The layout of a plant or facility is concerned with the physical placement of resources such as equipment and storage facilities, which should be designed to facilitate the efficient flow of customers or materials through the manufacturing or service system. The layout design is very important and should be taken very seriously as it can have a significant impact on the cost and efficiency of an operation and can involve substantial investment in time and money. The decisions taken with regards to the facility layout will have a direct influence on how efficiently workers will be able to carry out their jobs, how much and how fast goods can be produced, how difficult it is to automate a system, and how the system in place would be able to respond to any changes with regards to product or service design, product mix, or demand volume. In many operations the installation Continue reading
Operations Management Techniques
Role of the Warehouse in Postponement Strategies
The rapid changes occurring in customer-supplier relationship has resulted in shortening the product life cycle along with the product variations, which could meet the complex customer satisfaction demands. As the customer requirements changes rapidly, it increases the complexity of planning and demand forecasting to suit the changing demands. Hence, postponement strategies are able to help in solving such complex issues. The strategy involves delay in the production process to the maximum possible time, while delaying the point of product differentiation. As the whole strategy is related to the value of information, it can be maximized with delay in production decision time, giving more time to receive and analyze the customer requirement and demand. Hence, the postponement strategies help in improving the quality of decision, while also optimizing the quality of product planning and demand forecast. The relevant strategy also allows for the flexibility in the production scheduling, where the actual Continue reading
Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DFMA)
Design for Manufacturing and Assembly (DFMA) method was introduced by Geoffrey Boothroyd since 1960s on automatic handling. This enables the use of gathered data of previously done mistakes, speeding up the development process and accomplishing new philosophies and technologies to further ensure that the activities that are quicker and more precise in generating results can really reach this target. All aspects of design, development, manufacturability, total parts, assembly time, cost and modularity are considered in this analytical process. This process mainly focuses on enhancing the product to allow improvements in the manufacturing, quality, reliability, cost, time to market, and many other fields. Integration of discrete but highly interrelated issues of manufacturing processes and assembly occurs in DFMA. Through its use companies can make the full use of manufacturing processes that exist while minimizing the number of parts in an assembly. Design for Manufacturing and Assembly (DFMA) is a system that Continue reading
Total Quality Management And Continuous Quality Improvement
Meaning of Total Quality Management (TQM) Total quality management (TQM) is defined as “managing the entire organization so that it excels in all dimensions of products and services that are important to the customer.” As the definition states, this philosophy concentrates on quality as a primary component of the organization’s drive for competitive advantage. Marketing decision-making is directly effected by such a system because quality is a component of product/service design and can be an important decision-making criterion employed by potential buyers. The TQM model goes beyond product and service quality, however, and suggests that a highly structured system of management that emphasizes mechanisms like control and punitive action which stifles people and ultimately hinders an organization’s attempt to produce quality products and services. Rather, the organization that views all its employees as critical, creative resources will be much better able to pursue quality in every activity and through every Continue reading
Understanding Different Types of Supply Chain Risk
There have been many different definitions of supply chain risk, but it can be broadly defined as the variation in the distribution of possible supply chain outcomes, their likelihood, and their subjective values. However, this definition has since been expanded upon to account for all the different departments and functions that operate within a supply chain. This leads to an overall definition of supply chain risk as any risks for the information, material and product flows from original supplier to the delivery of the final product for the end user. Simply put, supply chain risk refers to the probability of a risk event occurring the supply line and when the product goes on sale. Furthermore, risk sources are the predominant causes of risk events, which are the environmental, organizational or supply-chain variables which cannot be predicted with certainty and which impact on the supply chain outcome variables. Identifying Supply Chain Continue reading
Business Process Reengineering (BPR) and Total Quality Management (TQM)
Business Process Reengineering (BPR) Business process can be defined as a set of logically related tasks performed to achieve a defined business outcome. It is a structured, measured set of activities designed to produce a specified output for a particular customer or market. Improving business processes is important for businesses to stay ahead of competition in today’s marketplace. Over the last 10 to 15 years, companies have been forced to improve their business processes because customers are demanding better products and services. Many companies begin business process improvement with a continuous improvement model. The Business Process Reengineering (BPR) methodology comprises of developing business processes are simplified rather than being made more complex. Job descriptions expand and become multi-dimensional – people perform a broader range of tasks. People within the organization become empowered as opposed to being controlled. The emphasis moves away from the individual and towards the team’s achievements. The Continue reading