Operations management by stevenson 9th student slides chapter 6

Chapter 6

Process Selection and Facility Layout

McGraw-Hill/Irwin

Copyright © 2009 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.


Chapter 6: Learning Objectives
• You should be able to:
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Understand the strategic importance of process selection
Explain the effects of process selection on the organization
Describe the basic processing types
Discuss process automation
Explain the need for management of technology
List some reasons for redesign of layouts
Describe the basic layout types
List the advantages and disadvantages of product and process layout
Solve simple line-balancing problems

Develop simple process layouts

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Process Selection
• Process selection
– Refers to the deciding on the way production of goods
or services will be organized
– It has major implications for
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Capacity planning
Layout of facilities
Equipment
Design of work systems

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Technology
• Technology
– The application of scientific discoveries to the
development and improvement of products and
services and operations processes

• Technological Innovation

– The discovery and development of new or improved
products, services, or processes for producing or
providing them

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Technology Acquisition
• Technology acquisition decisions must be
weighed carefully
– What are the upside and downsides of the
technology?
– What can and can’t a technology do?
– Economic considerations
– Integration considerations
– Human considerations

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Process Selection
1. Variety
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How much?

2. Equipment flexibility
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To what degree?

3. Volume
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Expected output?

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Automation
• Automation
– Machinery that has sensing and control devices that
enable it to operate automatically
• Fixed automation
• Programmable automation
• Flexible automation

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Automation Questions
What level of automation is appropriate?
How would automation affect system flexibility?
How can automation projects be justified?
How should changes be managed?
What are the risks of automating?
What are the likely effects of automating on:

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Market share
Costs
Quality
Customer satisfaction
Labor relations
Ongoing operations

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Automation Technologies
• Computer-Aided Manufacturing (CAM)
– The use of computers in process control, ranging from robots to
automated quality control

• Numerically Controlled (N/C) Machines
– Machines that perform operations by following mathematical
processing instructions

• Robot
– A machine consisting of a mechanical arm, a power supply, and
a controller

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Facilities Layout
• Layout
– the configuration of departments, work centers, and
equipment, with particular emphasis on movement of
work (customers or materials) through the system
– Facilities layout decisions arise when:
• Designing new facilities
• Re-designing existing facilities

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Basic Layout Types
• Product layouts
• Process layouts
• Fixed-Position layout
• Combination layouts

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FMS and CIM
• FMS (Flexible Manufacturing System)

– A group of machines designed to handle intermittent processing
requirements and produce a variety of similar products

• CIM (Computer Integrated Manufacturing)
– A system for linking a broad range of manufacturing activities
through an integrated computer system

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Designing Product Layouts: Line Balancing
• The goal of a product layout is to arrange workers or machines in
the sequence that operations need to be performed

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Line Balancing
• Line balancing
– The process of assigning tasks to workstations in
such a way that the workstations have approximately
equal time requirements
– Why is line balancing important?
1. It allows us to use labor and equipment more efficiently.
2. To avoid fairness issues that arise when one workstation
must work harder than another.

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Designing Process Layouts
• The main issue in designing process layouts
concerns the relative placement of the
departments
• Measuring effectiveness
– A major objective in designing process layouts is to
minimize transportation cost, distance, or time

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