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
Production Management Concepts
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
Facilities Planning – Meaning and Importance
One of the major strategy decisions that must be made by any organization is where to locate its producing and storage facilities. For manufacturers, the problem is broadly categorized into factory location and warehouse location; within this categorization, we may be interested in locating the firm’s first factory or warehouse or locating a new factory or warehouse relative to the locations of existing facilities. The general objective in choosing a location is to select that site or combination of sites that minimizes two classes or costs — regional and distribution or sites that minimizes two classes or costs — regional and distribution costs. Regional costs are those associated with a given locate and include land, construction, manpower, and state and local expenses and regulations. Distribution costs are those directly related to the shipping of supplies and products to customers and other branches of the distribution network. Since the location of Continue reading
Total Quality Management (TQM) – History, Concepts, and Principles
Quality Control processes in business are aimed at ensuring a good or service is of the standard of quality that the manufacturer or supplier has determined. Under the concept of Total Quality Management (TQM), quality control extends to every aspect of the way a business operates. In the case of a manufactured good it means that during design, production, and servicing the quality of work and materials must be up to the standard laid down. The emphasis put on quality control in many countries in recent years was to a large extent a response to the competitive edge Japanese businesses had achieved by paying attention to quality. However, it was an American management consultant, W. Edwards Deming, who brought the message to the Japanese that “the consumer is the most important part of the production line”, and who taught them methods that would help them control quality. He was Continue reading