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Chapter 11 Capacity planning and control

Source: Arup

Slack, Chambers and Johnston, Operations Management 5th Edition Nigel Slack, Stuart Chambers, and Robert Johnston 2007

Capacity planning and control

Capacity planning and control The market requires the availability of products and services The operation supplies ... the capacity to deliver products and services

Operations strategy Operations management

Design

Improvement

Planning and control

Slack, Chambers and Johnston, Operations Management 5th Edition Nigel Slack, Stuart Chambers, and Robert Johnston 2007

Objective To provide an appropriate amount of capacity at any point in time The appropriateness of capacity planning in any part of the operation can be judged by its effect on Costs Revenue Working capital Service level
Source: British Airways London Eye

Slack, Chambers and Johnston, Operations Management 5th Edition Nigel Slack, Stuart Chambers, and Robert Johnston 2007

Objectives of capacity planning and control


Measure aggregate capacity and demand Identify the alternative capacity plans Choose the most appropriate capacity plan

Aggregated output

Forecast demand

Estimate of current capacity

Time

Slack, Chambers and Johnston, Operations Management 5th Edition Nigel Slack, Stuart Chambers, and Robert Johnston 2007

The nature of aggregate capacity


Aggregate capacity of a hotel: rooms per night ignores the numbers of guests in each room

Aggregate capacity of an aluminium producer: tonnes per month ignores types of alloy, gauge and batch variations

Slack, Chambers and Johnston, Operations Management 5th Edition Nigel Slack, Stuart Chambers, and Robert Johnston 2007

Causes of seasonality

Climatic

Festive

Behavioural

Political

Financial

Social

Source: Alamy/Medical-on-line

Construction materials Beverages (beer, cola) Foods (ice-cream, Christmas cake) Clothing (swimwear, shoes) Gardening items (seeds, fertilizer) Fireworks

Travel services Holidays Tax processing Doctors (influenza epidemic) Sports services Education services

Slack, Chambers and Johnston, Operations Management 5th Edition Nigel Slack, Stuart Chambers, and Robert Johnston 2007

Demand fluctuations in four operations

Slack, Chambers and Johnston, Operations Management 5th Edition Nigel Slack, Stuart Chambers, and Robert Johnston 2007

Good forecasts are essential for effective capacity planning


but so is an understanding of demand uncertainty, because it allows you to judge the risks to service level
Distribution of demand Only 5% chance of demand being higher than this

DEMAND

DEMAND

Only 5% chance of demand being lower than this TIME TIME

When demand uncertainty is high, the risks to service level of underprovision of capacity are high

Slack, Chambers and Johnston, Operations Management 5th Edition Nigel Slack, Stuart Chambers, and Robert Johnston 2007

Operating equipment effectiveness (OEE)


Loading time Not worked (unplanned) Set-up and changeovers Breakdown failure Equipment idling Slow-running equipment Quality losses Performance rate = p = net operating time/ total operating time Availability rate = a = total operating time/ loading time

Total operating time

Availability losses

Net operating time

Speed losses

Valuable operating time

Quality losses

Quality rate = q =valuable operating time/ net operating time

Slack, Chambers and Johnston, Operations Management 5th Edition Nigel Slack, Stuart Chambers, and Robert Johnston 2007

How capacity and demand are measured


Efficiency = Planned loss of 59 hours Avoidable loss 58 hours per week Actual output 51 hours per week Actual output Effective capacity

Design capacity

Effective capacity 168 hours per week 109 hours per week

Utilization=

Actual output Design capacity

Slack, Chambers and Johnston, Operations Management 5th Edition Nigel Slack, Stuart Chambers, and Robert Johnston 2007

Ways of reconciling capacity and demand

Demand Capacity

Demand Capacity

Demand Capacity

Level capacity

Chase demand

Demand management

Slack, Chambers and Johnston, Operations Management 5th Edition Nigel Slack, Stuart Chambers, and Robert Johnston 2007

Ways of reconciling capacity and demand How do you cope with fluctuations in demand?

Absorb demand
Level capacity

Adjust output to match demand


Chase demand

Change demand
Demand management

Slack, Chambers and Johnston, Operations Management 5th Edition Nigel Slack, Stuart Chambers, and Robert Johnston 2007

Absorb demand Have excess capacity

Keep output level

Source: Madam Tussauds

Make to stock Part finished Finished goods, or Customer inventory

Make customer wait Queues Backlogs

Slack, Chambers and Johnston, Operations Management 5th Edition Nigel Slack, Stuart Chambers, and Robert Johnston 2007

Adjust output to match demand

Hire Temporary labour Overtime Subcontract

Fire Lay-off Short time

Source: Corbis/Photocuisine

Third-party work

Slack, Chambers and Johnston, Operations Management 5th Edition Nigel Slack, Stuart Chambers, and Robert Johnston 2007

Change demand

Change pattern of demand Develop alternative products and/or services

Source: Empics

Slack, Chambers and Johnston, Operations Management 5th Edition Nigel Slack, Stuart Chambers, and Robert Johnston 2007

Moving a peak in demand can make capacity planning easier

Slack, Chambers and Johnston, Operations Management 5th Edition Nigel Slack, Stuart Chambers, and Robert Johnston 2007

Capacity planning and control as a dynamic sequence of decisions


Period t 1 Period t Current capacity Updated estimates forecasts Period t + 1 Current capacity Updated estimates forecasts Outcome Shortages Decision Queues How much Actual Inventory demand capacity and actual next capacity period?

Outcome Shortages Decision Queues Actual Inventory How much demand capacity and actual next capacity period?

Capacity level

Costs Revenues Working capital Customer satisfaction etc.

Costs Revenues Working capital Customer satisfaction etc.

Slack, Chambers and Johnston, Operations Management 5th Edition Nigel Slack, Stuart Chambers, and Robert Johnston 2007

Demand for manufacturing operations output


8000 7000 Forecast in aggregated units of output per month 6000 5000 4000 3000 2000 1000 0 J F M A M J J Months A S O N D

Slack, Chambers and Johnston, Operations Management 5th Edition Nigel Slack, Stuart Chambers, and Robert Johnston 2007

For capacity planning purposes, demand is best considered on a cumulative basis. This allows alternative capacity and output plans to be evaluated for feasibility
60 Forecast cumulative aggregated output (thousands) 50 40 30 20 10 0

40

80 120 160 Cumulative operating days

200

240

Slack, Chambers and Johnston, Operations Management 5th Edition Nigel Slack, Stuart Chambers, and Robert Johnston 2007

Cumulative representations

Cumulative demand Capacity and demand

Cumulative capacity Unable to meet orders

Building stock

Time

Slack, Chambers and Johnston, Operations Management 5th Edition Nigel Slack, Stuart Chambers, and Robert Johnston 2007

Simple queuing system

Distribution of arrival times


Rejecting

Distribution of processing times Balking Reneging

Server 1

Server 2 Source of customers Queue or waiting line Served customers

Boundary of system

Server m

Slack, Chambers and Johnston, Operations Management 5th Edition Nigel Slack, Stuart Chambers, and Robert Johnston 2007

Simple queuing system

Low variability narrow distribution of process times

Time High variability wide distribution of process times Time

Slack, Chambers and Johnston, Operations Management 5th Edition Nigel Slack, Stuart Chambers, and Robert Johnston 2007

Key Terms Test


Capacity The maximum level of value-added activity that an operation, or process, or facility, is capable of over a period of time. Aggregated planning and control A term used to indicate medium-term capacity planning that aggregates different products and services together in order to get a broad view of demand and capacity. Design capacity The capacity of a process or facility as it is designed to be; often greater than effective capacity.

Slack, Chambers and Johnston, Operations Management 5th Edition Nigel Slack, Stuart Chambers, and Robert Johnston 2007

Key Terms Test


Effective capacity The useful capacity of a process or operation after maintenance, changeover and other stoppages and loading have been accounted for. Utilization The ratio of the actual output from a process or facility to its design capacity. Overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) A method of judging the effectiveness of how operations equipment is used.

Slack, Chambers and Johnston, Operations Management 5th Edition Nigel Slack, Stuart Chambers, and Robert Johnston 2007

Key Terms Test


Level capacity plan An approach to medium-term capacity management that attempts to keep output from an operation or its capacity constant, irrespective of demand. Chase demand plan An approach to medium-term capacity management that attempts to adjust output and/or capacity to reflect fluctuations in demand. Demand management An approach to medium-term capacity management that attempts to change or influence demand to fit available capacity.

Slack, Chambers and Johnston, Operations Management 5th Edition Nigel Slack, Stuart Chambers, and Robert Johnston 2007

Key Terms Test


Hire and fire A (usually pejorative) term used in medium-term capacity management to indicate varying the size of the workforce through employment policy. Subcontracting When used in medium-term capacity management, a term that indicates the temporary use of other operations to perform some tasks, or even produce whole products or services, during times of high demand. Demand management An approach to medium-term capacity management that attempts to change or influence demand to fit available capacity.

Slack, Chambers and Johnston, Operations Management 5th Edition Nigel Slack, Stuart Chambers, and Robert Johnston 2007

Key Terms Test


Yield management A collection of methods that can be used to ensure that an operation (usually with a fixed capacity) maximizes its potential to generate profit. Queuing theory A mathematical approach that models random arrival and processing activities in order to predict the behaviour of queuing systems (also called waiting line theory).

Slack, Chambers and Johnston, Operations Management 5th Edition Nigel Slack, Stuart Chambers, and Robert Johnston 2007

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