Assignment-I: Process Selection

Name: Vanyaa Kansal

Class: BMS 2C
Roll No.: 18182
Submitted on: 23 March 2020

Que 1. (a) What is process strategy?

Ans: A process involves the use of an organization’s resources to provide something
of value. No service can be provided and no product can be made without a process,
and no process can exist without at least one service or product.
A process strategy, also called transformation strategy, is an organization's overall
approach to use resources for physically producing goods and providing services.
Process decisions should reflect how the firm has chosen to compete in the
marketplace, reinforce product decisions, and facilitate the achievement of corporate
goals. The objective of a process strategy is to build a production process that meets
customer requirements and product specification within cost and other managerial
constraints. The process selected will have a long-term effect on efficiency and
flexibility of production, as well as on cost and quality of the goods produced.

Que 1. (b) Name different types of processes.

Ans. Production
Processes

Continuous Intermittent

Flow Batch

Mass Job-shop

Project

 Continuous Production Process:-

In a Continuous Production System, the items are produced for the stocks and not
for specific orders. Before planning manufacturing to stock, a sales forecast is made
to estimate the likely demand of the product and a master schedule is prepared to
adjust the sales forecast based on past orders and level of inventory. Here, the
inputs are standardized and a standard set of processes and sequence of processes
can be adopted. Due to this, routing and scheduling for the whole processes can be
standardized. It can be classified into two types of processes:-
 1. Flow production system:-
Flow production is the continuous movement of items involving passing of
sub-assemblies or individual parts from one stage of production to the next,
often along a conveyor belt or assembly line until the final product is
completed. Individual jobs are done in sequence. Therefore, the time taken on
each task must be the same. This way, production lines for each stage can
run without interruption even if another line needs to be retooled.

2. Mass production system:-

Mass production is a method of production that uses a standardized repetitive
process of creating interchangeable parts in large quantities for a low price
with no variation in the outcome. The mass production of goods depends on
the consumption of goods.
Mass production decreases the amount of time spent per product, which
helps lower the cost per unit and also increase the amount of units produced.
Product quality is controlled because the process of producing the good does
not vary.

 Intermittent production process:-

In the Intermittent Production System, goods are produced based on customer's

orders on a small scale. The flow of production is intermittent (irregular) and nor
continuous. In this system, large varieties of products are produced. This system is
very flexible and keeps changing according to the design and size of the product.
This production process can be sub-divided into 3 systems:-

1. Batch production flow:-

In batch production flows, the production schedule is decided according to
specific orders or are based on the demand forecasts. Here, the production of
items takes place in lots or batches. A product is divided into different jobs. All
jobs of one batch of production must be completed before starting the next
batch of production. The products are made and kept in stock until their
demand arises in the market.
Examples of batch production flows include, manufacturing of drugs and
pharmaceuticals, medium and heavy machineries, etc.

2. Job-shop production flow:-

Here, company accepts a contract to produce either one or few units of a
product strictly as per specifications given by the customer. Highly
skilled labour is required to perform specialized jobs. The product is produced
within a given period and at a fixed cost. This cost is fixed at the time of
signing the contract.
Examples of such jobbing production flows include, services given by repair
shops, tailoring shops, manufacturer of special machine tools, etc.
 3. Project production flow:-
In project production flows, company accepts a single, complex order or
contract. The order must be completed within a given period of time and at an
estimated cost. Many agencies are involved in the project and each agency
performs specialized jobs due to the complexity and massiveness of the
project. Examples of project production flows mainly include, construction of
airports, dams, roads, buildings, shipbuilding, etc.

Que 1. (c) How process strategy is linked with other operations management
decisions?
Ans. Operations management focuses on running of the day-to-day operations of a
business or organisation as effectively and efficiently as possible. It is the task of
designing, establishing, planning, and running, controlling, maintaining and
improving organisation systems. Operations management is thus a much broader
field than production or manufacturing alone and is of crucial importance in all
organisations.
The ability to deliver products and services fast and right first time while cutting costs
has become fundamental to not only the competitiveness of a business, but also its
survival and growth. This shows that some decisions of operations managers are of
importance in other functions of the organization. Hence, decision making is a
central role of all operations management.

Que 2. What does the product-process matrix tell us?

Ans. The product–process matrix is a model that is used to demonstrate the
combination of a product's volume and various characteristics, together with the
nature of the processes that make it. It is a tool to analyze the relationship between
the life cycle of the product and the life cycle of the technology used. It is a
convenient way of characterising the relationship between product volumes and
processing system employed by a firm at a particular place.

Que 3. Attempt the case study.

(a) Should AIL continue with the current manufacturing setup? Articulate 3
reasons in support of your argument.
Ans. The current production setup is based on a functional layout and the
newer setup would be 85% similar to the older setup. However, the problems
being faced in the current layout are:-
1. Functional layout increases cycle time
2. Facilities are located far apart, hence the material-handling distance is
longer.
3. Tracing of the components is a complex process, hence manufacturing
defects are not detected promptly.
The newer system will solve quite a lot of these problems, leading to a
smoother manufacturing process, hence the new system should be preferred
over the current manufacturing setup.
(b) Classify the two alternatives provided by Mr.Prakash using your knowledge of
process and technology choices for manufacturing organisations.
Ans.
1. The first alternative was Assembly-Module (AM) based design. Here,
components are produced in sub-assemblies. It is similar to mass
production process.
2. The second option was Machining-Similarity (MS) based design. Here,
various parts of the helicopter requiring similar manufacturing processes
will be grouped together and produced based on machine requirements. It
is similar to job-shop or work-centre type production process.

(c) What are the pros and cons of the two alternative designs that Mr.Prakash
has proposed for changing the manufacturing shop configuration?
Ans.
1. AM based design:-
(a) Pros:-
 Simplified production planning
 Lower no. of machines, hence lesser inspection
 More focus on product quality and worker training
(b) Cons:-
 Higher investment
 More exceptions, hence difficult control
 More supervisors

2. MS based design:-
(a) Pros:-
 Capacity is more balanced
 Better utilisation of machines
(b) Cons:-
 Larger variations of components and machines
 Lack of sub-assembly focus, hence complex design
 Higher requirement of inspection equipment and tools