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
Operations Management Concepts
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
Experience Curve
Experience curve is the systematic reductions in the production costs that occur over life of a product. There is a relationship between the scale of production and the size of the unit cost of the product, known as the effect of experience. Graphical representation of experience effect (created on the basis of cumulative production and average cost) is called experience curve. A number of studies show that a product’s production costs decline by some characteristics about each time accumulated output doubles. E.g. in aircraft industry, where each time accumulated output f airframes was doubled, unit costs typically declined to 80 percent of their previous level. That is the production costs of the fourth airframe would be 80 percent less of the production costs for the second airframe, the eighth airframe’s production costs is 80 percent less of he fourth’s, the sixteenth’s airframe costs is 80 percent less of the eighth’s Continue reading
Techniques or Tools Used for the Design of Good Plant Layouts
An ideal plant layout should provide the optimum relationship among output, floor area and manufacturing process. It facilitates the production process, minimizes material handling, time and cost, and allows flexibility of operations, easy production flow, makes economic use of the building, promotes effective utilization of manpower, and provides for employee’s convenience, safety, comfort at work, maximum exposure to natural light and ventilation. It is also important because it affects the flow of material and processes, labor efficiency, supervision and control, use of space and expansion possibilities etc. Recommended Reading: Plant layouts – Definition and Objectives In designing or improving the plan of plant layout, certain techniques or tools are developed and are in common use today. The techniques or tools are as follows: 1. Charts and Diagrams: In order to achieve work simplification, production engineers make use of several charts and diagrams for summarizing and analyzing production process and procedure. Continue reading
Objectives and Principles of a Good Plant Layout
Plant layout is a plan for effective utilization of facilities for the manufacture of products; involving a most efficient and economical arrangement of machines, materials, personnel, storage space and all supporting services, within available floor space. A good rather an ideal layout is one which provides maximum satisfaction to all concerned i.e. shareholders, management employees and consumers. Objectives of a Good Plant Layout Only through an efficient layout, the organization can attain the following objectives: Economy in handling of materials, work-in-process and finished goods. Minimization of product delays. Lesser work-in-progress and minimum manufacturing cycle time. Efficient utilization of available space. Easy supervision and better production control. Greater flexibility for changes in product design and for future expansion. Better working conditions by eliminating causes of excessive noise, objectionable odor smoke etc. Principles of a Good Plant Layout Overall integration of factors: A good layout is one that integrates men, materials, machines Continue reading
Seven Basic Tools of Quality
For the reason of human factor and human reliability, it is inevitable that there could be occurred some kind of faults and errors even in well planned and technically equipped organizations and systems. The errors or unplanned risks that might be happened during the project, can lead the customer to have negative opinion about the management team. Also some faults and risks might not being able to fix or might be too expensive to overcome it. Therefore a well prepared quality management plan is essential for an organization in order to ensure that the management plan that the project team works on, meet the customer satisfaction and their needs. At this stage Ishikawa’s seven quality tools are quite helpful to determine, identify and evaluate the problems, their causes and suggestions for a continuous improvement process. These tools can be listed as; Histogram, Flow Chart, Scatter Diagram, Pareto Chart, Cause and Continue reading