Process design

Source: Joe Schwarz, www.joyrides.com

Process design

Process design
Operations
Supply network design strategy

Layout Operations
and flow management
Design Improvement

Process Job
technology design Planning and
control
Product/service
design

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Nature and purpose of the design activity

Products, services and the processes which

produce them all have to be designed

Decisions taken during the design of a product or

service will have an impact on the decisions
taken during the design of the process which
produces those products or services, and vice
versa

Design of products / services and design of processes

are interrelated and should be treated together

Designing the Designing the

product or service process

Processes should be
Products and services Product / service designed so they can
should be designed in design has an create all products
such a way that they impact on the and services which
can be created process design and the operation is likely
effectively vice versa to introduce

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 Design of Design of Design of Design of
the Product the Process the Service the Process

In manufacturing operations In most service operations

overlapping the activities of the overlap between service
product and process design and process design is
is beneficial implicit in the nature of
service

Process mapping symbols Process mapping symbols

derived from ‘Scientific derived from Systems Analysis
Management’
Operation (an activity that Beginning or end of the
directly adds value) process

Inspection (a check of Activity

some sort)

Transport (a movement of Input or output from the

something) process

Delay (a wait, e.g. for materials) Direction of flow

Storage (deliberate storage, Decision (exercising discretion)

as opposed to a delay)

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 Designing processes

There are different ‘process types’

Process types are defined by the volume and

variety of ‘items’ they process

Process types go by different names

depending on whether they produce products or
services

Manufacturing process types

Process Process
tasks flow
High

Diverse/ Project
Intermittent
complex

Jobbing
Variety

Batch

Mass

Contin-
Low

Repeated/ Continuous uous

divided
Low Volume High

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 Project processes

One-off, complex, large-scale ‘products’ with

high work content

Specially made, every one ‘customized’

Defined start and finish: time, quality and cost

objectives

Many different skills have to be coordinated

A project process with a small part of the process map

that would describe the whole process

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 Jobbing processes

Very small quantities: ‘one-offs’, or only a few

required

Specially made: high variety, low repetition,

‘strangers’, every one ‘customized’

Skill requirements are usually very broad

Skilled jobber, or team, completes whole

product

Preparing photolithography materials on a jobbing basis

with a typical process map

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 Batch processes

Higher volumes and lower variety than for

jobbing

Standard products, repeating demand. But can

make specials

Specialized, narrower skills

Set-ups (changeovers) at each stage of

production

A batch process in a kitchen together with an

illustrative process map

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 Mass (line) processes

Higher volumes than batch

Standard, repeat products (‘runners’)

Low and/or narrow skills

No set-ups, or almost instantaneous ones

A mass process – a packing process

8
 Continuous processes

Extremely high volumes and low variety:

often single product

Standard, repeat products (‘runners’)

Highly capital-intensive and automated

Few changeovers required

Difficult and expensive to start and stop the

process

Part of a continuous process and a typical

process map

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 Service process types
Process Process
tasks flow

High
Diverse/ Professional
Intermittent
complex service

Service shop

Variety

Mass service
Low

Repeated/ Continuous
divided
Low Volume High

A professional service –
Consultants planning how best to help their client

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 A service shop – This health club offers some variety
within a standard set of facilities and processes

A mass service – This call centre can handle

a very high volume of customer enquiries because it
standardizes its process

Source: Royal Bank of Scotland Group

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Deviating from the ‘natural’ diagonal on the product–process
matrix has consequences for cost and flexibility

Manufacturing Volume Service

operations operations
process types Variety process types

Project None
Professional
More service
process
Jobbing flexibility
than is
needed so
high cost Service
Batch Less process
flexibility than shop
is needed so
high cost
Mass
Mass
service
Continuous None

The ‘natural’ line of fit of process to

volume/variety characteristics

Deviating from the ‘natural’ diagonal on the product–process

matrix has consequences for cost and flexibility
Volume
Variety

None
Old
Old process,
process new
product

New
process,
new
product

None

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 Flow (layout), technology and job design are all influenced
by process positioning

Volume
Flow Technology Jobs
Variety

Unorganized Little / Varied / high None

Custom
general discretion
furniture
maker
Machine
tool maker

Automobile
factory
Petro-
chemical
Routine / low
Predictable Specialist None refinery
discretion

Flow (layout), technology and job design are all influenced

by process positioning
Volume
Flow Technology Jobs
Variety

Unorganized Little / Varied / high None

general discretion Investment
banking
Customer
service
branch

Bank call
centre

Credit card
Routine / low processing
Predictable Specialist None
discretion

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 Process mapping symbols Process mapping symbols
derived from ‘Scientific derived from Systems Analysis
Management’
Operation (an activity Beginning or end of the
that directly adds value) process

Inspection (a check of Activity

some sort)
Input or output from the
Transport (a movement
process
of something)

Delay (a wait, e.g. for materials) Direction of flow

Storage (deliberate storage, Decision (exercising discretion)

as opposed to a delay)

Customized sandwich – old process

Raw Stored Move to Stored Take

Assembly Sell
materials sandwiches outlets sandwiches payment

Standard sandwich process

Customer
request

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 Customized sandwich – old process

Raw Take
materials Assembly payment

Customer
request

The operation of making and

selling customized sandwiches
Assemble as Take
Prepare required payment
Sandwich Customers
materials and ‘assembled’ to
customers sandwiches

Bread and
base filling Outline process of making and
selling customized sandwiches
Assemble whole
sandwich
Use standard
‘base’?
No

Yes Fillings
Customer request Detailed process of
assembling customized
Assemble from sandwiches
standard ‘base’
Stored
‘bases’

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 Customized sandwich – new process

Assemble whole
sandwich

Assembly of Take
Use standard
‘sandwich No
‘base’? payment
bases’

Fillings

Bread and Yes

Customer request
base filling

Assemble from
Stored ‘bases’
standard ‘base’

Flow process charts for processing expense reports

at Intel before and after improving the process
Description of activity
Description of activity
1 Report arrives
1 Report arrives
2 Wait for processing
2 Stamp and date report
3 Check expenses report 3 Check expenses report
4 Stamp and date report 4 Attach payment voucher
5 Send cash to receipt desk 5 Wait for batching
6 Wait for processing
6 Collect retorts into batch
7 Check advance payment Batch to audit desk
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8 Send to accounts receivable
8 Wait for processing
9 Wait for processing 9 Check reports and vouchers
10 Check employee record 10 Reports to batch control
11 Send to account payable 11 Batch control number
12 Attach payment voucher
12 Copy of reports to filing
13 Log report
13 Reports filed
14 Check against rules 14 Payment voucher to keying
15 Wait for batching Confirm payment
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16 Collect retorts into batch
17 Batch to audit desk Totals 5 5 2 2 1
18 Wait for processing
19 Batch of reports logged
20 Check payment voucher
21 Reports to batch control
22 Batch control number
23 Copy of reports to filing
24 Reports filed
25 Payment voucher to keying
26 Confirm payment
Totals 7 8 5 5 1

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 Little’s law (a really quite useful law)

Throughput (TH) = Work in process (WIP) × Cycle time (CT)

Cycle time
= 2 minutes

WIP = 10
Throughput time = ?

Throughput time = 10 × 2 minutes

= 20 minutes

Little’s law (a really quite useful law)

Throughput (TH) = Work in process (WIP) × Cycle time (CT)

500 exam scripts need to be marked in 5 days (working 7 hours a day).

It takes 1 hour to mark a script. How many markers are needed?

Throughput time = 5 days × 7 hours = 35 hours

35 hours = 500 scripts × Cycle time

Cycle time = 35 hours = 0.07 hours

500 scripts

Number of markers = Work content = 1 hour = 14.29

Cycle time 0.07

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 Throughput efficiency

Throughput efficiency is the work content of whatever is

being processed as a percentage of its throughput time

Work content
Throughput efficiency = × 100
Throughput time

Arrival
Arrival 9 5–15 105–15
30
20
10 Processing
frequency
frequency Processing
mins mins
(demand) mins
(demand) minstime time

X
Utilization
Utilization
Utilization==<100
33.33
50
100%%
%%
100% QQ
Q==
Q >=0infinity
00
High
time
length of queue

High utilization but

long throughput times
Average throughput
(or inventory)

X
Process

Low utilization but

X
short throughput times
Reduce process
Low X variability

X X X
0 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Capacity utilization

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 The relationship between process utilization and number
of units waiting to be processed for variable arrival and
activity times

Average number of units

Average number of units

waiting to be processed
waiting to be processed

High utilization
but long waiting
time
Decreasing Reduction in
process X
variability variability
Short waiting
time but low
utilization

Y Z

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Utilization Utilization

(a) Decreasing variability allows higher (b) Managing process capacity

utilization without long waiting times and/or variability

Key Terms Test

Throughput time
The time for a unit to move through a process.

Utilization
The ratio of the actual output from a process or facility to its
design capacity.

Life cycle analysis

A technique that analyzes all the production inputs, the life
cycle use of a product and its final disposal in terms of
total energy used and wastes emitted.

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 Key Terms Test
Process types
Terms that are used to describe a particular general approach to
managing processes. 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.

Project processes
Processes that deal with discrete, usually highly customized,
products.

Jobbing processes
Processes that deal with high variety and low volumes, although
there may be some repetition of flow and activities.

Key Terms Test

Batch processes
Processes that treat batches of products together, and where
each batch has its own process route.

Continuous processes
Processes that are high volume and low variety; usually products
made on continuous processes are produced in an endless
flow, such as petrochemicals or electricity.

Professional services
Service processes that are devoted to producing knowledge-
based or advice-based services, usually involving high
customer contact and high customization. Examples include
management consultants, lawyers, architects, etc.

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 Key Terms Test
Service shops
Service processes that are positioned between professional
services and mass services, usually with medium levels of
volume and customization.

Mass services
Service processes that have a high number of transactions, often
involving limited customization, for example mass transportation
services, call centres, etc.

Product–process matrix
A model derived by Hayes and Wheelwright that demonstrates the
natural fit between volume and variety of products and services
produced by an operation on one hand, and the process type
used to produce products and services on the other.

Key Terms Test

Process mapping
Describing processes in terms of how the activities within the
process relate to each other (may also be called process
blueprinting or process analysis).

Process mapping symbols

The symbols that are used to classify different types of activity,
usually derived either from scientific management or from
information systems flowcharting.

High-level process mapping

An aggregated process map that shows broad activities rather
than detailed activities (sometimes called an outline process
map).

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 Key Terms Test
Work content
The total amount of work required to produce a unit of
output, usually measured in standard times.

Throughput time
The time for a unit to move through a process.

Cycle time
The average time between units of output emerging from a
process.

Key Terms Test

Work-in-process
The number of units within a process waiting to be
processed further (also called work-in-progress).

Little’s Law
The mathematical relationship between throughput time,
work-in-process and cycle time:
Throughput time = work-in-process × cycle time

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