Lakhasly

.(Press to learn more) 3.3. The Continuum of Process Types Dividing processes into two fundamental categories of operations is helpful in our understanding of their general characteristics. To be more detailed, we can further divide each category according to product volume and degree of product standardization, as follows. Intermittent operations can be divided into project processes and batch processes. Repetitive operations can be divided into line processes and continuous processes. Figure 3.3 shows a continuum of process types. Next we look at what makes these processes different from each other ? Project processes: are used to make one-of-a-kind products exactly to customer specifications. These processes are used when there is high customization and low product volume, because each product is different. Examples can be seen in construction, shipbuilding, medical procedures, custom tailoring, and interior design. With project processes the customer is usually involved in deciding on the design of the product. ? Batch processes: are used to produce small quantities of products in groups or batches based on customer orders or product specifications. They are also known as job shops. The volumes of each product produced are still small, and there can still be a high degree of customization. Examples can be seen in bakeries, education, and printing shops. The classes you are taking at the university use a batch process. ? Line processes: are designed to produce a large volume of a standardized product for mass production. They are also known as flow shops, flow lines, or assembly lines. With line processes the product that is produced is made in high volume with little or no customization. Think of a typical assembly line that produces everything from cars, computers, television sets, shoes, candy bars, even food items. ? Continuous processes: operate continually to produce a very high volume of a fully standardized product. Examples include oil refineries, water treatment plants, and certain paint facilities. The products produced by continuous processes are usually in continual rather than discrete units, such as liquid or gas. They usually have a single input and a limited number of outputs. Also, these facilities are usually highly capital intensive and automated. Note that both project and batch processes have low product volumes and offer customization. The difference is in the volume and degree of customization. Project processes are more extreme cases of intermittent operations compared to batch processes. Also, note that both line and continuous processes primarily produce large volumes of standardized products. Again, the difference is in the volume and degree of standardization. Continuous processes are more extreme cases of high volume and product standardization than are line processes. The above figure positions these four process types along the diagonal to show the best process strategies relative to product volume and product customization. Companies whose process strategies do not fall along this diagonal may not have made the best process decisions. Bear in mind, however, that not all companies fit into only one of these categories: a company may use both batch and project processing to good advantage. For example, a bakery that produces breads, cakes, and pastries in batches may also bake and decorate cakes to order. COMMON DRIVERS OF PROCESS DESIGN Different process designs will target different areas of business activity, according to organizational focus and requirements. However, most process design projects are driven by a combination of these common requirements: o The need to increase efficiency: An inefficient business process leads to poor communication, duplication of effort, functional barriers, delays, unnecessary costs (money, materials and manpower) and, ultimately, an output that either partially or wholly fails to achieve its designated purpose.An example is "mass-production" operations, which usually have much invested in their facilities and equipment to provide a high degree of product consistency. Often these facilities rely on automation and technology to improve efficiency and increase output rather than on labor skill. The volume produced is usually based on a forecast of future demands rather than on direct customer orders. The most common differences between intermittent and repetitive operations relate to two dimensions: (1) the amount of product volume produced, and (2) the degree of product standardization. Product volume can range from making a unique product one at a time to producing a large number of products at the same time. Product standardization refers to "a lack of variety in a particular product".o The need to evaluate business practice as part of an organizational development project: For example, business process design might be required in preparation for the implementation of enterprise technology such as ERP modules for supply chain management or CRM, or prior to a proposed merger, acquisition or internal restructuring project.When the product concept has been finalized, the role of process management then is to develop cost estimates, define process architecture, conduct process simulation and validate suppliers.At the time the product development teams are developing the prototype, the process management teams test and try out tooling and equipment; help build second phase -an assembly line is a prototypes-; install equipment and specify process procedures. A business process is "a set of logically related business activities that combine to deliver something of value (e.g. products, goods, services or information) to a customer". While, Process design refers to "the activity of determining the workflow, equipment needs, and implementation requirements for a particular process".Work centers that interact frequently, with movement of material or people, should be located close together, whereas those that have little interaction can be spatially separated.INTRODUCTION At the product conception stage, manufacturing proposes investigates processes and concepts.Concurrently with the detailed product design, process management is involved in the designing of the process, designing and developing tooling and participating in building full-scale prototype.This would minimize the time between customers requesting a product or service and them receiving it. Similarly, if an operation competed on low price, cost-related objectives would be likely to dominate its process design.Some kind of logic should link what the operation as a whole is attempting to achieve, and the performance objectives of its individual processes as illustrated in Table 3.1.This chapter introduces how new processes are designed, and how existing processes are redesigned in response to changing market needs and/or changing operational capabilities.o The need to manage human resources: Business process design can help to identify current and future HR competence requirements, and is often an integral part of developing a human resource strategy.PROCEDURES FOR PROCESS DESIGN Process design determines the best relative locations of functional work centers.The operations manager's role is vitally important in integrating all the contributors into the design/redesign process.THE INTERRELATION BETWEEN PROCESS DESIGN AND PRODUCT/SERVICE DESIGN Often scholars will treat the design of services and products, on the one hand, and the design of the processes which make them, on the other, as though they were separate activities.For example, if an operation competed primarily on its ability to respond quickly to customer requests, its processes would need to be designed to give fast throughput times.Management coordination: Supervision and communication should be assisted by the location of staff and communication devices.2. 3.1).5.6.???????7.

. INTRODUCTION
At the product conception stage, manufacturing proposes investigates
processes and concepts. When the product concept has been finalized,
the role of process management then is to develop cost estimates, define
process architecture, conduct process simulation and validate suppliers.
Concurrently with the detailed product design, process management is
involved in the designing of the process, designing and developing tooling
and participating in building full-scale prototype.
At the time the product development teams are developing the prototype,
the process management teams test and try out tooling and equipment;
help build second phase -an assembly line is a prototypes-; install
equipment and specify process procedures. This is followed by building
pilot units in commercial process; refining process based on pilot
experience, training personnel’s and verifying supply channels. Finally at
the release of product, process management has to ramp up plan to
volume targets, meet targets for quality, revenue and cost.
Operations managers are responsible for the design and redesign of
processes. The operations manager’s role is vitally important in
integrating all the contributors into the design/redesign process.
A business process is “a set of logically related business activities that
combine to deliver something of value (e.g. products, goods, services or
information) to a customer”. While, Process design refers to “the activity
of determining the workflow, equipment needs, and implementation
requirements for a particular process”.
This chapter introduces how new processes are designed, and how
existing processes are redesigned in response to changing market needs
and/or changing operational capabilities.
2. THE INTERRELATION BETWEEN PROCESS
DESIGN AND PRODUCT/SERVICE DESIGN
Often scholars will treat the design of services and products, on the one
hand, and the design of the processes which make them, on the other, as
though they were separate activities. Yet they are clearly interrelated. It
would be foolish to commit to the detailed design of any product or
service without some consideration of how it is to be produced. Small
changes in the design of products and services can have profound
implications for the way the operation eventually has to produce them.
Similarly, the design of a process can constrain the freedom of product
and service designers to operate as they would wish (Fig. 3.1). (Press to
learn more)
This holds good whether the operation is producing products or services.
However, the overlap
between the two design activities is generally greater in operations which
produce services. Because many services involve the customer in being
part of the transformation process, the service, as far as the customer
sees it, cannot be separated from the process to which the customer is
subjected. Overlapping product and process design has implications for
the organization of the design activity. Certainly, when product designers
also have to make or use the things which they design, it can concentrate
their minds on what is important. For example, in the early days of flight,
the engineers who designed the aircraft were also the test pilots who took
them out on their first flight. For this reason, if no other, safety was a
significant objective in the design activity.
3. TYPES OF PROCESSES
When you look at different types of companies, ranging from a small
coffee shop to IBM, it may seem like there are hundreds of different types
of processes. Some locations are small, like your local Starbucks, and
some are very large, like a Ford Motor Company plant. Some produce
standardized “off-the-shelf” products, like Pepperidge Farm’s frozen
chocolate cake, and some work with customers to customize their
product, like cakes made to order by a gourmet bakery. Though there
seem to be large differences between the processes of companies, many
have certain processing characteristics in common.
All processes can be grouped into two broad categories: intermittent
operations and repetitive operations. These two categories differ in
almost every way. Once we understand these differences, we can easily
identify organizations based on the category of process they use.
3.1. Intermittent Operations
Intermittent operations are used to produce a variety of products with
different processing requirements in lower volumes. Examples are an
auto body shop, a tool shop, or a healthcare facility. Because different
products have different processing needs, there is no standard route that
all products take through the facility. Instead, resources are grouped by
function and the product is routed to each resource as needed. Think
about a healthcare facility. Each patient, “the product,” is routed to
different departments as needed. One patient may need to get an X-ray, go
to the lab for blood work, and then go to the examining room. Another
patient may need to go to the examining room and then to physical
therapy.
To be able to produce products with different processing requirements,
intermittent operations tend to be labor intensive rather than capital
intensive. Workers need to be able to perform different tasks, depending
on the processing needs of the products produced. Often we see skilled
and semiskilled workers in this environment, with a fair amount of worker
discretion in performing their jobs. Workers need to be flexible and able to
perform different tasks as needed for the different products.
Equipment in this type of environment is more general-purpose to satisfy
different processing requirements. Automation tends to be less common
because automation is typically product-specific. Given that many
products are being produced with different processing requirements, it is
usually not cost efficient to invest in automation for only one product
type. Finally, the volume of goods produced is directly tied to the number
of customer orders.
3.2. Repetitive Operations
Repetitive operations are used to produce one or a few standardized
products in high volume. Examples are a typical assembly line, cafeteria,
or automatic car wash. Resources are organized in a line flow to
efficiently accommodate production of the product. Note that in this
environment it is possible to arrange resources in a line because there is
only one type of product. This is directly the opposite of what we find with
intermittent operations.
To efficiently produce a large volume of one type of product, these
operations tend to be capital intensive rather than labor intensive. An
example is “mass-production” operations, which usually have much
invested in their facilities and equipment to provide a high degree of
product consistency. Often these facilities rely on automation and
technology to improve efficiency and increase output rather than on labor
skill. The volume produced is usually based on a forecast of future
demands rather than on direct customer orders. The most common
differences between intermittent and repetitive operations relate to two
dimensions: (1) the amount of product volume produced, and (2) the
degree of product standardization. Product volume can range from
making a unique product one at a time to producing a large number of
products at the same time.
Product standardization refers to “a lack of variety in a particular
product”. Examples of standardized products are white undershirts,
calculators, toasters, and television sets. The type of operation used,
including equipment and labor, is quite different if a company produces
oneproduct at a time to customer specifications instead of mass
production of one standardized product. Specific differences between
intermittent and repetitive operations are shown in figure 3.2. (Press to
learn more)
3.3. The Continuum of Process Types
Dividing processes into two fundamental categories of operations is
helpful in our understanding of their general characteristics. To be more
detailed, we can further divide each category according to product
volume and degree of product standardization, as follows. Intermittent
operations can be divided into project processes and batch processes.
Repetitive operations can be divided into line processes and continuous
processes.
Figure 3.3 shows a continuum of process types. Next we look at what
makes these processes different from each other
● Project processes: are used to make one-of-a-kind products exactly to
customer specifications. These processes are used when there is high
customization and low product volume, because each product is
different. Examples can be seen in construction, shipbuilding, medical
procedures, custom tailoring, and interior design. With project processes
the customer is usually involved in deciding on the design of the product.
● Batch processes: are used to produce small quantities of products in
groups or batches based on customer orders or product specifications.
They are also known as job shops. The volumes of each product produced
are still small, and there can still be a high degree of customization.
Examples can be seen in bakeries, education, and printing shops. The
classes you are taking at the university use a batch process.
● Line processes: are designed to produce a large volume of a
standardized product for mass production. They are also known as flow
shops, flow lines, or assembly lines. With line processes the product that
is produced is made in high volume with little or no customization. Think
of a typical assembly line that produces everything from cars, computers,
television sets, shoes, candy bars, even food items.
● Continuous processes: operate continually to produce a very high
volume of a fully standardized product. Examples include oil refineries,
water treatment plants, and certain paint facilities. The products
produced by continuous processes are usually in continual rather than
discrete units, such as liquid or gas. They usually have a single input and a
limited number of outputs. Also, these facilities are usually highly capital
intensive and automated.
Note that both project and batch processes have low product volumes
and offer customization. The difference is in the volume and degree of
customization. Project processes are more extreme cases of intermittent
operations compared to batch processes. Also, note that both line and
continuous processes primarily produce large volumes of standardized
products. Again, the difference is in the volume and degree of
standardization. Continuous processes are more extreme cases of high
volume and product standardization than are line processes. The above
figure positions these four process types along the diagonal to show the
best process strategies relative to product volume and product
customization.
Companies whose process strategies do not fall along this diagonal may
not have made the best process decisions. Bear in mind, however, that
not all companies fit into only one of these categories: a company may
use both batch and project processing to good advantage. For example, a
bakery that produces breads, cakes, and pastries in batches may also
bake and decorate cakes to order. (Press to learn more)
4. COMMON DRIVERS OF PROCESS DESIGN
Different process designs will target different areas of business activity,
according to organizational focus and requirements. However, most
process design projects are driven by a combination of these common
requirements:
• The need to increase efficiency:
An inefficient business process leads to poor communication, duplication
of effort, functional barriers, delays, unnecessary costs (money, materials
and manpower) and, ultimately, an output that either partially or wholly
fails to achieve its designated purpose.
• The need to evaluate business practice as part of an organizational
development project:
For example, business process design might be required in preparation
for the implementation of enterprise technology such as ERP modules for
supply chain management or CRM, or prior to a proposed merger,
acquisition or internal restructuring project.
• The need to evaluate potential new business ventures (e.g. joint
ventures or alliances) or business offerings.
• The need to manage the company’s knowledge resources:
Knowledge management and sharing can be difficult without clear
processes to capture and contain both what is already known, and the
new knowledge and skills that are acquired on a daily basis.
• The need to manage human resources:
Business process design can help to identify current and future HR
competence requirements, and is often an integral part of developing a
human resource strategy.
5. PROCESS DESIGN OBJECTIVES
The whole point of process design is to make sure that the performance of
the process is appropriate for whatever it is trying to achieve. For
example, if an operation competed primarily on its ability to respond
quickly to customer requests, its processes would need to be designed to
give fast throughput times. This would minimize the time between
customers requesting a product or service and them receiving it.
Similarly, if an operation competed on low price, cost-related objectives
would be likely to dominate its process design.
Some kind of logic should link what the operation as a whole is attempting
to achieve, and the
performance objectives of its individual processes as illustrated in Table
3.1.
6. IMPORTANT CONSIDERATIONS WHEN
PROCESS DESIGN
There are some general considerations should be taken into account
when designing the process, which are:
● Inherent safety: All processes which might constitute a danger to either
staff or customers should not be accessible to the unauthorized.
● Length of flow: The flow of materials, information or customers should
be appropriate for the operation. This usually means minimizing the
distance travelled by transformed resources. However, this is not always
the case (in a supermarket, for example).
● Clarity of flow: All flow of materials and customers should be well
signposted, clear and evident to staff and customers alike.
● Staff conditions: Staff should be located away from noisy or unpleasant
parts of the operation.
● Management coordination: Supervision and communication should be
assisted by the location of staff and communication devices.
● Accessibility: All machines and facilities should be accessible for
proper cleaning and maintenance.
● Use of space: All layouts should use space appropriately. This usually
means minimizing the space used, but sometimes can mean achieving an
impression of spacious luxury, as in the entrance lobby of a high-class
hotel.
● Long-term flexibility: Layouts need to be changed periodically. A good
layout will have been devised with the possible future needs of the
operation in mind.
7. PROCEDURES FOR PROCESS DESIGN
Process design determines the best relative locations of functional work
centers. Work centers that interact frequently, with movement of material
or people, should be located close together, whereas those that have little
interaction can be spatially separated. One approach of designing an
efficient functional layout involves the following steps:

1. List and describe each functional work center;


2. Obtain a drawing and description of the facility being designed;


3. Identify and estimate the amount of material and personnel flow among
   work centers;


4. Use structured analytical methods to obtain a good general layout; and


5. Evaluate and modify the layout, incorporating details such as machine
   orientation, storage area location, and equipment access.