Concept of Production and Classification of Production Systems
Concept of Production and Production Systems
Definition of Production System:
The production system of an organization is defined as that part of the organization which produces its products.
Key Characteristics of Production Systems:
Organized Activity with Objectives: Production is a structured, organized activity, meaning that every production system operates with specific, predefined organizational objectives.
Input-Output Transformation: The system transforms various inputs into useful and value-added outputs.
Interconnectedness: A production system does not operate in isolation from other organizational systems; it interacts continuously with functional areas such as finance, marketing, purchasing, and human resources.
Feedback Mechanism: There exists continuous feedback regarding system activities, which is essential to control, evaluate, and improve system performance over time.
Classification of Production Systems and Manufacturing Processes
Primary Classifications:
Production systems and manufacturing processes are broadly classified into four major categories:
Jobbing Manufacturing Process (Job Shop Production)
Batch Manufacturing Process (Batch Production)
Mass or Flow Manufacturing Process (Mass Production)
Process Type Manufacturing Process (Continuous Production)
Factors Affecting the Choice of Manufacturing Process:
Effect of Volume/Variety: The fundamental trade-off between product diversity and required output volume.
Capacity of the Plant: The physical and operational maximum production capacity of the plant.
Lead Time: The total time required from initial order placement to final delivery of finished products.
Flexibility and Efficiency: The ability of the production system to adapt to design changes versus overall operating cost efficiency.
Product Variety vs. Production Volume Framework:
High Product Variety / Low Production Volume: Job Shop Production (Varieties of products produced in small amounts).
Medium Product Variety / Medium Production Volume: Batch Production (Medium volumes and quantities produced in lots, groups, or batches).
Low Product Variety / High Production Volume: Mass / Flow / In-Line Production (Discrete parts assembled continuously in large volumes).
Very Low Product Variety / Very High Production Volume: Continuous / Process-Flow Production ( continuous operation all over the year).
1.1.1.1. Job Shop Production:
Definition: Characterized by the manufacturing of one or a few quantities of products designed and produced strictly as per customer specifications within a prefixed time frame and cost.
Distinguishing Features: Extremely low volume paired with high product variety.
Equipment & Departmental Layout: Consists of general-purpose machines arranged into functional departments.
Technological Sequence: Each individual job demands unique technological requirements and demands processing on machines in a specific, customized sequence.
Examples: Painting shops, machine tool shops, custom bridal clothing flagship stores, custom fine art/paintings, and custom structural machining workshops.
1.1.1.2. Batch Production:
APICS Definition: Defined by the American Production and Inventory Control Society (APICS) as a form of manufacturing in which the job passes through the functional departments in lots or batches, and each lot may have a different routing.
Characteristics: Characterized by the manufacture of a limited number of products produced at regular intervals and stocked awaiting sales.
Volume & Variety: Medium variety and medium volumes/quantities produced in distinct groups/lots/batches.
Examples: Drugs & pharmaceuticals (e.g., Ibuflam 600mg), chemicals, industrial bakeries (bread baking racks), and beverage packaging lines.
1.1.1.3. Mass Production:
Definition: The manufacture of discrete parts or assemblies using a continuous process.
Justification: Justified by very large production volume.
Layout & Standardization: Machines are arranged in a fixed line or product layout. Product and process standardization exists, ensuring that all outputs follow the exact same path.
Volume & Variety: Low product variety and high volume.
Examples: Automobile assembly plants, food processing plants, and beer bottling facilities.
1.1.1.3. Continuous Production:
Definition: Production facilities are arranged as per the sequence of production operations from the first operations to the finished product.
Operating Regime: Operates all over the year, achieving very high volume with very low product variety.
Material Handling: Items are made to flow seamlessly through the sequence of operations via material handling devices such as conveyors and transfer devices.
Examples: Petrochemical refineries, edible oil refineries, steel making, paper making, and beer brewing.
Comparative Analysis: Mass Production vs. Continuous Production:
Similarities: Both systems handle high production volume with fixed operational routings.
Key Distinctions:
Mass Production: Machine and human work together interactively (e.g., assembly workers installing components along an automotive assembly line).
Continuous Production: Most of the work is done by machine with high automated fluid or material handling and minimal direct labor (e.g., automated beer bottling lines or chemical processing plants).
Production Function and System Architecture
Definition of Production Function:
The production function is that part of an organization concerned with the transformation of a range of inputs into the required outputs (products) having the requisite quality level.
Core Definitions of Production:
Step-by-Step Conversion: The step-by-step conversion of one form or material into another form through chemical or mechanical processes to create or enhance the utility of the product to the user.
Value Addition Process: Production is fundamentally a value addition process where at each stage of processing, there is incremental value addition.
Goods Creation: The overall process by which physical goods are created.
Product Types in Production:
Custom-Made Products: Products manufactured to specific individual specifications (e.g., boilers with a specific capacity, constructing flats, structural fabrication works for selected customers, customized Coca-Cola umbrellas, personalized printed mugs like "Super Mom", and custom tailoring).
Standardized Products: Uniform goods manufactured for mass distribution (e.g., car, bus, motorcycle, radio, television).
Schematic Production System Architecture (Figure 2.1):
Inputs: Men, Materials, Machines.
Transformation Process: Product Design, Process Planning, Production Control, Maintenance.
Outputs: Products.
Continuous Monitoring Elements: Inventory, Quality.
Feedback Information Loop: Data from outputs and continuous parameters (inventory and quality control) flows back into inputs and the transformation process to adjust and optimize performance.
System Environment: The production system exists within a broader organizational and external environment that interacts across all processing stages.
Concept of Operations and Operating Systems
Concept of Operations:
Definition: An operation is defined in terms of the mission it serves for the organization, technology it employs, and the human and managerial processes it involves.
Operational Categories: Operations within an organization are categorized into:
Manufacturing Operations
Service Operations
Operating Systems:
Definition: An operating system converts inputs in order to provide outputs required by a customer, converting physical resources into outputs to satisfy customer wants and provide utility.
Product Output Diversity: In some organizations, the output is a physical good (e.g., hotels, builders), while in others, it is a service (e.g., hospitals, bus and taxi services, tailors).
Operating System Function: The specialized part of an organization that produces physical goods and services; it represents a configuration of resources combined for the provision of goods and services.
Examples: Bus and taxi services, tailors, hospitals, and builders.
Difference Between Manufacturing Operations and Service Operations
Key Differentiating Criteria:
Manufacturing operations and service operations differ across seven fundamental criteria:
a. Degree of Customer Contact: Services feature direct, high customer contact during delivery, whereas manufacturing involves low customer contact.
b. Labor Content of Jobs: Service jobs are generally labor-intensive, whereas manufacturing relies heavily on automated capital equipment.
c. Measurement of Productivity: Easily quantified in manufacturing (units/hour), but complex to measure in services due to variable service delivery.
d. Quality Assurance: In manufacturing, quality control occurs prior to output delivery; in services, delivery and consumption occur simultaneously.
e. Inventory: Physical goods in manufacturing can be stocked and stored as physical inventory; services cannot be inventoried.
f. Wages: Wage structures vary based on labor skill profiles and capital intensity.
g. Ability to Patent: Physical manufacturing designs and products are easily patentable, whereas service delivery processes are generally non-patentable.
Operations Management Functions and Model
Core Concern of Operations Managers:
Operations managers are concerned with planning, organizing, and controlling the activities which affect human behaviour through models.
General Model for Managing Operations:
Central Core:
Conversion Process
Models
Behaviour
Planning (Planning Conversion System):
Operations Strategies
Forecasting
Product and Process Choices
Operations Capacity
Facility Location Planning
Layout Planning
Organising (Organising for Conversion):
Job Design
Production/Operations Standards
Work Measurement
Project Management
Scheduling Conversion System:
Scheduling system & Aggregate Planning
Operations Scheduling
Controlling:
Material Control
Inventory Control
Material Requirement Planning
Managing for World Class Competition
Japanese Manufacturing
Managing for Quality
Quality Analysis & Control
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