Product design and process selection

Product Design

09-11-2013

Background

Designing new product and getting them to the market is the challenging job faced by most of the manufacturers in this competitive market.

Customers demands are changing rapidly so it is the main responsibility of manufacturers to add the customers’ specifications in the product and deliver it to them in lowest cost.

The product development activity links customers needs and expectations to the activities required to manufacturer the product.

How manufactured products are designed and how the process to produce them is selected are the main concern of this topic.

PRODUCT DESIGN - DEFINATION

Product design is concerned with form and functions of a product. It refers to the arrangement of elements or parts that collectively form a product.

Although the potential opportunities to be realized in developing new products are exciting. Making them happen is a demanding challenge.

Product design specifies which materials are to be used, determines and tolerances, defines the appearance of the product and sets standards for performance.

An organization can gain a competitive edge through designs that brings new ideas to the market quickly, do a better job of satisfying customer needs, or are easier to manufacture, use and repair the existing products.

PRODUCT DESIGN – DEFINATION cont….

In any business venture, product design is the first step immediately after accepting the concept of a product.

It has direct bearing on plant layout, and in process material flow. In the process of product design, one has to critically analyze different design features with relevance to places of use, substitute materials, and carefully plan equipment alternatives for manufacturing the product.

Therefore, the purpose of product design is to determine and specify products that will be profitable to manufacturers and distributors and will give customers satisfaction.

Various aspects in product design

The various aspects in product design are as follows:Design for function: A product must perform the

function which its customers expects it to do. If a product is designed by taking its functional features in to account, then it will create satisfied customers, and will further lead to having more repeat customers. The factors which are to be considered for functional design are strengths and wearbility of the product and its components.

Various aspects in product design cont….

Design for making: A product design that solves the functional problem smoothly, but is impossible to manufacture, is of no use. Attention must be given to materials, fastening devices, etc., while designing a product.

The hardness of the material specified at the design stage must be within the permitted range while machining.

Making use of standard parts in an important aspect of product design. Also, operational convenience of the machineries must be taken into account at the design stage.

Various aspects in product design cont….

Design for selling: A product that functions well and is easy to make, but is wanted by no one in the market is of no avail.

It makes no differences whether the product is a per or aero plane, it has to sell itself to the customers.

The features like, appearance and convenience, depending on the customers needs, are to be considered.

So, engineers, designers, psychologist and workers need to work together to design a better product and deliver it to the market.

The Product Design Process

Following are the phase of product design.1. Concept development

Product architecture Conceptual design Target market

2. Product planning Market building Small scale testing Investment / finance

3. Product /process engineering Detail design of product and tools/ equipments Building prototypes

4. Pilot production /Ramp up Volume production prove out Factory start up Volume increases to commercial targets

Process Planning & Design

Process Design

Process is that part of an I-P-O System, with a sequence of activities that is intended to achieve some result (output) and/or to add value for the output in tune with customers requirements. A process converts inputs into output in a production system.

To enable a better product design we necessarily require a suitable process planning cum design to make the design aspects reflect in the product.

It is a known fact that process based design changes in a production system are long lasting than the product based design changes.

Process Planning… for process Design & Operations Design…

Basically processes are classified as 1. Conversion Processes (RM to FG by metallurgical, chemical process etc), 2. Manufacturing Processes ( Fabricating, assembly , machining etc) and Testing Processes ( Inspection and testing for quality, reliability etc)

Process planning is concerned with planning for the most suitable conversion process/es required to convert the RM in to FG. Process planning normally consists of Process Design & Operations Design.

Process Design: Involves with overall sequences of Operations required to achieve the required product specifications. The sequence is determined by Product Nature, RM used, Q &Q of Output required.

Process Planning… Operations Design…

Operations Design: It is concerned with the design of the individual manufacturing operations. It examines man-machine relationships, labour requirements, machine time requirements etc.

Thus the framework of Process design involves with: Expected volume of output & Quality level / standards Product characteristics as per customer need Kind of labour skill available Cost of PME &Tools, present availability status of

machinery and tools Make or Buy decisions Economical handling of materials required.

Process Selection

Process Selection: It refers to the way, in which the production of goods and services are organized. It make the vital decisions such as

Capacity Planning Facilities layout Equipments and design of work systems

The primary questions to be addressed here are: How much variety of Products / Services will the system

requires to handle ? What degree of equipment flexibility is required? What is the Quality & Quantity level expected in the

Output etc. Whether it is a New product or already established

Product etc.

Process Strategy:

Process Strategy: It is a Firm’s approach to process selection for the purpose of transforming ‘resource inputs’ into Goods & Services (Outputs)

The objective is to meet the specification as well the customer requirements. Since process strategy is having a long term effect on Cost, Product Quality, Flexibility etc they are important aspects of production.

A sound process strategy shall contain the following: Make or Buy decisions (In-house or outsourcing or both for

RM, Process, Technology etc. ) Capital Intensity (a mix of equipment and labor used by the

firm that bears a cost to the firm) Process Flexibility ( the degree to which the process system

can adjust to changes in processing needs)

“Make or Buy” Decision:

Make or Buy decision is the first step in Process planning. It involves considering whether to Make or Buy (outsource) some or all of a Product or Service.

Firm may purchase a few parts / components of a Product from others. Buy decisions reduce the need for process selection.

The Factors considered in Make or Buy decisions are: Available capacity / Resources, suppliers availability. Quality considerations & desired level Expertise (of R&D) and competency Nature of demand (if high better to make rather than

buy) Cost (of production) and Economic analysis.

Process Strategies

In general P/S are made, using variations of 3 following process strategies :

Process Focus : It is based on ‘Low volume – high variety’ strategy mostly used by Job Shop firms. They are process focused & designed to perform variety of intermittent processes done by skilled operators. (E.g. Job Shops, Painting / Printing shops)

Repetitive Focus: It uses modules or Modular type of strategy where parts or components are prepared often in a continuous or mass production process. (E.g. Assembly lines used for automobile industry, Motor cycles etc)

Product Focus: It is based on ‘High Volume – Low Variety’ strategy. Also called ‘continuous process’ , it has very long continuous production run . (E.g. Steel, Glass, Paper, Pharma products etc)

Comparison of the 3 Types of Process Startegies:

Process Focus (Low volume – High Variety)

Repetitive Focus (Modular type )

Product Focus (High Volume – Low variety)

• Small Quantity & large Variety . Requires General M/C, tools, Skilled operators• High WIP compared to output & slow work flow• FG made to order and usually not stored.•Low fixed costs and variable control costs • High RM inventory is maintained. • Prodn. scheduling is complicated (Customer service Vs Capacity)

• Special tools & trained operators required for assembly• JIT production and procurement technique used• Slow work flow• Repetitive operations reduce job training• FG are made to frequent forecasts

• Large Quantity & small variety of products • special machinery used by skilled people• fast work flow• Simple Prodn. Scheduling • FG are usually stored • Fixed cost is tend to be high and variable costs low.

Process Management & Major Process Decisions

Process Mgt & Process decisions are concerned with Input selection, Operations, work flows and process methods for conversion of RM to FG.

These decisions are made wheno New products are offered & Quality need to be

improved. o Demand is increasing for the product o Competitors are better equipped with new technology

The five Major decisions commonly considered by Operations Managers are: 1. Process Choice: Prodn. Managers to choose from five basic

processes say Job Shop, Batch process, Repetitive, Continuous process or Projects.

Major Process Decisions

2. Vertical Integration: Vertical Integration is the process by which Firms aims at owning sizable amount of Production & Distribution chain. The 2 types are: Backward Integration where Firms move upstream for owning sources of RM and parts (making its own RM and sub-parts). Forward Integration is when Firms acquires the channel of distribution downwards say such as building its own Warehouse, Retail outlets etc.

3. Resource Flexibility: It means flexibility in machines, equipments, facilities, and employees. The Manager shall decide the flexibility limit and decide accordingly. For e.g. when a firm’s product has a shorter life cycle & high degree of customization with a “low production volume” then the firm need to select flexible general purpose M/C and equipments to cope up.

Major Process Decisions

4. Customer Involvement: Some times the process is selected in such a way that the customer’s Product specifications & requirements are met suitably. Firms allow customers to come up with their specification requirements and consider them for process selection.

5. Capital Intensity: Process change means change in M/C, tools, people etc. When advanced technology is opted cost factor is to be considered. Increasing capital locking means more capital intensity. The advantage is that it increases productivity & Quality but it is a high investment on the other side.

Service Operations (Types, Strategies,

Scheduling)

SERVICES & Operations….

The services domain also have competitive priorities to achieve low product costs, timely delivery, service quality and visible /direct customer service.

Types of service operations are: Quasi-Manufacturing: Physical goods are more dominant here than the services. Here the focus is more on Production costs, Technology, RM, Product quality, delivery etc. There is little customer contact here. E.g. Air craft maintenance & Industrial Heat treatment services.

Customer-as-participants: Involves, high degree of customer involvement in service operations. Physical goods may or may not be important here. For E.g. Retail trade.

SERVICES & Operations…. The strategies

Types of service operations (contd): Customer-as-product: Here the service is actually performed on

the customer. Physical goods may or may not be an important part of the service. For E.g. Clinics, Hospitals & Tailoring services.

Strategies for Service Operations: Scheduling for Peak Demand Scheduling for chase demand Customer participation strategy Reservation Strategy Adjustable Capacity Strategy Cross Training strategy Sharing capacity strategy

SERVICE Operations strategies

Scheduling for Peak Demand: Building sufficient capacity to handle any kind of larger demand. This affects efficiency.

Scheduling for chase demand: Workforce can be varied based on demand. More demand lead to more employees and lesser demand means lesser employees.

Customer participation strategy: Here customers are made to involve in service delivery.(E.g. self-service in Hotels)

Reservation Strategy: Airlines, Hotels adopt this strategy where early bookings means lesser cost and late booking means costlier services. It allows service firms to determine the advance demand while limiting access to that service.

Adjustable Capacity Strategy: This focus on using the available facilities for a particular time period only. Few Hotels close their services for a few hours in a day (3 to 5 PM) and use their workforce for other activities.

SERVICE Operations strategies

Cross Training strategy: It allows employees to be trained in all business aspects & job profiles, to use them according to the demand. Hotels may use their workers for food preparation & room services etc if trained.

Sharing capacity strategy: Here different Firms/ departments with different demand patterns, use the same facility. Many private Industries hire the services of state owned bus services to transport their employees.

Scheduling for Service Operations:

1. Scheduling Multiple resources: In some firms like Hospitals and Educational Institutions it is necessary to co-ordinate the use of > one resource. The complexity of scheduling increases with that of the number of resources to be scheduled. For example, Hospitals must schedule Drs, Nurses, Theatre staff, equipment etc. To tackle this, Hospitals use First come first served system and Banks give cross training to their staff to utilize the resources to the maximum.. Say ERP / EDP systems.

Scheduling for Service Operations …

2. Cyclical scheduling: Rotating or cyclical scheduling rotates employees thru a series of workdays / hours over a period of time. Here each person has the same chance to have weekend Offs but has to work morning & evening on week days. Also as per the fixed schedule, employee calls are made on the same days & hours each week. The steps in cyclical scheduling are:

1.Plan a schedule (in weeks) as per the employee strength

2.Determine how many Off-shifts can be covered each week

3.Begin the schedule for one employee by scheduling the ‘days off’ during the planning cycle.

4.Assign Off-shifts for the first employee as per step 2.

5. Repeat this pattern for each of the other employees

6.Allow each employee his / her share of slot / line in the order of seniority. Any alterations to be adjusted among employees themselves.