Operations management lecture 3

Process types in operations

1. Materials and procession operations – hayes and wheelright
2. Customer procession operations – Silvestro et al

Process types in materials processing operations

 Project process type – discrete, one off, long, change
 Job shop – share resources, precision, bespoke. Low volume, highly specific to
customer needs
 Batch – more than one, range of novel products. High volume, sold to large variety of
customers and high demand but never known how big the demand is
 Mass – variants do not affect process. Demand is pretty much known to a certain
level, e.g food, water, necessities
 Continuous – endless flow, inflexible and predictable – phones

Project Process Type

 Complex projects - Made or provided on site as it is too large or difficult to move
after completion
 Resources to make the product are brought to the site, allocated for the duration of
the project and then reallocated once their part of the task is finished
 E.g dams, tunnels, roads

Job shop process type

 Unique one off or special product type. Requirement that product is transportable
 One person or small group of skilled people do everything
 E.g glasses furnityre and hand crafted shoes

Batch production type

 Standard, repeat productis, the volume demand for which justifies the process
investment
 E.g machined parts, printing, bakery products

Mass Production type

 Standard repeat, high volume
 Sequential process
 E.g car assembly, domestic goods appliances
Continuous processing type
 Standard, very high volume products
 Materials are processed through successive stages, with automatic transfer of the
product from stage to stage
 E.g oil refinining, petrochemicals, fast moving consumer goods

Process types in customer Processing

Professional service
 High degree of labour intensity (low degree of capital intensity)
 High degree of interaction and customisation
 E.g doctors, lawyers, accountants

Service shop
 Mix between people and equipment
 Medium degree of interation and customisation
 E.g hospital outpatients, auto repair services

Mass service
 Equipment based (high degree opf capital intensity)
 Low degree of interaction and customisation (low contact)
 E.g supermarket, airport, call centres, lecture

Product/service life cycles

 The life cycle of a product has an effect on the operations strategy.
 There are 5 stages of the product life cycle
1. Introduction (birth stage): product design
2. Growth stage: capacity management
3. Mature stage: increasing efficiency and quality
4. Saturation: point wehre the market is full
5. Decline stage: cost minimisation and resource relocation