SUSTAINABLE OPERATIONS

MANAGEMENT (MS - 108)

ASSIGNMENT-2

NAME : SAURAV RANA

ENROLLMENT NO : 00415103921
SECTION : B
SEMESTER : II
COURSE : MBA

QUESTIONS:
Q 1: Describe Product Development Process.
Q 2: Briefly explain Concurrent Engineering.
Q 3: Write Tools and Approaches in Product Development.
Q 4: Describe Quality Function Deployment.
Q 5: Briefly explain Design for Manufacturability.
Q 6: Describe Design for Assembly.
Q 7: Describe Design for Quality.
Q 8: Briefly explain Mass Customization.
Q 9: Describe Process Selection.
Q 10: Describe Facilities Layout.
Q 11: Describe Determinants of Process Selection.
Q 12: Describe Process Product Matrix.
Q 13: Describe Types of Layouts.
Q 14: Briefly explain Line Balancing.
Q 15: Describe Facilities Location.
Q 16: Describe Work Measurement.
Q 17: Describe Job Design.
Q 18: Describe Impact of IT on Productivity.

ANSWERS:
ANS-1: PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT PROCESS
The product development process is a six-stage plan that involves taking a
product from initial concept to final market launch. This process helps break
down tasks and organize cross-departmental collaboration.

Stages in Product Development Process:-

1. Idea generation (Ideation)

The initial stage of the product development process begins by generating new
product ideas. This is the product innovation stage, where you brainstorm
product concepts based on customer needs, concept testing, and market
research.

2. Product definition

Once you’ve completed the business case and discussed your target market
and product functionality, it’s time to define the product. This is also referred
to as scoping or concept development, and focuses on refining the product
strategy.

3. Prototyping
During the prototyping stage, your team will intensively research and
document the product by creating a more detailed business plan and
constructing the product.

These early-stage prototypes might be as simple as a drawing or a more

complex computer render of the initial design. These prototypes help you
identify areas of risk before you create the product.

4. Initial design

During the initial design phase, project stakeholders work together to produce
a mock-up of the product based on the MVP prototype. The design should be
created with the target audience in mind and complement the key functions of
your product.

A successful product design may take several iterations to get just right, and
may involve communicating with distributors in order to source necessary
materials.

5. Validation and testing

To go live with a new product, you first need to validate and test it. This
ensures that every part of the product—from development to marketing—is
working effectively before it’s released to the public.

6. Commercialization

Now it’s time to commercialize your concept, which involves launching your
product and implementing it on your website.

By now, you’ve finalized the design and quality tested your development and
marketing strategy. You should feel confident in your final iteration and be
ready to produce your final product.

ANS-2: CONCURRENT ENGINEERING

 Concurrent engineering, also known as simultaneous engineering, is a

method of designing and developing products, in which the different
stages run simultaneously, rather than consecutively. It decreases
 product development time and also the time to market, leading to
improved productivity and reduced costs.

 It is a long-term business strategy, with long term benefits to business.

Though initial implementation can be challenging, the competitive
advantage means it is beneficial in the long term. It removes the need to
have multiple design reworks, by creating an environment for designing
a product right the first-time round.

ANS-3: TOOLS AND APPROACHES IN PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT

1. Understand Distinctive Competence: determine what makes your

firm stand out. Conduct an internal SWOT Analysis to document
strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Evaluate win/loss
reports, operational product metrics, and market share statistics.

2. Target Market Analysis: read our report on Market Segmentation,

Targeting, & Positioning to start analysing your market segments.
Determine the size of your market and understand prospective
client issues. Use this information to build a product Business Case.

3. Determine Market Requirements: conduct research and survey

customers and prospects to identify opportunities for product
development. Document each opportunity with a Product
Development Charter and present to senior management for
approval to allocate more resources. Complete Market
Requirements Document and Product Requirements Document.

4. Product Development: create Product Development

Schedule, Feature List Priority Analysis, and Product Sanity-Check to
document development efforts. Reprioritize and sanity-check
throughout the process.

5. Product Marketing: use our Product Launch Checklist to organize

your product marketing campaign.
ANS-4: QUALITY FUNCTION DEPLOYMENT

 Quality Function Deployment (QFD) is a structured approach to defining

customer needs or requirements and translating them into specific
plans to produce products to meet those needs. The “voice of the
customer” is the term to describe these stated and unstated customer
needs or requirements.
 QFD is basically a planning process with a quality approach to new
product design, development, and implementation driven by customer
needs and values. QFD has been successfully used by many world-class
organizations in automobiles, ship building, electronics, aerospace,
utilities, leisure and entertainment, financial, software, and other
industries.

ANS-5: DESIGN FOR MANUFACTURABILITY

Design for manufacturability (also sometimes known as design for

manufacturing or DFM) is the general engineering practice of designing
products in such a way that they are easy to manufacture. The concept exists
in almost all engineering disciplines, but the implementation differs widely
depending on the manufacturing technology.

DFM describes the process of designing or engineering a product in order to

facilitate the manufacturing process in order to reduce its manufacturing
costs. DFM will allow potential problems to be fixed in the design phase which
is the least expensive place to address them. Other factors may affect the
manufacturability such as the type of raw material, the form of the raw
material, dimensional tolerances, and secondary processing such as finishing.

Depending on various types of manufacturing processes there are set

guidelines for DFM practices. These DFM guidelines help to precisely define
various tolerances, rules and common manufacturing checks related to DFM.

While DFM is applicable to the design process, a similar concept called DFSS
(Design for Six Sigma) is also practiced in many organizations.
ANS-6: DESIGN FOR ASSEMBLY

 Design for assembly (DFA) is a process by which products are designed

with ease of assembly in mind. If a product contains fewer parts, it will
take less time to assemble, thereby reducing assembly costs.

 In addition, if the parts are provided with features which make it easier
to grasp, move, orient and insert them, this will also reduce assembly
time and assembly costs.

 The reduction of the number of parts in an assembly has the added

benefit of generally reducing the total cost of parts in the assembly. This
is usually where the major cost benefits of the application of design for
assembly occur.

ANS-7: DESIGN FOR QUALITY

 Design for Quality (DFQ) is a set of principles that encompass a

multi-faceted approach to product design that ensures a product
will delight the customer, last long and work reliably in service.

 Quality is not determined by the cost of a product, it is determined

by customer experience, therefore a product must be designed and
produced to ensure customers are happy with the lifespan of the
product.

 Design for Quality must have a set of objectives that are measurable
or quantifiable such as dimensions on components, fit, form &
function of sub-assemblies and critical to quality (CTQ) parameters.

ANS-8: MASS CUSTOMIZATION

Mass customization is the process of delivering market goods and services

that are modified to satisfy a specific customer's needs.
 Mass customization is a marketing and manufacturing technique that
combines the flexibility and personalization of custom-made products with
the low unit costs associated with mass production. Other names for mass
customization include made-to-order or built-to-order.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

o Mass customization is a process that allows a customer to personalize

certain features of a product while still keeping costs at or near mass
production prices.
o Innovative manufacturing techniques help companies produce
interchangeable parts that can be combined in a variety of ways to build
a cost-effective product that satisfies a specific customer's needs.
o The four primary types of mass customization are collaborative
customization, adaptive customization, transparent customization, and
cosmetic customization.
o Various companies employ mass customization techniques, including
retail companies, software creators, financial services companies, and
modular home builders.
o Companies that offer mass customization can give themselves a
competitive advantage over other companies that only offer generic
products.

ANS-9: PROCESS SELECTION

Process Selection refers to the way an organization chooses to produce its

good or services. It takes into account selection of technology, capacity
planning, layout of facilities, and design of work systems.
Process selection is a natural extension after selection of new products and
services.

Organizations process strategy would include:-

1. Make or Buy Decisions- The extent to which an organization will

produce goods or provide inhouse as opposed to relying on an outside
organization to produce or provide them.

2. Capital Intensity- The mix of equipment and labour will be used by the
government.
 3. Process Flexibility- The degree to which the system can be adjusted to
changes in processing requirements due to such factors as changes in
product or service design, changes in volume processed, and changes in
technology.

ANS-10: FACILITIES LAYOUT

Facility layout is an arrangement of different aspects of manufacturing in an

appropriate manner as to achieve desired production results. Facility layout
considers available space, final product, safety of users and facility and
convenience of operations.

An effective facility layout ensures that there is a smooth and steady flow of
production material, equipment and manpower at minimum cost.

Facility layout looks at physical allocation of space for economic activity in the
plant. Therefore, main objective of the facility layout planning is to design
effective workflow as to make equipment and workers more productive.

OBJECTIVES-

 To provide optimum space to organize equipment and facilitate

movement of goods and to create safe and comfortable work
environment.

 To promote order in production towards a single objective

 To reduce movement of workers, raw material and equipment

 To promote safety of plant as well as its workers

 To facilitate extension or change in the layout to accommodate new

product line or technology upgradation

 To increase production capacity of the organization

ANS-11: DETERMINANTS OF PROCESS SELECTION

There are a number of factors which affect the outcomes of an organisation’s

selection process –

1. The recruitment campaign

A recruitment campaign may attract or detract high quality candidates. This
depends on a number of factors:
a. If the campaign was targeted at the correct demographic for the position
b. If the campaign was extensive and reached the correct demographic
c. If the campaign had the right message

2. The geographic location of candidates

The geographic location of candidates may affect the demographics of the
candidate as if you are recruiting from a small and specific geographic location
you may be limiting the diversity of the candidates and missing out on great
talent.

3. The literacy skills of the candidates

As with geographic location, literacy skill varies across applicants. This will
ultimately impact their suitability to the role. For example, an applicant pool
largely consisting of candidates from NESB may have a significantly different
mean literacy score to a group of native English speakers.

4. The number of candidates applying for a position

The more candidates that apply, means a larger pool of talent to search within.
This then translates to a greater chance of identifying high quality candidates
that are suitable for the role.

5. The correct use of assessment

It is critical that the correct assessment is used in order to identify the correct
target group. If an assessment is not appropriate for a particular role, then
there is a risk of them being rejected when in fact they had the correct skills for
the position.

6. Attractiveness of the position

Some roles are more attractive than others. The more attractive the role, the
more likelihood of attracting high quality candidates. This can include the type
of responsibilities, the perks and the culture of the organisation.
 7. The selection process itself
The likelihood of identifying a quality candidate depends on the selection
process used. If you follow the best practice method where candidates are
assessed at the first selection round, and they receive regular feedback during
the process, this can increase your chance to find the best candidate for the
role.

ANS-12: PROCESS PRODUCT MATRIX

The product process matrix merges the product lifecycle, which encompasses
all aspects of the product development process—from ideation to a product’s
growth or decline— with the process lifecycle, the progression towards a more
cost-effective and productive standardized structure.

The product process matrix was developed by Robert H. Hayes and Steven C.
Wheelwright.

Pros-

 Invites broader thinking about organizational competence and

competitive advantage.
 Enables greater involvement during planning, leading to better
alignment among departments and the organization as a whole.
 Provides a pathway to more informed predictions and strategic
responses to industry shifts and changes.
 Used to identify business opportunities and guide investment decisions.

Cons-

 Is static with limited product variety.

 Dimensions are too simple.
 Based on current products.

ANS-13: TYPES OF LAYOUTS

The Layout is the master plan or a blueprint of the printed/published work
that lays out the order of its various graphic elements. A layout can be of the
following types-

1. Process Layout
Process layout means the layout which group resources based on the similar
processes or functions. This type of layout can be found in companies that use
intermittent processing systems. A process layout is used in contexts where
many different items are produced in small quantities. Because there are so
many different items are produced with distinct processing requirements, it is
not viable to allocate an entire facility to each item. It is more effective to
organize resources based on their function. The products are then shifted from
one resource to the next according to their specific requirements.

2. Product Layout
When all the processing equipment and machinery are positioned according to
the product's sequence of operations, this type of layout is known as product
layout. The main focus of product layout is the sequence of operations
regarding the production or assembly needed for a product or some of its parts
manufacturing and assembling. Product layout is typically advantageous for
sectors that produce in large quantities or on a continuous basis, such as
automobile assembling, cement manufacturing, and oil refining.

3. Combination Layout
The advantages of both kinds of layouts are combined in a process and product
layout. A combination layout is possible when an item is manufactured in
multiple types and sizes. The machinery is grouped in a process layout, but the
process grouping is then ordered in a sequence to make a variety of goods of
different types and sizes.

4. Fixed Layout
The fixed layout permits a product to maintain at a particular place, and the
needed resources like manpower, machinery, material, equipment, etc. are
transported to the product's location.

In other words, the place of the main element or the product section remains
fixed because of the larger size or substantial body.
Additionally, the expense of moving or transportation costs will be lesser on
account of moving assets when contrasted with the transportation cost
associated with the movement of the product.

5. Group Technology or Cellular Layout

Group technology or cellular technology is viewed as a strategy via which it is
feasible to recognize and group comparable or related parts elaborate in the
production process to take advantage of the inherent economy of flow
production methods.

ANS-14: LINE BALANCING

Line balancing is a production strategy that involves balancing operator and

machine time to match the production rate to the task time.
Task time is the rate at which parts or products must be produced in order to
meet customer demand.

For a given production line, if production time is exactly equal to task time,
then the line is perfectly balanced. Otherwise, resources should be reallocated
or rearranged to remove bottlenecks or excess capacity. In other words, the
quantities of workers and machines assigned to each task in the line should be
rebalanced to meet the optimal production rate.

Benefits of Line Balancing-

1. Reduce waiting waste

Waiting waste is one of the 8 types of waste of Lean manufacturing. It refers to
any idle time that occurs when operations are not fully synchronized. For
example, waiting waste occurs when operators are waiting for materials or for
someone else to complete their task. Equipment downtime–time during which
equipment is not operating–is another example of waiting waste.
2. Reduce inventory waste
Inventory waste is another type of waste. It corresponds to an excess of
raw materials, work in progress (unfinished goods), or finished goods.
Inventory waste indicates the inefficient allocation of capital.
3. Absorb internal and external irregularities
Line balancing reduces variations within a production line. A balanced
production line is stable and flexible enough to adapt to changes.
For example, if customer demand changes–meaning takt time changes–
operations can be realigned quickly through line balancing. The consequences
of changes brought to a balanced production line are predictable. It is thus
much easier to modify the line to adjust the production rate.
4. Reduce production costs and increase profits
Assembly line at a manufacturing facility Perfect line balancing leads to
workers and machines that perform in a fully synchronized manner. No
operator is paid for standing idle. All machines are used to their full potential.
In other words, manpower and machine capacity are maximized. Such process
efficiency represents fewer costs and more profits.

ANS-15: FACILITIES LOCATION

Facility location is the process of determining a geographic site for a firm’s

operations. Managers of both service and manufacturing organizations must
weigh many factors when assessing the desirability of a particular site,
including proximity to customers and suppliers, labor costs, and transportation
costs.

Location conditions are complex and each comprises a different Characteristic

of a tangible (i.e., Freight rates, production costs) and non-tangible (i.e.,
reliability, frequency security, quality) nature.

Location conditions are hard to measure. Tangible cost-based factors such as

wages and products costs can be quantified precisely into what makes
locations better to compare. On the other hand, non-tangible features, which
refer to such characteristics as reliability, availability and security, can only be
measured along an ordinal or even nominal scale. Other non-tangible features
like the percentage of employees that are unionized can be measured as well.
To sum this up non-tangible features are very important for business location
decisions.

It is appropriate to divide the factors, which influence the plant location or

facility location on the basis of the nature of the organization as:-
 1. General locational factors, which include controllable and
uncontrollable factors for all type of organizations.
2. Specific locational factors, specifically required for manufacturing and
service organizations.

ANS-16: WORK MEASUREMENT

Work measurement is concerned with the determination of the amount of

time required to perform a unit of work. Work measurement is very
important for promoting productivity of an organization. It enables
management to compare alternate methods and also to do initial staffing.
Work measurement provides basis for proper planning.

Since it is concerned with the measurement of time it is also called ‘Time

Study’. The exact examination of time is very essential for correct pricing. To
find the correct manufacturing time for a product, time study is performed. To
give competitive quotations, estimation of accurate labour cost is very
essential. It becomes a basis for wage and salary administration and devising
incentive schemes.

Objectives of Work Measurement:

1. To compare the times of performance by alternative methods.

2. To enable realistic schedule of work to be prepared.

3. To arrive at a realistic and fair incentive scheme.

4. To analyse the activities for doing a job with the view to reduce or
eliminate unnecessary jobs.

5. To minimise the human effort.

6. To assist in the organisation of labour by daily comparing the actual time

with that of target time.

ANS-17: JOB DESIGN

Job design follows job analysis i.e., it is the next step after job analysis. It
aims at outlining and organising tasks, duties and responsibilities into a single
unit of work for the achievement of certain objectives. It also outlines the
methods and relationships that are essential for the success of a certain job. In
simpler terms it refers to the what, how much, how many and the order of the
tasks for a job/s.

Job design essentially involves integrating job responsibilities or content and

certain qualifications that are required to perform the same. It outlines the job
responsibilities very clearly and also helps in attracting the right candidates to
the right job. Further it also makes the job look interesting and specialised.

logical sequence of a Job Design-

1. What tasks are required to be done or what tasks is part of the job?

2. How are the tasks performed?

3. What amount are tasks are required to be done?

4. What is the sequence of performing these tasks?

All these questions are aimed at arriving upon a clear definition of a specific
job and thereby make it less risky for the one performing the same. A well-
defined job encourages feeling of achievement among the employees and a
sense of high self-esteem.

Benefits of Job Design-

The following are the benefits of a good job design:

 Employee Input: A good job design enables a good job feedback.

Employees have the option to vary tasks as per their personal and social
needs, habits and circumstances in the workplace.

 Employee Training: Training is an integral part of job design. Contrary to

the philosophy of “leave them alone’ job design lays due emphasis on
training people so that are well aware of what their job demands and
how it is to be done.
  Work / Rest Schedules: Job design offers good work and rest schedule
by clearly defining the number of hours an individual has to spend in
his/her job.

 Adjustments: A good job designs allows for adjustments for physically

demanding jobs by minimising the energy spent doing the job and by
aligning the manpower requirements for the same.

ANS-18: IMPACT OF IT ON PRODUCTIVITY

The role of information technologies (ITs) in resurgence of the economic

growth of many industrial countries has been experienced in second half of the
1990s and then considered by policymakers and economists. These
technologies have direct effects on the growth of the IT-producing industries.
They also increase the efficiency and productivity of IT-using industries.

IT causes to appear new models of E-businesses, save the costs, improve the
quality and quantity of production and increase the competition in markets.
According to the economic literature, IT will deepen the capital—the increase
of services per capital unit. Thus, the firms tend to use IT in the production
process. However, the results of experimental studies have shown that the
effects of IT on the productivity are different and not the same.

Productivity improvement has a crucial role in raising GDP per capita. Firms
adapting and using IT can improve the production process and labor
productivity. IT is a key driver of productivity and pioneer to accelerate the
industry in economic growth.

ICT is a general-purpose technology (GPT) that has a wide range of effects

throughout the entire economy, reshaping the whole systems of production
and distribution (the information technology and innovation foundation).
IT diffuses throughout the economy; they engender extensive spill overs in the
forms of externalizes and technological complementarities, and their evolution
and diffusion span for decades.

In individual industries, the productivity can occur through three different

ways: all firms innovate or adopt new technologies; less productive firms dying
and being replaced by new and more productive firms, or by more productive
firms gaining market share from less productive ones (the information
technology and innovation foundation).

Some studies have focused on the intensity of using IT in industries. They

believe that the impact of IT is related to its intensity in industries, so that
the productivity growth is higher in industries using IT than the other
industries.