Process Selection

1
Process and Process Selection

 Process: Any set of activities performed

by an organization that takes inputs and
transforms them into outputs ideally of
greater value to the organization than the
original inputs.
 Process selection refers to the strategic
decision of selecting with which kind of
production processes to have in the
manufacturing plant.
2
Process Selection

Three primary questions:

 How much variety in products or services will the
system need to handle?
 What degree of equipment flexibility will be
needed?
 What is the expected volume of output?

3
Types of Processes

Based on what they do

 Conversion process
 Iron ore  steel sheets, ingredients of toothpaste 
toothpaste
 Fabrication process: changing raw materials into
some specific form
 Sheet metal  car fender, gold  a crown for a tooth,
cloth  clothes
 Assembly process
 Assemble parts to components, put toothpaste tubes
into a box, fasten a dental crown into someone’s mouth
 Testing process
 For quality of products

4
Process Types

A process flow structure refers to how a

factory organizes material flow using one or
more of the process technologies.
 Job shop
 Batch shop
 Assembly Line
 Continuous Flow

5
Job Shop

 Job shop: A process structure suited for low-volume

production of a great variety of nonstandard products.
 Each job may require a different set or sequence of processing
steps
 High flexibility of equipment (General-purpose equipment )
 Skilled workers
 Examples: commercial printing firms, copy center making a single
copy of a student term paper, airplane manufacturers, machine
tool shops, American Chopper

6
Batch Shop
 Batch shop: A process structure that produces a
moderate variety of standard products at relatively low
volumes.
 A somewhat standardized job shop
 Employed when a business has a relatively stable line of products
 The products are produced periodically in batches to reduce the
impact of setup time on equipment
 The equipment need NOT be as flexible as in a job shop
 The skill level of workers need NOT to be as high as in a job shop
 Examples:
 Bakeries: make bread, cakes, cookies in batches;
 Movie theatre: shows movies to groups (batches) of people;
 Airlines: carry batches of people from airport to airport;
 Other examples: production of beer, book, magazine, etc
7
Assembly Line

 Assembly line (Repetitive processing):

A process structure designed to make discrete
parts moving through a set of specially designed
workstations at a controlled rate.
 High volume
 Standardized products
 Slight flexibility of equipment
 Skill of workers is usually low
 Examples: manual assembly of toys and appliances,
automatic assembly of components on a printed circuit
board, production line (automobiles, computers, etc.)

8
Example: Production Line

9
Continuous Flow

 Continuous flow: An often automated process

structure that converts raw materials into
finished product in one continuous process.
 Highly standardized products, no variety
 Special-purpose equipment (no need for equipment
flexibility)
 Skill of workers is low
 Examples: petroleum, steel, sugar, flour, and salt

10
Example: Continuous Flow

11
Product-Process Matrix

 Choice of process flow structure is based on

two main considerations:
 Variety—how much the product changes from
customer to customer;
 Volume of demand.
 Product-process matrix: Shows the
relationship between process structures and
product volume and variety characteristics.
 As volume increases and the product line
narrows, specialized equipment and standardized
material flows become economically feasible.
(see next slide)
12
Product-Process Matrix

High

Variety

Low

13
Low Volume High
THANK YOU