PRODUCTION

&
OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT
SESSION 4
 PROCESS SELECTION & PROCESS STRATEGY
• Process selection
• Deciding the way production of goods or services will be organized
• It has major implications for
• Capacity planning
• Layout of facilities
• Equipment
• Work Design
• Process Strategy
– The pattern of decisions made in managing processes so that they will achieve their
competitive priorities
PROCESS STRATEGY
 PROCESS STRATEGY
• Key Aspects of Process Strategy:
• Capital Intensity
• The mix of equipment and labor that will be used by the organization
• Process flexibility
• The degree to which the system can be adjusted to changes in processing
requirements due to such factors as
• Product and service design changes
• Volume changes
• Changes in technology
 PROCESS STRUCTURE IN SERVICES
• Customer Contact
• The extent to which the customer is present, is actively involved, and receives personal
attention during the service process
• Customization
• Service level ranging from highly customized to standardized
• Process Divergence
• The extent to which the process is highly customized with considerable latitude as to
how its tasks are performed
• Flow
• How the work progresses through the sequence of steps in a process
 PROCESS STRUCTURE IN SERVICES
• Dimensions of Customer Contact in Service Processes

Dimension High Contact Low Contact

Physical presence Present Absent

What is processed People Possessions or information

Contact intensity Active, visible Passive, out of sight

Personal attention Personal Impersonal

Method of delivery Face-to-face Regular mail or e-mail

CUSTOMER-CONTACT MATRIX
 PROCESS SELECTION
Two key questions in process selection:
1. How much variety will the process need to be able to handle?
2. How much volume will the process need to be able to handle?

Job Shop

Batch

Repetitive Continuous
 TYPES OF PROCESSING

Job Shop Process Batch Process

A midwestern hospital medical team performs a Menu items are prepared in batches, in the
diagnostic procedure involving a cardiac kitchen of the Spago Restaurant in the Forum at
catheterization. Caesar’s Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada.
 TYPES OF PROCESSING

Repetitive Process Continuous Process

Motorcycles on an assembly line with parts An oil refinery performs a continuous process,
mixing and separating crude oil into gas, fuel oil,
added in a sequential order. chemicals, and many other products.
TYPES OF PROCESSING
TYPES OF PROCESSING
 PRODUCT-PROCESS MATRIX

Job Shop
Repair Shop
Emergency Room

Batch
Commercial Bakery
Classroom Lecture

Repetitive
Assembly Line
Automatic Carwash

Continuous Flow
Petroleum Refining
Water Treatment
 PRODUCT-PROCESS MATRIX
Low Volume High Volume
Multiple Products Few Major Products
Low Standardisation High Standardisation
Low Volume Higher Volume
One of a kind Commodity Products

Jumbled Satellite Launch None

Flow Vehicle
(Job Shop)

Disconnected
Line Flow Machine Tools
(Batch)

Connected Line
Auto electric
Flow (Assembly
parts
Line)

Continuous
Flow Polyethylene
None
 PROCESS ANALYSIS: CONTEXT
• Decisions taken with respect to
• The amount of capacity that an operating unit has
• The manner in which the existing capacity is put to use
will lead to loss of productivity & overall reduction in the profitability of the
operating system
• Examples
• Excessive delay and waiting in service systems such as a teller counter in a bank
• Some factories working with near 100 percent utilization of their resources
 ISSUES IN PROCESS ANALYSIS
• Do I have adequate number of resources to meet the demand?
• If I need to add some extra resources where should I add?
• What is the utilization of my resources?
• If I need to increase the capacity of my system how should I modify the
process?
• Should I add some more resources?
• What will the cost of my operation?
• One can find answers to the above questions by process analysis
 PROCESS ANALYSIS: DEFINITION & SCOPE
• Process analysis utilizes some analytical mechanism to understand the impact
of
• Process design on output, cost or any other performance metric
• Alternative process configurations on the chosen performance metric
 PROCESS FLOW CHARTING
• Design & Analysis of process begins with identification of
• activities that constitute the process
• time taken for each of the activity
• nature of flow of materials/information in the process.
• A pictorial representation of all these information could be developed using
process flow charting.
• Process flow charting employs a set of standard symbols and graphical tools to
represent all the information pertaining to the process
• The symbols used are
• A step in the Process
• Transportation (Move)
• Storage or Inventory
 A SIMPLIFIED PROCESS FLOW CHART:
CASE OF SHIRT MANUFACTURING
Inventory of
Cloth & Other WIP
materials Inventory
Stitching 1

Spreading Cutting
Stitching 2

Pressing &
Assembly
Inspection

Inventory
of Shirts
 PLANNING PREMISES IN PROCESS DESIGN
• Three generic planning premises are in use in operations management
• Make-to-Stock (MTS)
• Amenable for systems with fewer product varieties and high production volume as in the case of
continuous and streamlined flow systems
• Assemble-to-order (ATO)
• Useful for intermittent flow systems catering to the mid-volume mid-variety situations
• Postponement
• Mass Customization
• Make-to-order (MTO)
• Organizations typically belong to manufacturer of high product variety (jumbled flow process systems)
use this planning methodology
 MTS, ATO & MTO: THE CASE OF SERVICES
Peak Hour Non-Peak Hour
• Assemble to order • Made to order
• Service Portfolio • Service Portfolio
• Narrow • Wide
• Demand Mgmt. • Demand Mgmt.
• Reservations • Special Tariffs, offers
• Exploiting
• Multi-skill labour
• Flexible work force
 PROCESS ANALYSIS ISSUES FOR MTS
• From a process and capacity analysis perspective MTS is related to mass
production systems.
• The relevant questions for process and capacity analysis are:
• What is the productive capacity of my process per shift or per day?
• Where is the bottleneck for this process?
• If I need to increase the capacity of the process at which stage of the process should I
invest?
• Can I improve the productive capacity by other means than investing in new resources?
 PROCESS ANALYSIS: PERFORMANCE METRICS
• Throughput time
• Throughput time (TPUT) is the elapsed time from the first stage of the process to the last
stage of the process. It is also known as lead time.
• Cycle Time
• Cycle time is the elapsed time between two successive output from a process that is
continuously operating in a given period of time.
• Bottleneck
• That stage of the process that dictates the output of a process is the bottleneck.
• TPUT is a relevant measure for MTO systems.
• Measures such as Cycle Time and Bottleneck are relevant in the case of MTS
systems.
 PROCESS ANALYSIS: TOY MANUFACTURING
A toy manufacturer receives crafted toys from local carpenters and performs the final
operations before stocking it for sale. The process consists of five steps. The first step is
to arrange a set of four toys in a pallet (8 minutes). After this, the pallet moves to the
next station where the toys are pre-treated (12 minutes). This is to increase the toys’
life, prevent them from attacks of pests in the future, and also to improve the
effectiveness of the painting operation. The next step is to send it to the spray-painting
chamber, where it is painted as per specifications (20 minutes). At present, there is one
spray painting machine. After painting, it is left in an open area for drying (10 minutes).
The painting process and the pre-treatment process are specialised so the paint dries
quickly. Finally, the toys are inspected and packed (5 minutes).
1. What is the throughput time for this manufacturing process?
2. Identify the bottleneck for this process.
3. What is the cycle time for this process?
4. What is the productive capacity of the process?
PROCESS ANALYSIS: TOY MANUFACTURING

Inspect &
Prepare Pre-treat Paint Dry
Pack
8 minutes 12 minutes 20 minutes 10 minutes
5 minutes

• The throughput time for the process is 55 minutes

• The spray painting is the bottleneck in the process
• Cycle time is 20 minutes. The implication of this is that when the process
operates in a continuous manner, a pallet of finished toys come out every 20
minutes.
PROCESS ANALYSIS: A GRAPHICAL REPRESENTATION

Every batch of four toys come out exactly in an interval of 20 minutes which is the cycle time
for the process
PROCESS ANALYSIS: PRODUCTION CAPACITY OF THE SYSTEM

Inspect &
Prepare Pre-treat Paint
Dry Pack
7.5 pallets/hr 5 pallets/hr 3 pallets/hr
12 pallets/hr

• The system can produce at the rate of 3 pallets per hour (12 toys)
• For a 8 hour operation the daily production is 24 pallets (96 toys)
• Capacity is unbalanced across different stages of the process
 PROCESS ANALYSIS: TOY MANUFACTURING
A toy manufacturer receives crafted toys from local carpenters and performs the final
operations before stocking it for sale. The process consists of five steps. The first step is
to arrange a set of four toys in a pallet (8 minutes). After this, the pallet moves to the
next station where the toys are pre-treated (12 minutes). This is to increase the toys’
life, prevent them from attacks of pests in the future, and also to improve the
effectiveness of the painting operation. The next step is to send it to the spray-painting
chamber, where it is painted as per specifications (20 minutes). At present, there is one
spray painting machine. After painting, it is left in an open area for drying (10 minutes).
The painting process and the pre-treatment process are specialised so the paint dries
quickly. Finally, the toys are inspected and packed (5 minutes).
Suppose the preparation process has two parts to it. The first part is setting up of
pallets, which requires 4 minutes, and the second part is the actual time of loading the
pallet with toys. Each pallet consisting of four toys requires 4 minutes to load.
Furthermore, the painting booth can hold up to three pallets during the spraying
operation. There are enough number of pallets available in the system.
PRODUCTION CAPACITY UNDER VARYING BATCH SIZES
Existing Scenario: Batch Size of the Process = 1 pallet

Inspect &
Prepare Pre-treat Paint
Pack
(8 minutes) (12 minutes) (20 minutes) Dry
(5 minutes)
7.5 pallets/hr 5 pallets/hr 3 pallets/hr
12 pallets/hr

Scenario 1: Batch Size of the Process = 2 pallets

Prepare Inspect &

Pre-treat Paint
(4+ (2*4) = Pack
(12 minutes) (20 minutes) Dry
12 minutes) (5 minutes)
5 pallets/hr 6 pallets/hr
10 pallets/hr 12 pallets/hr
Scenario 2: Batch Size of the Process = 3 pallets

Prepare Inspect &

Pre-treat Paint
(4+ (3*4) = Pack
(12 minutes) (20 minutes) Dry
16 minutes) (5 minutes)
5 pallets/hr 9 pallets/hr
11.25 pallets/hr 12 pallets/hr
PRODUCTION CAPACITY UNDER VARYING RESOURCE AVAILABILITY
Existing Scenario: Batch Size of the Process = 1 pallet, 1 painting booth

Inspect &
Prepare Pre-treat Paint
Pack
(8 minutes) (12 minutes) (20 minutes) Dry
(5 minutes)
7.5 pallets/hr 5 pallets/hr 3 pallets/hr
12 pallets/hr

Scenario 1: Batch Size of the Process = 3 pallets, 2 pre-treatment units

Pre-treat
(12 minutes)
Prepare 5 pallets/hr Inspect &
Paint
(4+ (3*4) = Pack
(20 minutes) Dry
16 minutes) (5 minutes)
Pre-treat 9 pallets/hr
11.25 pallets/hr 12 pallets/hr
(12 minutes)
5 pallets/hr
PROCESS ANALYSIS: SOME IMPORTANT OBSERVATIONS
• Batch sizes play a crucial role in determining the bottleneck of a process
• As several choices are made with respect to the resources and batch size
bottleneck shifts from one stage of the process to another. This is referred to as
wandering bottleneck.
• A process analysis exercise often leads to the issue of improving the process
COMPONENTS OF LEAD TIME IN ORGANIZATIONS

Lost Time
Actual (Scrap, Rework,
Operations Unnecessary Activities)
Time Moving Time

Between Processing Units, Waiting Time

People across Departments

Unclear Instructions, Missing Information, Approvals, Authorizations,

Non-availability of Material & Components, Resources
Awaiting Approvals, Decisions
Time lost in coordination among chain of customers
 FACILITIES LAYOUT
• Layout
• 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
 LAYOUT DESIGN OBJECTIVES
• Basic Objective
• Facilitate a smooth flow of work, material, and information through the system
• Supporting objectives
1. Facilitate product or service quality
2. Use workers and space efficiently
3. Avoid bottlenecks
4. Minimize material handling costs
5. Eliminate unnecessary movement of workers or material
6. Minimize production time or customer service time
7. Design for safety
 LAYOUT PLANNING
• Layout planning in manufacturing & service organisations
• deals with physical arrangement of various resources that are available in the system
• with an objective to improve the performance of the operating system
• Benefits of good layout design
• Jobs in a manufacturing system travel lesser distance
• Customers spend less time in service systems
• Costs & Lead time come down
• Improved quality
 TYPES OF LAYOUT
• Process Layout
• Arrangement of resources on the basis of the process characteristics of the resources
available
• Product Layout
• Order in which the resources are placed follow exactly the visitation sequence dictated
by a product
• Group Technology (GT) / Cellular Layout
• Seeks to exploit commonality in manufacturing and uses this as the basis for grouping
components and resources
• Fixed Position Layout
• Emphasis is not so much on optimum position of resources required for the process,
since the product itself largely dictates this; the focus is on gaining better control of
material flow and reducing delays
 VOLUME – VARIETY – FLOW: IMPLICATIONS FOR LAYOUT PLANNING
Variety

Very low variety Medium Variety High Variety One off execution

Flow attributes Stream lined flow Multiple flow paths Dis-organised flow Jumbled flow

Volume attributes High Volume Mid-volume Low volume One piece

Job shops; Customized

Examples of operating Process industry; Mass
Batch Manufacturing firms Product/ Service Project Shops
systems Product/ Service provider
Provider

Line Layout; Product Layout Group Technology Layout Process Layout Fixed Position Layout
Types of layout used
 PRODUCT LAYOUT
Product A
L D M G

Product B
L D L G

Product C
L D M L G
PRODUCT LAYOUT
 PROCESS LAYOUT
Product A

Product B L L L L D D

Product C D D
L L L L
D D
M M

G G G
M M
ALTERNATIVE LAYOUTS: AN EXAMPLE FROM BANKING
APPENDIX
APPENDIX ENTRY
ENTRY LAYOUT- STATE
LAYOUT - STATE BANK
BANK OFOF
3 B3 B
MYSORE
MYSORE
Bank A
LAYOUT - INDUSIND BANK
APPENDIX 3 A Bank B
ENTRY

FOREX DIVISION BILLS

MANAGER BILLS
MANAGER

WAITING
COMMUNICATIONS RECEIVING PAYING
AREA KITCHEN ROOM STRONG
RECEIVING PAYING
ROOM CASH COUNTERS
STRONG
ROOM CASH COUNTERS

DY.
REST - MANAGER
RECEPTIONIST ROOMS
SECY. DY.
MANAGER

CREDIT COMPUTER
ROOM
OPERATIONS
COMPUTER
CURRENT ROOM
CREDIT RECORDS
ROOM A/C &
OPERATIONS OTHERS
RECORDS CURRENT
CONFERENCE
ROOM A/C &
ROOM
OTHERS
VICE -
MGR. PRESIDENT
OPS LUNCH
ROOM
UPS
MGR.
CREDIT LUNCH LOANS FIXED
ROOM &ADVANCES DEPOSITS
UPS

LOANS FIXED
&ADVANCES DEPOSITS
 PRODUCT & PROCESS LAYOUT
Process Layout Product Layout

Sharing of specialized and costly equipments Standardised product/ process routing

Advantages
More flexibility Operational Control is simpler

Less vulnerable to breakdowns High output rate is possible

Large Inventory buildup Low tolerance for breakdowns

Disadvantages
Operational control difficult Duplication of equipments leading to high cost

Excess Material Handling Less flexibility due to dedication of resources

 GROUP TECHNOLOGY / CELLULAR LAYOUT
Cell 1 Cell 2

L M D M D L

D L G G D L

L D L D

M L G L M

Cell 4 Cell 3
FIXED POSITION LAYOUT
SERVICE LAYOUTS
SERVICE LAYOUTS
 LAYOUT DESIGN: PERFORMANCE MEASURES
Performance Measure Basis for measurement

Distance travelled by jobs in the shop floor Kg - Metres of job movement for each product

Space utilization index Minimum space required to actual space utilised

Material Handling costs Rupees per month

Lead time of the processes Hours per average product
Investment in work-in-progress Rupees per month

Inter-departmental moves Number and quantum of inter-departmental moves

Utilization of the resources Percent to total capacity

Number of job cards and control documents generated;
Ease of production control
Size of the progress chasing staff
Number of times the responsibility for the job changes
Number of ownership changes
hands
 GAINING FOCUS
• New services or products often added to a facility in the name of better utilizing fixed costs and
keeping everything under the same roof.
• Competitive priorities, process structures, and technologies.
• In the effort to do everything, nothing was done well.
• Plant Within Plants (PWPs)
• Different operations within a facility with individualized competitive priorities, processes, and workforces
under the same roof.
• At each PWP, customization, capital intensity volume, and other relationships are crucial and must be
complementary.
• Fewer layers of management, greater ability to rely on team problem solving, and shorter lines of
communication between departments.
• Focused Service Operations
• Specialty retailers stores with smaller, more accessible spaces.
• Specific customers / products: Remodelled stores create effect of many small boutiques under one roof.
• Focused Factories
• The result of a firm’s splitting large plants that produced all the company’s products into several specialized
smaller plants.
• Narrowing the range of demands on a facility will lead to better performance.
 PROCESS REENGINEERING
• Reengineering
• The fundamental rethinking and radical redesign of processes to improve performance
dramatically in terms of cost, quality, service, and speed
• Key elements
• Critical processes
• Strong leadership
• Cross-functional teams
• Information technology
• Clean-slate philosophy
• Process analysis
 PROCESS IMPROVEMENT
• Process Improvement
• The systematic study of the activities and flows of each process to improve it
• Tools
• Flowcharts
• Work Measurement Techniques
• Process Charts
• Data Analysis Tools
 PROCESS IMPROVEMENT
Flowchart
• A diagram that traces the flow of information, customers, equipment, or materials through
the various steps of a process
Service Blueprint
• A special flowchart of a service process that shows which steps have high customer contact
 PROCESS IMPROVEMENT
Swim Lane Flowchart – A visual representation that groups functional areas responsible for
different subprocesses into lanes.
Swim Lane Flowchart of the Order-Filling Process Showing Handoffs between Departments
 PROCESS IMPROVEMENT
• Work Measurement Techniques
• Time Study
• Elemental Standard Data Method
• Predetermined Data Method
• Work Sampling Method
• Learning Curve Analysis
 PROCESS IMPROVEMENT: WORK MEASUREMENT TECHNIQUES
• Time Study
A process at a watch assembly plant has been changed. The process is divided
into three work elements. A time study has been performed with the following
results. The time standard for the process previously was 14.5 minutes. Based on
the new time study, should the time standard be revised?
The new time study had an initial sample of four observations, with the results
shown in the following table. The performance rating factor (RF) is shown for
each element, and the allowance for the whole process is 18 percent of the total
normal time.
Blank Obs 1
ervation Obs 2
ervation Obs 3
ervation Obs 4
ervation Average (min) RF Normal Time
Element 1 2.60 2.34 3.12 2.86 2.730 1.0 2.730
Element 2 4.94 4.78 5.10 4.68 4.875 1.1 5.363
Element 3 2.18 1.98 2.13 2.25 2.135 0.9 1.922

Total Normal Time = 10.015 minutes

 PROCESS IMPROVEMENT: WORK MEASUREMENT TECHNIQUES
• Time Study
A process at a watch assembly plant has been changed. The process is divided into three work
elements. A time study has been performed with the following results. The time standard for the
process previously was 14.5 minutes. Based on the new time study, should the time standard be
revised?
The new time study had an initial sample of four observations, with the results shown in the following
table. The performance rating factor (RF) is shown for each element, and the allowance for the whole
process is 18 percent of the total normal time.
Blank Obs 1
ervation Obs 2
ervation Obs 3
ervation Obs 4
ervation Average (min) RF Normal Time
Element 1 2.60 2.34 3.12 2.86 2.730 1.0 2.730
Element 2 4.94 4.78 5.10 4.68 4.875 1.1 5.363
Element 3 2.18 1.98 2.13 2.25 2.135 0.9 1.922
Total Normal Time = 10.015 minutes
Standard Time = 11.82 minutes / watch
The time to assemble a watch appears to have decreased considerably. However, based on the
precision that management wants, the analyst decided to increase the sample size before setting a
new standard. Normal Time = Observed Time * Rating Factor
Standard Time = Normal Time + Allowance
 PROCESS IMPROVEMENT: WORK MEASUREMENT TECHNIQUES
Work Sampling
Work Sampling Study of Admission Clerk at Health Clinic using OM Explorer’s Time Study
Solver
 PROCESS IMPROVEMENT: WORK MEASUREMENT TECHNIQUES
Learning Curves
Learning Curve with 80% Learning Rate Using OM Explorer’s Learning Curves Solver
 PROCESS IMPROVEMENT: PROCESS CHARTS
• Process Charts - An organized way of documenting all the activities performed
by a person or group of people, at a workstation, with a customer, or working
with certain materials
• Activities are typically organized into five categories:

– Operation
– Transportation
– Inspection
– Delay
– Storage
 PROCESS IMPROVEMENT: PROCESS CHARTS
• Process Chart for Emergency Room Admission
 PROCESS IMPROVEMENT: PROCESS CHARTS
• The annual cost of an entire process can be estimated as:
Annual  Time to perform   Variable costs   Number of times process 
=   
labor cost  the process in hours   per hour   performed each year 
• For example:
• Average time to serve a customer is 4 hours
• The variable cost is $25 per hour
• 40 customers are served per year
• The total labor cost is:

4 hrs customer  $25 hr  40 customers yr = $ 4, 000

 PROCESS IMPROVEMENT: DATA ANALYSIS TOOLS
• Checklists
• Histograms and Bar Charts
• Pareto Charts
• Scatter Diagrams
• Cause-and-Effect Diagrams (Fishbone)
• Graphs
 PROCESS IMPROVEMENT: DATA ANALYSIS TOOLS
• Histograms and Bar Charts
 PROCESS IMPROVEMENT: DATA ANALYSIS TOOLS
• Pareto Charts
 PROCESS IMPROVEMENT: DATA ANALYSIS TOOLS
The manager of a neighborhood restaurant is concerned about the smaller numbers of
customers patronizing his eatery. Complaints have been rising, and he would like to find out
what issues to address and present the findings in a way his employees can understand.
The manager surveyed his customers over several weeks and collected the following data:

Complaint Frequency
Discourteous server 12
Slow service 42
Cold dinner 5
Cramped table 20
Atmosphere 10
 PROCESS IMPROVEMENT: DATA ANALYSIS TOOLS
The manager of a neighborhood restaurant is concerned about the smaller numbers of
customers patronizing his eatery. Complaints have been rising, and he would like to find out
what issues to address and present the findings in a way his employees can understand.
The manager surveyed his customers over several weeks and collected the following data:
 PROCESS IMPROVEMENT: DATA ANALYSIS TOOLS
• Cause-and-Effect Diagrams (Fishbone)

Materials Work methods

Quality

Equipment
Labour

Ca use Effect
 PROCESS IMPROVEMENT: DATA ANALYSIS TOOLS
• Cause-and-Effect Diagrams (Fishbone)
A process improvement team is working to improve the production output at the Johnson
Manufacturing plant’s header cell that manufactures a key component, headers, used in
commercial air conditioners. Currently the header production cell is scheduled separately from
the main work in the plant.
The team conducted extensive on-site observations across the six processing steps within the cell
and they are as follows:
1. Cut copper pipes to the appropriate length
2. Punch vent and sub holes into the copper log
3. Weld a steel supply valve onto the top of the copper log
4. Braze end caps and vent plugs to the copper log
5. Braze stub tubes into each stub hole in the copper log
6. Add plastic end caps to protect the newly created header
• To analyze all the possible causes of that problem, the team constructed a cause-and-effect
diagram. Several suspected causes were identified for each major category.
 PROCESS IMPROVEMENT: DATA ANALYSIS TOOLS
• Cause-and-Effect Diagrams (Fishbone): Inadequate Header Production
 PROCESS IMPROVEMENT: DATA ANALYSIS TOOLS
• Cause-and-Effect Diagrams (Fishbone)
 PROCESS IMPROVEMENT
The Wellington Fiber Board Company produces headliners, the fiberglass components that
form the inner roof of passenger cars. Management wanted to identify which process failures
were most prevalent and to find the cause.
• Step 1: A checklist of different types of process failures is constructed from last month’s
production records.
• Step 2: A Pareto chart prepared from the checklist data indicated that broken fiber board
accounted for 72 percent of the process failures.
• Step 3: A cause-and-effect diagram for broken fiber board identified several potential causes
for the problem. The one strongly suspected by the manager was employee training.
• Step 4: The manager reorganizes the production reports into a bar chart according to shift
because the personnel on the three shifts had varied amounts of experience.
 PROCESS IMPROVEMENT
Application of the Tools for Improving Quality
 PROCESS IMPROVEMENT
Application of the Tools for Improving Quality
REDESIGNING AND MANAGING PROCESS IMPROVEMENTS
• Questioning and Brainstorming
• Benchmarking
• Implementing
REDESIGNING AND MANAGING PROCESS IMPROVEMENTS
• Questioning and Brainstorming
• Ideas can be uncovered by asking six questions:
1. What is being done?
2. When is it being done?
3. Who is doing it?
4. Where is it being done?
5. How is it being done?
6. How well does it do on the various metrics of importance?
• Brainstorming – Letting a group of people, knowledgeable about the process,
propose ideas for change by saying whatever comes to mind
REDESIGNING AND MANAGING PROCESS IMPROVEMENTS
• Benchmarking
• A systematic procedure that measures a firm’s processes, services, and products against
those of industry leaders
• Implementing
• Avoid the following seven mistakes:
1. Not connecting with strategic issues
2. Not involving the right people in the right way
3. Not giving the Design Teams and Process Analysts a clear charter, and then holding them
accountable
4. Not being satisfied unless fundamental “reengineering” changes are made
5. Not considering the impact on people
6. Not giving attention to implementation
7. Not creating an infrastructure for continuous process improvement
 PROBLEM 1
Create a flowchart for the following telephone-ordering process at a retail chain
that specializes in selling books and music CDs. It provides an ordering system via
the telephone to its time-sensitive customers besides its regular store sales.
The automated system greets customers, asks them to choose a tone or pulse
phone, and routes them accordingly.
The system checks to see whether customers have an existing account. They can
wait for the service representative to open a new account.
Customers choose between order options and are routed accordingly.
Customers can cancel the order. Finally, the system asks whether the customer
has additional requests; if not, the process terminates.
PROBLEM 1
 PROBLEM 2
An automobile service is having difficulty providing oil changes in the 29 minutes
or less mentioned in its advertising. You are to analyze the process of changing
automobile engine oil. The subject of the study is the service mechanic. The
process begins when the mechanic directs the customer’s arrival and ends when
the customer pays for the services.
The times add up to 28 minutes, which does
not allow much room for error if the 29-
minute guarantee is to be met and the
mechanic travels a total of 420 feet.