Planning and control are interrelated and interdependent. Planning is meaningless unless control action is taken to ensure the success of the plan. Control also provides information feedback which is helpful in modifying the existing plans and in making new plans. Similarly, control is dependent on planning as the standards of performance are laid down under planning. Therefore, production and control should be considered an integrated function of planning to ensure the most efficient production and regulation of operations to execute the plans successfully. Production planning and control may be defined as the direction and coordination of the firm’s material and physical facilities towards the attainment of pre-specified production goals in the most efficient available way. It is the process of planning production in advance of operations, establishing the exact route of each individual item, part or assembly, setting starting and finishing dates for each important item Continue reading
Operations Management
Cellular Manufacturing – Meaning, Implementation and Benefits
A cellular manufacturing layout is in direct contradiction to the traditional production line. In the production line, numerous workers are needed to service a single production line running from receiving of raw material to shipping of finished product. A breakdown in staffing or machinery in any part of the line nearly always resulted in the entire process being idled until the specific difficulty in the line was repaired, or re-crewed. With cellular manufacturing, production is divided among groups, or cells, of workers and production machinery. Thus, the breakdown of one cell, due to equipment malfunction or staffing problems, does not radically affect the rest of the production process. Technology and cellular manufacturing have combined to streamline the production processes of numerous established and start-up manufacturing facilities worldwide. Lean systems, such as Kaizen, and Six Sigma, to name just two, though very often high in startup cost, provide both a short- Continue reading
Manufacturing Resource Planning Models
Evolution of Manufacturing Environment The field of production planning and control has undergone tremendous change in the last 50 years. Prior to the 1960s, inventory was controlled by a manual system, utilizing various techniques: stock replenishment, reorder points, EOQ (economic order quantity), and ABC classifications, to name a few. By the mid-1970s, enough experience of material requirements planning (MRP) had been gained and the importance of the master production schedule (MPS) was realized. In the 1950s, MRP was the first off-the-shelf business application to support the creation and maintenance of material master data and bill-of-materials across all products and parts in one or more plants. These early packages were able to process mass data but only with limited processing depth. From the 1940s to the early 1960s, material control consisted of basic ‘order point’ formulae used to maintain a level average inventory balance. In 1965, Joseph Orlicky of the J. Continue reading
The Seven Wastes of Lean Manufacturing
There are differing opinions on how many ‘types’ of waste an organisation might have. Current thinking suggests, seven, eight, or even nine depending on the nature of the organisation and the type of work carried out. Originally, there were said to be seven types of waste, and these were largely found in manufacturing organisations. They can be listed as: Overproduction Excess inventory Waiting (lost time) Unnecessary motion Unnecessary transportation (double handling, or moving excess stock) Re-work (poor quality) Over-processing (over-engineered) In each instance, it is recognized that even incremental improvements can help an organisation to increase its efficiency and reduce its costs. These savings and improvements are typically realized in a greater proportion of better quality output, meaning that even small improvements can have an exponentially large positive outcome. It is also noted that each one of these seven types of waste can be tied to different types Continue reading
Batch Production – Meaning and It’s Key Characteristics
Batch production is one of manufacturing methods where limited quantity of each type of product is authorized for manufacture at a time. It is characterized by the manufacture of a limited number of products produced at periodic intervals and stocked in warehouses as finished goods awaiting sales. Typical examples of such batch production are process industries such as pharmaceuticals, paints, chemicals, medium and heavy engineering industry engaged in the manufacture of electric motors, switch gear, heave motor vehicles, internal combustion engines; manufacturer of readymade garments etc. Characteristics of Batch Production Short Runs: Short production runs and frequent changes of setup also characterize batch production. The equipment and the assembly setup is used for a limited number of parts or assemblies and is then changes to make a different product. The production is generally made to stock. In project production, each project has a definite beginning and a definite end. Skilled Continue reading
Manufacturing Systems – Meaning, Components and Selection Factors
Production is a conversion function by which goods and services are produced. A typical production system comprises of three main components: Inputs, Transformation process and Output. Inputs are men, materials, machines, instructions, drawings, and paper work and instructions. The Transformation Process involves operations, mechanical or chemical, to Change/convert inputs into outputs. It also includes activities that assist conversion, Output is goods and services (e.g. products, parts, paper work, served customers etc.) The combination of operations and activities stated above employed to create goods and services are known as manufacturing system. A manufacturing system therefore may be looked upon as an independent group of sub-systems, each sub-system performing a distinct function. Different sub-systems may perform different functions, yet they are inter-related and require to be unified to achieve overall objectives of the organization. Manufacturing system needs to interact with both internal and external environment. The internal environment is the combination of Continue reading