Learning Objectives
• Distinguish among various types of production and manufacturing processes.
• Describe product innovation and development.• Appreciate the importance of production planning
and control.• Analyze the factors influencing plant location.• Distinguish between product layout and process
layout.• Demonstrate a knowledge of materials
management.• Describe the characteristics of mass production.
Synthetic process
• Process by which two or more materials are combined together to create a new substance or finished goods.
Extractive process
• A primitive process by which a certain useful substance is taken from a natural resource.
Fabricating process
• Process by which the form of a material is altered or changed into another useful substance.
Assembling process
• Process by which a number of parts are put together to produce a larger and more complex product.
Continuous process
• Manufacturing process characterized by long production runs, in which the products are produced over a period of days or months in a continuous product flow.
Intermittent process
• Manufacturing process characterized by short production runs and frequent shut downs for retooling in order to produce different products.
Comparison between continuous process and intermittent process
Continuous process Intermittent process
Product flow continuous interrupted
Machines specialized general purpose
Output made for inventory made for orders
Nature of products highly standardized non-standardized
Standard production process
• Manufacturing process by which products are uniformly made according to generally accepted specifications.
Custom production process
• Manufacturing process by which products are made to customers’ specifications and designs.
Classification of production process
Analyticor
Synthetic
Extractiveor
Fabricatingor
Chemical
Continuousor
Intermittent
Standard or
Custom
Production Process
Characteristics of poor product ideas
• involve too many uncertainties
• involve too many technical problems
• require too much investment
• do not fit the company’s overall objectives
• are unlikely to break even
• do not meet legal requirements
• cause too many legal requirements
Steps in product innovation and development
Ideageneration
Ideascreening
Businessanalysis
Small-scaleproduction
Markettesting
Commercialization
Market
Major tasks required for production planning
• capacity planning through investment in plant and equipment
• selection of locations for the facility• adoption of the production process• design of the facility layout• making make-or-buy decisions• deciding short-term production rates• deciding inventory levels• determining staff levels
What makes a good location?
• reliable supply of raw materials at a reasonable cost
• proximity to the market
• abundant supply of skilled labour and experienced staff
• presence of sophisticated infrastructure and other supporting facilities
• reasonable operating costs
• local community welcomes new firms and plants
• local government provides favourable regulations
Product layout
• Facility layout which arranges machinery, equipment and tools according to the tasks they perform in the sequence along an assembly line.
Process layout
• Facility layout which arranges equipment and tools that perform similar functions together. Each workstation performs a specific task.
Comparison between product layout and process layout
Product layout:• machines are stationed
according to the tasks they perform in the sequence
• items move directly from one station to the next
• items do not need to be stored
• high rate of output
• allows low variability of product
Product layout:• machines are stationed
according to the tasks they perform in the sequence
• items move directly from one station to the next
• items do not need to be stored
• high rate of output
• allows low variability of product
Process layout:• machines performing similar
function are grouped together
• items move in batches to the other stations
• items need to be stored temporarily between stations
• low rate of output
• allows high variability of product
Process layout:• machines performing similar
function are grouped together
• items move in batches to the other stations
• items need to be stored temporarily between stations
• low rate of output
• allows high variability of product
Major roles of a purchasing manager
• selecting suppliers
• determining order quantities
• placing orders
• receiving orders
• checking and inspecting the orders
Advantages and disadvantages of mass production
Advantages:
• workers require fewer skills and less training
• specialization and automation speed up the production process
• it minimizes unit costs
Advantages:
• workers require fewer skills and less training
• specialization and automation speed up the production process
• it minimizes unit costs
Disadvantages:
• high setup costs
• subject to shut down if one stage has broken down
Disadvantages:
• high setup costs
• subject to shut down if one stage has broken down