategic decision making can result in profitable consequences.
2. What do you mean by Operation Strategy? Explain various elements or
components of Operations Strategy.

A. Explanation of Operation Strategy

Companies and organizations making products and delivering, be it for profit or not for
profit, rely on a handful of processes to get their products manufactured properly and
delivered on time. Each of the process acts as an operation for the company. To the
company this is essential. That is why managers find operations management more
appealing. We begin this section by looking at what operations actually are. Operations
strategy is to provide an overall direction that serves the framework for carrying out all the
organizations functions.

Operations strategy is the total pattern of decisions which shape the long-term
capabilities of any type of operations and their contribution to the overall strategy.

B. Components of Operations Strategy.

Operations strategy comprises six components :

1. Positioning the production system.

2. Focus on factories and service facilities,
3. Product/Service design and development.
4. Technology selection and process development.
5. Allocation of resources to strategic alternatives.
6. Facility planning

Positioning the Production System

Positioning the production system in manufacturing , means , selecting the type of product design,
type of production processing system and the type of finished goods inventory policy for each
major product line the business plan.
Two basic types of product design are custom and standardized, Custom products are designed
according to the needs of individual customers, where as, standardized products are produce
models, either continuously or in very large batches to meet the stable demand for longer period..

Focus of Factories and Service Facilities

An important element of operations strategy is a plan for each production facility to be specialized
in some way .Specialization of a production facility allows it to excel at achieving a particular set
of objectives .According to Wickham Skinner A factory that focuses on a narrow product mix for
a particular market niche will outperform the conventional plant, which attempts a broader
mission. This is because its equipment , supporting systems and procedures can concentrate on a
limited task for one set of customers, its costs and especially its overheads are likely to be lower
than those of the conventional plant .The key point is that, it is generally desirable for factories
and service facilities to be specialized in some way , so that , they will not be vulnerable to smaller
or more specialized competitors , that can provide customers with a better set of lower costs , faster
product or service delivery, on-time delivery, high product and service quality , and flexibility .

Product/Service Design and Development

After the product is designed and developed it goes through various stages such as introduction,
growth, maturity and decline .During the development of new products such activities like
operations, marketing, and engineering functions are considered .
The product design has a tremendous impact on product quality, production cost, numbers of
suppliers and levels of inventories.

Technology Selection and Process Development

An essential part of operations strategy is the determination of how products will be produced.
This involves deciding and planning every detail of production processes and facilities. Combining
high-technology equipments like robots, automated warehouse, with conventional equipments and
devising overall production schemes are the challenges faced by operations manager today.

Allocation of Resources to Strategic Alternatives

Most companies have limited resources available for the production. Cash and Capital funds,
capacity, workers, engineering talent, machines, materials, and other resources are available in
varying degrees to each firm .These resources must be allocated in ways that maximize the
achievement of the objectives of operations.
 Facility Planning , Capacity, Location and Layout

The long range capacity to produce the products /services for a firm is a part of setting operations
strategy .Capital is required for production capacity.The decisions involved
Regarding the acquisition of land and and production equipments, specialized production
technologies to be develop, and location of new factories have long lasting effects and are subject
to heavy risk.

3 Describe following dimensions of quality with appropriate examples.

a. Quality of design
b. Conformance to design
c. Utilisation conditions
d. After sales service

a. Quality of design.
Quality of design is the quality which the producer or supplier is intending to offer to
the customer. When the producer is making the quality of design of the product, he
should take into consideration the customer's requirements in order to satisfy them
with fitness for use of the product.

If the quality of design does not reflect the customer's requirements, the product which
the producer offers him would not probably satisfy the customer, even if it does
sufficiently conform to the design. Quality of design is usually indicated by
completeness and correctness of specifications, drawings, catalogues, etc. and is
measured with fitness for use.
b. Conformance to design
Conformance quality is the degree to which a good or service meets certain design
standards determined by the producer. In other words, its a measure of how close
products and services come to meeting planned criteria once they are produced or
delivered.

Producers of goods and services develop certain benchmarks for products based on
what they think are the needs of their customers. These benchmarks serve as
expectations against which subsequent goods and services will be compared once they
are produced. If a product closely matches target specifications, it is said to have
excellent conformance quality. On the other hand, if the product deviates greatly from
the intended design, that product is said to have poor conformance quality. Since it is
difficult to match target values exactly, producers allow for tolerances. These
 tolerances express how much a product or service can deviate from the target while still
having what is considered to be an acceptable conformance quality.
Lets look at an example.

Example

Jim is the owner of a shuttle service in Orlando. Part of his business involves picking
up tourists at the airport and driving them to their intended destinations. In order to
maximize the number of pickups, Jim wants to ensure that his shuttles are available at
the airport during certain peak time windows. Jim gives drivers a daily schedule which
tells them what time they should arrive at the airport. Since unexpected things can
happen on the road, Jim allows for a tolerance of 15 minutes.

Today, a peak time is 12:35PM. Due to a lunch rush, one of Jims drivers doesnt arrive
at the airport until 12:47PM. How should this drivers conformance quality be rated?
Although the driver missed the target time, he was off by an acceptable amount of time.
Therefore, his conformance quality is still considered to be good.

D. After sales service

After sales service refers to various processes which make sure customers are satisfied
with the products and services of the organization.

The needs and demands of the customers must be fulfilled for them to spread a positive word
of mouth. In the current scenario, positive word of mouth plays an important role in promoting
brands and products.

After sales service makes sure products and services meet or surpass the expectations of the
customers.

After sales service includes various activities to find out whether the customer is happy with
the products or not? After sales service is a crucial aspect of sales management and must not
be ignored.

4. Discuss the importance of Plant Location. Point out various factors Influencing Plant
Location.

a. Importance of plant Location

Location of an industry is an important management decision. It is a two-step decision: first, choice
of general area or region and second, the choice of site within the area selected. Location decision
is based on the organisations long-term strategies such as technological, marketing, resource
availability and financial strategies.

The objective of plant location decision-making is to minimise the sum of all costs affected by
location.

b. Factors Influencing Plant Location

Plant location is important because of the following:

(i) Location influences plant layout facilities needed.

(ii) Location influences capital investment and operating costs.

Location decisions are strategic, long-term and non-repetitive in nature. Without sound and careful
location planning in the beginning itself, the new facilities may create continuous operating
problems in future. Location decision also affects the efficiency, effectiveness, productivity and
profitability.

The location decision should be taken very carefully, as any mistake may cause poor location,
which could be a constant source of higher cost, higher investment, difficult marketing and
transportation, dissatisfied and frustrated employees and consumers, frequent interruptions of
production, abnormal wastages, delays and substandard quality etc.

Therefore, it should be based upon a careful consideration of all factors that are essentially needed
in efficient running of a particular industry. The necessary factors in the selection of plant location
vary among industries and with changing technical and economical conditions.

Site selection is not an easy problem because if the selection is not proper then all money spent on
factory building, machinery and their installation etc., will go as waste and the owner has to suffer
a great loss. Therefore, while selecting a site, owner must consider technical, commercial, financial
aspects which may provide maximum advantages.

It is sometimes possible that all the requirements and features of ideal site may not be available at
one particular location but then it will be advantageous to find out suitable site with combinations
of all essential requirements of the particular industry to be established as explained in following
paras.
 Locational Economics:
The selection of the location for an industrial plant is a long time commitment. A new enterprise
may be suffered throughout its life due to unfavourable location. Once a plant has been built, the
expense and disruption of activities necessary to move it to a more favourable location is quite
impracticable. Therefore, the search for plant site justifies very careful consideration.

For evaluation of economical location following factors should be considered:

ADVERTISEMENTS:

1. Raw material procurement.

2. Proximity of market.s

3. Availability of labour, their training and compensation.

4. Availability of power.

5. Availability of finance.

6. Miscellaneous considerations like donations, subsidies, taxes and non-interference by

government or local bodies, war and political effects and other facilities or bottle necks.

5. Explain the risk management and its various components.

Definition of risk management and what it entails

Risk management is the identification, assessment and prioritization of risks and the subsequent
coordinated and economical application of resources to minimize, monitor and control the
probability and impact of losses. Effective risk management activities create value and should be
an integral part of the decision-making process. How does risk management impact your bottom
line?
Opportunity for better pricing on insurance premiums
Saves out-of-pocket costs like deductibles
Ensures a safe and stable environment for employees, volunteers and customers
Helps you understand and be prepared for risks before losses occur
Strategies for addressing an identified risk typically include two of the following:
6. Why redesign of layouts may be necessary?

Reasons why redesigning of existing layout is required

The most common reasons for redesign of layouts include:

a. Inefficient operations.
b. Accidents or safety hazards.
c. Changes in the design of products or services.
d. Introduction of new products or services.
e. Changes in the volume of output or mix of outputs.
f. Changes in methods or equipment.
g. Changes in environmental or other legal requirements.
h. Morale problems

Listing of any five differences

Product Layout in Manufacturing
In this kind of layout the workstations are segmented into groups which are based on the
products being manufactured. When product layout is implemented semi-finished
products can be transferred from one workstation to another quickly in the production
line. This kind of layout is best suited for small business organizations handling lower
 volume of products. When the number of products being manufactured increases it is
necessary to implement process layout into action.
Process Layout in Manufacturing
In this kind of layout similar workstations are grouped together which performs the same
operation without considering which kind of products being manufactured. Products are
manufactured in bulk which are transferred to the next section as semi-finished goods.
Better coordination and supervision at the workstation is possible with process layout in
manufacturing. In process layout individual process work more efficiently leading to
higher profits.