Unit 5 Operations - Chapter 2 Flashcards
What is a task
A unit of work, activity performed by one person
What is a process
Comprises a group of tasks that as a whole give specific value to the product or delivery method
As a whole the outcome adds to the final value offered to the customer
What are the 2key questions when designing a process
VOLUME
The volume that needs to be produced- how much the process need to produce
This can ether be a single product/item or a standard product…
Standardized or mass produced
VARIETY
To what extent are the products alike to one another or differ
Either each unit is exactly identical to one a other (mass produced gummi beard, or tablets),
There could be a big difference between the outputs- highly customized product or service…
What are the 5 process types
Project- produce one finished product at a time to 1 customer according to customer requirements. Takes a long time to complete, involve large capital,Labour investments
E.g, construction of a bridge or aeroplanes
High risk of failure, complex & uncertain, high constant time over runs
Jobbing - outputs vary but volume is high. Process many jobs to specific customer req. work is intermittent
E.g custom print jobs, designing & printing letterheads for a company
Batch - volume of outputs is high, product is almost identical
Many different outputs are processed at the same time in groups
E.g: bakery, not usually produced for a specific customer
Mass - large volume of identical products for a mass market
E.g, production of tablets
Continuous - highly automated, runs only with intermittent stops, outputs difficult to identify or separate
What are the implications for operating off the diagonal
Top - over investment in technology for the volume
Right - too standardized for volume level
Bottom - under investment in technology for the volume
Left - too customized for the volume
When’s it on to operate off the diagonal
Innovative companies where thy service niche markets, where different process types is more appropriate for the dominant market
E.g some car companies operate in sustainable niche low volume /low variety car assembly
Advances in technology & new ways of thinking about mass manufacturing help to move off the diagonal…
E.g dell produce build to order laptops
Mass production by offering wide range of factory standard options
What are the five service process types
Professional services - highly trained specialist, service tailor d to each client, very labour intensive
Service shop - trained specialist, less customization, less labour intense, e,g university
Mass service - offer same service to every customer, less interaction with service provider
Service factory - very little customization, very little,interaction with service provider
What should be considered when thinking about what service process to use
Reduce risk associated with a new product whilst ensuring earliest possible launch
Trade off between risk reduction and cost of delay. The greater the delay, the more likely a competitor will launch their own product, gaining competitive advantage of being first to market
How have Japanese companies gained competitive advantage in the way they launch products in a shortened time to market
They use multi functional teams to develop and launch new products
What are the problems associated with the way western companies sequentially research, design and develop products
Each department concentrates on its priorities without regard for the legitimate concerns of others
Leads to
- products being designed without regard to how they will be manufactured
- technological overkill,designer seek perfection without looking at costs or the performance required in the market place
- one department not starting work until the other finishes , lengthening development times
- time lost seeking solutions to problems originating from earlier stages, requiring project to be handed back …leads to increased costs and delays…finger pointing and blame
What is layout
Describes arrangement of physical facilities for producing goods & services
What is flow
Describes how materials,info or customers move through operations system
What is fixed position layout
Operations takes place in 1 place. All resources located in this 1 place…staff & equipment.
Associated with projects
What are the pros and cons of fixed layout
Pros: very flexible,high variety of tasks for staff, little disturbance for product/customers
Cons: can result in high unit costs, difficult to schedule, lots of movement of staff & equipment
E.g: construction projects, oil tankers/ aeroplanes
Entertainment, catering : weddings, music festivals
What is process layout
Equipment/ operates arranged around common processes
Work travels between them
What are the pros and cons of process layout
Pros: varied more interesting work for operators
Not easily disrupted
Helps focus what goes on within different activity areas
Cons: hard to control
Low utilization & high work in progress ( leads to high material stock costs in manufacturing/ unhappy customers in services
Distance that products/ customers have to travel within transformation process may be very long compared with product focus
E.g: school where students travel between classrooms, the library and other facilities
Describe cell layout
Resources ( equipment & operators) for each product grouped together in cells
Combines both process and product layouts
Group products or customers with similar processing requirements, identifying their flow patterns and grouping activities into cells
What are the pros and cons of cell layout
Pros: good trade off between cost & flexibility
Can be used to achieve high throughput
Provide more interesting work for operators
Cons:costly to initiate
Need higher investment in equipment
Minimal inventory levels within operations
High stocks of cells raw materials & finished goods if inout & output are not coordinated with other operations
E.g automated factories and come cafeterias
What is product layout
Equipment and operators organized in order of the stage of the process …product travels between them.
