CHAPTER- 4-5

PROCESS DESIGN
CHALA DECHASSA (PhD)

Compiled by: chala D, PhD 07/20/2022 1

 Chapter Objectives

At the end of this chapter you answer the following

questions
 What is process design?

 What are process types ?

 What objectives should process design have?

 How do volume and variety that affect process design?

 How are processes designed in detail?

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 Definitions- Design

To design refers to the process of originating and

developing a plan for a product, service or process.
To design is to consider the looks, arrangement, and
workings of something before it is created ( Design
happens before creation). In that sense it is a
conceptual exercise.
Yet, it is one which must deliver a solution that will
work in practice. Design is also an activity that can be
approached at different levels of detail

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 Cont’d- Process

Is any part of an organization which takes a

set of input resources which are then used to
transform something into outputs of products
or services.
Process design is decision-making of an overall process route
for converting the raw material into finished goods.
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 Cont’d

Process Design decisions encompass:

The selection of a process, choice of technology,
process flow analysis and layout of the facilities.

The important decisions in process design are:

to analyze the workflow for converting raw
material into finished product and to select the
workstation for each included in the workflow.
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 Cont’d

The overlap between process design and product/service design is

generally greater in operations which produce services.
Because many services involve the customer in being part of the
transformation process, the service, as far as the customer sees it,
cannot be separated from the process to which the customer is
subjected.
Overlapping product and process design has implications for the
organization of the design activity.
Certainly, when product designers also have to make or
use the things which they design, it can concentrate their
minds on what is important.
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The Design Of Products/Services and Processes Are Interrelated And Should Be
Treated Together

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 Process Design Objectives

is to make sure that the performance of the process

is appropriate for whatever it is trying to achieve.
For example, if an operation competes primarily on its
ability to respond quickly to customer requests, its
processes need to be designed to give fast throughput
times.
This would minimize the time between customers
requesting a product or service and them receiving it.
Similarly, if an operation competes on low price, cost-
related objectives are likely to dominate its4/4/2016
chala Dechassa
process8
design.
 The Objectives of Process Design
Operational Typical Process Some Benefits of Good Design
Performance Design Objective Objective
Objectives

 Provide appropriate  Products and services

resources, capable of produced on specification
Quality achieving the specification  Less recycling and wasted
of product or services effort within
 Error-free process
Speed  Minimum throughput time  Short customer waiting time
 Output rate appropriate for  Low in-process inventory
demand
Dependabilit Provide dependable On-time deliveries of
y process resource product and service
Reliable process output Less disruption, confusion
timing and volume and rescheduling within the
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process 4/4/2016 9
 Cont’d
Operational Performance Typical Process Some Benefits of Good Design
Objectives Design Objective Objective

 Provide resources with an  Ability to process a wide range

appropriate range of of products and services
Flexibility capabilities  Low cost/fast product and
 Change easily between service change
processing states (what, how or  Low cost/fast volume and
how much is being processed) timing changes
 Ability to cope with
unexpected events (e.g. supply
or a processing failure)
Cost  Appropriate capacity to meet  Low process cost
demand  Low resource cost (capital
 Eliminate process wast in terms costs)
of:  Low delay inventory costs
 Excess capacity (working capital costs)
 Excess process capacity
 In-process delay
 In-process error
 Inappropriate process input
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 Cont’d

Operations performance objectives translate

directly to process design objectives.
But, because processes are managed at a very operational
level, process design also needs to consider a more
‘micro’ and detailed set of objectives.
It is common for more ‘micro’ performance flow
objectives to be used that describe process flow
performance. For example

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 Cont’d

Throughput rate (or flow rate) is the rate at which units

emerge from the process, i.e. the number of units passing
through the process per unit of time;
Throughput time is the average elapsed time taken for inputs
to move through the process and become outputs; the number
of units in the process (also called the ‘work in process’ or in-
process inventory) is an average over a period of time;
The utilization of process resources is the proportion of
available time that the resources within the process are
performing useful work.
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 The Two-Dimensions of Process
Design

Intermittent Operations: are used to produce a variety

of products with different processing requirements in
lower volumes. (irregular operations)
Because different products have different processing needs, there
is no standard route that all products take through the facility.
Instead, resources are grouped by function and the
product is routed to each resource as needed.

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 Cont’d
Example
Think about a healthcare facility, each patient, “the product,” is
routed to different departments as needed.
One patient may need to get an X-ray, go to the lab for blood
work, and then go to the examining room.
Another patient may need to go to the examining room and then to
physical therapy.
Consequently, in Intermittent Operations To be able to produce
products with different processing requirements, intermittent
operations tend to be labor intensive rather than capital intensive.
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 Cont’d

Workers need to be flexible and able to perform

different tasks as needed for the different products.
Equipment in this type is more general-purpose to
satisfy different processing requirements.
Automation tends to be less common because
automation is typically product-specific (standardization
is not possible).
Finally, the volume of goods produced is directly tied to
the number of customer orders ( customization).
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 Cont’d

Repetitive Operations: are used to produce

one or a few standardized products in
high volume.
This is directly the opposite of what we find with
intermittent operations.
To efficiently produce a large volume of one type of
product, these operations tend to be capital intensive
rather than labor intensive.

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 Cont’d

An example is “mass-production” operations,

which usually have much invested in their
facilities and equipment to provide a high
degree of product consistency.
Often these facilities rely on automation and
technology to improve efficiency and increase
output rather than on labor skill.
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Differences between Intermittent and Repetitive Operation

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 Process Types

The ‘general approaches’ to designing and managing

processes are called process types.
in manufacturing these are generally held to be
project, jobbing, batch, mass and continuous
processes,
in services they are held to be professional
services, service shops and mass services.
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 1. Project Processes

Those which deal with usually highly customized

products. Defined start and finish: time, quality and
cost objectives.

Many different skills have to be coordinated. So

low volume and high varieties are
characteristics of project processes.
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 Cont’d

Examples of project process include:

shipbuilding, most construction companies, movie production
companies, large fabrication operations such as those
manufacturing turbo generators, and installing a computer
system.
The essence of project processes is that each job has a well-defined start
and finish, the time interval between starting different jobs is relatively long
and the transforming resources which make the product will probably
have been organized especially for each product.
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 Continued

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 2. Jobbing (occasional/ temporary)
Processes

Jobbing processes also deal with very high variety and low

volumes. Each product has to share the operation’s resources

with many others. Skill requirements are usually very broad.

The resources of the operation will process a series of

products but, although all the products will require the same

kind of attention, each will differ in its exact needs.

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 Cont’d

Examples of jobbing processes include many precision engineers

such as specialist toolmakers, furniture restorers, bespoke
tailors, and the printer who produces tickets for the local
social event.
Jobbing processes produce more and usually smaller items than
project processes but, like project processes, the degree of
repetition is low. Many jobs will probably be one-offs.
However, jobbing processes usually produce physically smaller
products and, although sometimes entailing considerable skill,
such processes often involve fewer unpredictable circumstances.

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 Cont’d

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 3. Batch Processes

As the name implies, each time batch processes

produce a product they produce more than one.
Higher volumes and lower variety than for jobbing.
Standard products, repeating demand. But can
make specials. Specialized skill.
So each part of the operation has periods when it is
repeating itself, at least while the ‘batch’ is being
processed.
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 Cont’d

The size of the batch could be just two or three, in which case the
batch process would differ little from jobbing, especially if each batch
is a totally novel product.
Conversely, if the batches are large, and especially if the products are
familiar to the operation, batch processes can be fairly repetitive.
Because of this, the batch type of process can be found over a wide
range of volume and variety levels.
Examples of batch processes include machine tool manufacturing,
the production of some special gourmet frozen foods, and the
manufacture of most of the component parts which go into mass-
produced assemblies such as automobiles.
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 Cont’d

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 4. Mass processes

Mass processes are those which produce goods in high

volume and relatively narrow variety, Standard products,
Low and narrow skills and Higher volumes than Batch.
An automobile plant, for example, might produce several
thousand variants of car if every option of engine size,
color, extra equipment, etc. is taken into account.
The activities in the automobile plant, like all mass
operations, are essentially repetitive and largely
predictable.
Examples of mass processes include the automobile plant,
a television factory, most food processes and DVD
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 Cont’d

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 5. Continuous Processes

Continuous processes are one step beyond mass processes

insomuch as they operate at even higher volume and often
have even lower variety.

They also usually operate for longer periods of time.

Sometimes they are literally continuous in that their
products are inseparable, being produced in an endless
flow.
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Continuous processes are often associated with relatively
inflexible, capital-intensive technologies with highly
 Cont’d

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 1. Professional Services

Professional services are defined as high-contact organizations

where customers spend a considerable time in the service process.
Such services provide high levels of customization, the service
process being highly adaptable in order to meet individual
customer needs.
A great deal of staff time is spent in the front office and contact
staff are given considerable discretion in servicing customers.
Professional services tend to be people-based rather than
equipment-based, with emphasis placed on the process (how the
service is delivered) rather than the ‘product’ (what is delivered).

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 Cont’d

Professional services include management

consultants, lawyers’ practices, architects,
doctors’ surgeries, auditors, health and
safety inspectors and some computer field
service operations.

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 Cont’d

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 2. Service Shops

Service shops are characterized by levels of

customer contact, customization, volumes of
customers and staff discretion, which position them
between the extremes of professional and mass
services.
Service is provided via mixes of front-and back-
office activities.
Service shops include banks, high street shops,
holiday tour operators, car rental companies,
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schools, most restaurants, hotels and travel agents.

 Cont’d

For example, an equipment hire and sales organization may

have a range of products displayed in front-office outlets, while
back-office operations look after purchasing and administration.
The front-office staff have some technical training and can
advise customers during the process of selling the product.
Essentially the customer is buying a fairly standardized
product but will be influenced by the process of the sale
which is customized to their individual needs.
The health club shown in has front-office staff who can give
advice on exercise program and other treatments.
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 3. Mass Services

Mass services have many customer transactions, involving

limited contact time and little Customization.
Such services may be equipment-based and ‘product’-oriented, with most
value added in the back office and relatively little judgment applied by front-
office staff.

Staff are likely to have a closely defined division of labor

and to follow set procedures.
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 Cont’d

Mass services include supermarkets, a national rail

network, an airport, telecommunications service,
library, television station, the police service and the
enquiry desk at a utility.
the call centers used by almost all companies that deal directly
with consumers.

Coping with a very high volume of enquiries

requires some kind of structuring of the process of
communicating with customers.
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 Cont’d

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 Detailed Process Design

After the overall design of a process has been determined, its

individual activities must be configured.
For a process of any reasonable size, the number of alternative
process designs is usually large.
Because of this, process design is often done using some simple
visual approach such as:
 Process mapping
 Process mapping symbols
 Improving processes
 Process performance
 Throughput, cycle time and work in process
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 1.Process Mapping

Process mapping simply involves

describing processes in terms of how the
activities within the process relate to each
other.
Process mapping as it is sometimes called
process blueprinting, or process analysis.

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 2. Process Mapping Symbols

Process mapping symbol are used to classify different types of activity.

These symbols can be arranged in order, and in series or in parallel, to

describe any process.

Although there is no universal set of symbols, used all over the world for
any type of process, there are some that are commonly used.

Most of these derive either from the early days of ‘scientific’ management
around a century ago or, more recently, from information system
flowcharting.
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 Cont’d

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 3. Improving Processes

One significant advantage of mapping

processes is that each activity can be
systematically challenged in an attempt to
improve the process.
The end-result was a much-simplified process
which reduced the staff time needed to do the
job and considerably speeded up the whole
process.
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 4. Process Performance

It can be expressed in terms of throughput time, work-in-

progress, and cycle time are related by a formula known
as Little’s law: throughput time equals work-in-progress
multiplied by cycle time.
Throughput time: Can be calculated as:
Throughput time = Work-in-process × Cycle time
This mathematical relationship (throughput time = work-
in-process × cycle time) is called Little’s Law. Putting
this into Little’s law:
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 Cont’d
Example:
Throughput time = 4 minutes and
Work-in-process WIP = 10 minutes
Cycle time = ?
 Since cycle time = = = 0.40 minutes
 That is a customer emerge from the process every 0.40 minutes on
average.
 Given that an individual can be served in 1.2 minutes
 The number of servers required = 1.2/0.4 = 3
 In other words, three servers would serve three customers in 1.2
minutes or one customer in 0.4 minutes.
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 Cont’d

Work in process: Can be calculated as

WIP = TA× TR
TA= Time Available
TR=Through put Rate
The effects of process variability
There are many reasons why variability occurs in processes.
These can include: the late (or early) arrival of material, information or
customers, breakdown of process technology within a stage of the process,
the recycling of ‘misprocessed’ materials, information or customers to an
earlier stage in the process, variation in the requirements of items being
processed.
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 Simulation In Design

Simulation is one of the most fundamental approaches

to decision-making.
Designing processes often involves making decisions
in advance of the final process being created, and so
the designer is often not totally sure of the
consequences of his or her decisions.
To increase their own confidence in their design
decision, however, they will probably try to simulate
how the process might work in practice.
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 Cont’d
In designing the various processes within a football stadium,
the architect could devise a computer-based ‘model’ which
would simulate the movement of people through the
stadiums various processes. Let us see an example,

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