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SELECTION OF PRODUCTION PROCESSES AND SYSTEMS

Devaki Nadkarni

PRODUCTION SYSTEM

A system whose function is to convert set of input into set of desired output.

Production Systems: The Transformation Process


Transformation Process (components)

Inputs (customers and/or materials)

Outputs (goods and services)

Men M/c Materials Methods Money


1-5

FACTORS TO BE CONSIDERED

Type a product. Nature of demand. Variety Type of transformation process

TYPES OF PRODUCTION PROCESSES


A] Manufacturing Operations - Forming Processes It includes casting, forging, stamping, embossing, spinning etc. - Machining Processes Involves metal removal by turning, drilling, milling, grinding, shaping, boring etc. - Assembly Processes Welding, brazing, soldering, riveting

Sheet Metal Parts

Machined Parts

Casting

Forging

Machines

Welding process

Painting

TYPES OF PRODUCTION PROCESSES (Contd.)


B] Service Operations - Providing tangible goods Mail service, library service, wholesale and retail distribution. - Intangible services Health care, hair dressing, travel service, legal advice and marriage consultancy.

PROCESS DESIGN

Process design means the complete delineation and description of specific steps in the production process and the linkages among the steps that will enable the production system to produce products of the desired quality, in the required quantity, at the time, customers want them and at the budgeted cost.

FACTORS AFFECTING PROCESS DESIGN

Nature of Demand Degree of vertical integration Flexibility Degree of automation Quality level and degree of customer contact

Nature of Product

The operations management has to design the production systems to produce products/ services of the kind the customers want, when they want them and at a cost that allows the firm to be profitable. Demand Forecast seasonality of demand, growth trends and other patterns of demand to determine the future production capacity.

Degree of Vertical Integration


Vertical Integration is the amount of production and distribution chain, from suppliers of raw materials and components to the delivery of finished products/services to the customers, that is brought under ownership of a company. Two types of vertical integration are:Forward integration which means expanding ownership of production & distribution chain forward towards market. Backward integration which means expanding ownership of the production & distribution chain backward towards the sources of supply.

a)

b)

Flexibility
Ability to respond fast to the customers needs is known as flexibility. Two forms of flexibility are product/service flexibility & volume flexibility. Ability of the production system to change quickly from production of one product/service to another is known as product/service flexibility. Ability to quickly increase or reduce the volume of products/services produced is known as volume flexibility.

Three aspects of Flexibility: (1) How quickly a process can convert from one product to another (2) Accommodate large volume (Service operations like restaurant, retail stores, health clinic etc.) at the time of need. (3) Produce more than one product simultaneously (Dell computer assembly process build customized computer )

Degree of automation
The degree of automation to be adopted and integrated into the production system is a key issue in process design, because of the high expenses involved in automation and also the difficulty involved in integrating automation into existing operations.

Service Quality & Degree of Customer Contact

The choice of design of production process affects the level of product quality to a considerable extent. The extent to which customers get involved in the production system has important implications for the design of production processes.

What does product and service design do?


a) Translate customer wants & needs into product & service requirements b) Refine existing products & services c) Develop new products d) Formulate quality goals e) Formulate cost targets f) Construct & test prototypes g) Document specifications

Process Selection
There are hundreds of processes involved in different organizations

Choice of process provides a source of competitive advantage Therefore, processes vary among organisations
Common to all is the flow of product or the sequence of tasks that must be performed

Process Selection Factors


Product volume (more numbers but less variety) Product variety (More variety but less number) Customer order type

made to stock (products are made in advance of customer order) made to order (Product is made on receiving a customer order)

Physical characteristics of products and the technology requirement

Process Selection
Variety
How much Batch Job Shop Repetitive

Flexibility
What degree

Volume
Expected output

Continuous

Process Types
Job shop
Small scale

Batch
Moderate volume

Repetitive/assembly line
High volumes of standardized goods or services

Continuous
Very high volumes of non-discrete goods

Job-Shop Process

A job shop is a functional organization whose departments or work centers are organized around particular processes that consists of specific types of equipment or operations. Eg. Hospital (blood test, X-Ray, etc.) A variety of products are worked in the same workstations or machines. One machine completes partly and the product moves to the other machines for subsequent processing. The product has to be moved from one machine to another until it is completed.

Job-Shop Process (Contd.)


So facility is divided into work centers that process each stage of the product. Machines arranged so that similar types of processes are performed in the same location. - flexible enough to take up various jobs - can produce small quantities of a wide variety of products. Processes that produce products in small lot sizes -. Eg. Blood Testing

Advantages : Job-shop Process

Production flexibility: the processing requirements, the no. of machines required and, the order they are to be processed in, etc. are possible. Low initial costs for general purpose machinery Greater worker satisfaction

Disadvantages : Job-shop Process


Less efficiency (general purpose m/cs are less efficient in processing) Skilled labor required for set-up and operation of these machines Less efficient material handling Higher work-in-process inventory Larger space requirements for in-process inventory Quality conformance harder to achieve Complex scheduling & coordination (long throughput time) Harder to assign costs & measure profitability of individual products

Batch Production

Batch processes are used to produce small quantities of products in groups or batches based on customer order or specification. A batch process produces the same product again and again - repetitive or discrete flow process.

Eg. McDonald produces hamburger in batches University accepts students in batches Shoes manufactured in batches for same size/design.

Advantages: Batch Production


(i) Takes advantage of common flow of materials

and ability to use special equipment and jobs at each work station. It is efficient to process a large batch at one stage and send the entire batch for processing - next stage.
(ii) Flexibility to produce variety of products in different volumes

(iii) It accommodates variability in processing time which cannot be synchronized by other processes.

Disadvantages: Batch Production


(i) The overall process is less efficient as it accommodates variety of tasks at a number of work stations - same as job shop. (ii) More waiting time for in-process inventory because of variations in processing time, batch size and machine set-up times. Larger space requirements for in-process inventory Complex scheduling & coordination (long throughput times)

(iii) (iv)

Assembly line Processing

Assembly lines are designed to produce a large volume of a standardized product for mass production.

Products are produced in high volume with little or no customization (variety).


Example: car assembly, photocopying (batch or assembly-line??)

Assembly Line

Lotus Cars assembly line as of 2008

1913 Ford Model T assembly line

Continuous Process
Operates continually to produce a very high volume of a fully standardized product.

The process is designed for a particular product.


These plants are highly capital intensive and automated. Eg. petroleum refinery, water treatment plant, gas refinery

Advantages: Assembly Line and Continuous Process

(i) Takes care of high volume of a standardized product: equipment can be specialized to perform a narrow range of functions very efficiently.
(ii) Jobs can be specialized: workers can benefit from repetition of narrow range of work. Less skilled and lower wage workers can be used (iii) Material handling can be improved by the use of conveyor belts, gravity slides, robots, etc.

Advantages: Assembly Line and Continuous Process (Contd.)


(iv) Less work-in-process between work stations as the flow is very smooth (v) Space utilization is very effective as there is no need to store Inventory (vi) Quality conformance is easier because of narrow range of Products therefore, easier to achieve quality (vii) Scheduling and coordination is easy, cost control is easy.

Disadvantages: Assembly Line and Continuous Process

Inflexible systems - only products that require same processing and sequencing Initial costs are high (because of the specialized equipment used) Work can be tedious & boring (no job rotation and cross training) System is vulnerable to breakdowns causing stoppage of work.

Types of Process Strategies


Process strategies that follow a continuum Within a given facility, several strategies may be used. These strategies are often classified as: RepetitiveProcess-Focused
Focused
Assembly line
Production line Other names Intermittent process Line flow production Continuous production

Product-Focused

Job shop

Continuum

Process-Focused Shop Custom Woodworking


Cutting Planing Shaping Assembly Sanding Finishing
1 2 2 3 3 4 5 6 7

Job A Job B 1

Drilling Turning

Process-Focused Strategy Examples

Bank

Hospital Machine Shop


.

Repetitive-Focused Strategy - Examples


Clothes Dryer
McDonalds
over 95 billion served

Fast Food

Truck

Product-Focused Strategy
Raw Material
2

Components
4

Assemblies
1 3 5 7

Fin. Goods

Raw Material

Components

Sub assem. Purchased


6

1 Product/Material Flow

Production Operation

Components, Sub assemblies

Product-Focused Examples Soft Drinks


(Continuous, then Discrete)

Paper (Continuous)

Mass Corp. 1995 Corel Flu Shots (Discrete)

Process Continuum
Process Focused (intermittent process)
Repetitive Focus (assembly line)

Product Focused (continuous process)

Continuum
High variety, low volume Modular Low utilization (5% - 25%) Flexible equipment General-purpose equipment Low variety, high volume High utilization (70% - 90%) Specialized equipment

Fit of Process, Volume, and Variety


Low-Volume (Intermittent) Repetitive Process (Modular) High-Volume (Continuous)

High Variety One or few units per run, high variety (allows customization) Changes in modules Modest runs, standardized modules Changes in attributes (such as grade, quality, size, thickness, etc.) Long runs only

Process focus projects, job shops,(machine, print, carpentry) Standard Register Repetitive (automobiles)
Poor strategy (Variable costs are high)

Mass Customization (difficult to achieve, but huge rewards) Dell Computer Co.

Product focus (commercial baked goods, steel, glass)

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