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Chapter-2-2 Process Selection

The document discusses different types of processes used in operations management based on the volume and variety of products or services. It describes project, jobbing, batch, mass/line, continuous and different service processes. Key factors in selecting a process include flexibility, volume, variety and predictability of demand. The examples provided help explain the differences between each process type.

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37 views

Chapter-2-2 Process Selection

The document discusses different types of processes used in operations management based on the volume and variety of products or services. It describes project, jobbing, batch, mass/line, continuous and different service processes. Key factors in selecting a process include flexibility, volume, variety and predictability of demand. The examples provided help explain the differences between each process type.

Uploaded by

Addisu
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Operation Management

Process Selection

By Dr. Solomon Getachew


Email: [email protected]
1. Process Selection
Design is the process of satisfying people’s requirements through shaping or configuring
products, services and processes.
Process selection is choosing the process that enable the operation to produce the specific
product.

It refers to deciding on the


way production of goods or
services will be organized or
delivered.
Product vs Process Design
✽ Operations principle: The design of processes cannot be done independent of the
services and/or products that they are creating.
Process Selection
 The design of processes is different in all organizations and should be
related to the flexibility, volume and variety of the demand for the
product in the market.

 No one process fit all demands.

 Process Types:  two major division (intermittent and continuous)


Categorized into five types based on variety and volume products:
project, job, batch, mass and continuous.
Project process
• High variety, low volume. It is used to make product based on customer specification.
• Transferring resources to the place of the product is necessary.
• Needs professional judgment and setup occurs between products b/c the process maybe complex.
• It requires the coordination of many individuals and activities, demand a problem-solving approach
to ensure they are completed on time.

• The timescale of the completion of the project is The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam Project
an important performance measure.
Why timescale is so important than cost?
• Examples: Dam, road, building construction,
interior design and custom-built furniture,
software design.
Jobbing Process
High variety and low volumes, Many jobs will probably never repeated.
Unlike the project, product share resources with many other. General purpose machine
maybe used to produce d/f needs of customers.

Relatively complex; however, they usually produce


physically smaller products and, although sometimes
requiring considerable skill, such processes often
involve fewer unpredictable circumstances.
Batch
Medium variety and medium volume. May look like jobbing processes, but do not have the
same degree of variety.
If the size of the batch is just two or three items, it is little different to jobbing.
The name indicates, each time more than one item produced. Periodically, process repeats.
The products are grouped as they move through the
design process.
Set up occurs b/n batches and recourses are shared
b/n the batches so higher utilization of equipment.
A lack of coordination can lead to many products
waiting in the process.
E.g.: book printing, university classes and clothing
Line/Mass
High volume and low variety. And usually repetitive and largely predictable
The movement of the product may be automated using a conveyor system and the production
process broken down into a number of small, simple tasks.
Due to low variety, setting up of equipment is minimized and utilization of equipment is high.
High volumes of product results cost effective
to use specialized labor and equipment.
Line balancing is essential for ensuring
smooth flow of products
Examples: cars, televisions and food items.
Continuous Process
It operates continually to produce a very high volume & standard product than mass process.
It uses a large amount of equipment specialized and dedicated to producing a single product
(such as an oil refinery), capital intensive, relatively inflexible with highly predictable flow.
The role of labor is mainly to monitor and control the process in the equipment with little
contact with the product itself. Examples: electricity production and steel making, oil and gas.
Service
Based on variety and volume of the service
provided for the customers, service can be
categorized into three.

Mass services: Have many customer transactions,


involving limited contact time and little
customization.
Staff are likely to have a relatively defined division
of labor and have to follow set of procedures.
Supermarkets, railway network, an airport, tele
service, library, police service
Service
Service Shop: Service shops have less volume and variety (and customer
contact, customization and staff discretion) between the extremes of
professional and mass services.
Banks, high street shops, car rental companies, schools, most
restaurants, hotels and travel agents.

Professional Service: High-contact processes where customers spend a


considerable time in the service process. High levels of customization.
People based than machines and discretion in serving customers.

• Consultants, lawyers’ practices, architects, doctors’ surgeries, auditors


Differences between Intermittent and Repetitive Operations
Example
• Throughput time = Work-in-progress X Cycle time. Eg. 10 people in the system X 1 minute per
person  10 minutes’ wait
Example: Every year it was the same. All the workstations in the building had to be renovated
(tested, new software installed, etc.) and there was only one week in which to do it. The one week
fell in the middle of August vacation period when the renovation process would cause minimum
disruption to normal working.

Last year the company’s 500 workstations had all been renovated within one working week (40
hours). Each renovation last year took on average 2 hours and 25 technicians had completed the
process within the week. This year there would be 530 workstations to renovate but the company’s IT
support unit had devised a faster testing and renovation routine that would only take on average 1
and a half hours instead of 2 hours. How many technicians will be needed this year to complete the
renovation processes within the week?
Solution:

Throughput time = Work-in-progress X Cycle time.

Last year WIP=500, Time available= 40 hours, Average time to renovate = 2hours

Thus, Total time= WIPX2hours=1000hours need by one employee. But we have only 40 hours.
Thus 1000/40=25 employees.

This year, WIP=530, Time available=40hours, Average time to renovate = 1.5hours.

If done by one employee it needs 530X1.5=795hrs Total time

Thus, 795/40=19.88 20 employees.

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