Chapter 4 - Process Design

What is Process Design?

Design
o Conceive the looks, arrangement, and workings of something before
it is created
Small changes in the design of products and services can have profound
implications for the way the operation eventually has to produce them.

What Objectives Should Process Design Have

The whole point of process design is to make sure that the performance of
the process is appropriate for whatever it is trying to achieve (Process is
aligned with the goal)
Throughput Rate (or Flow Rate)
o The rate at which items emerge from the process (i.e. the number of
items passing through the process per unit of time)
Cycle Time (or Takt Time)
o The time between items emerging from the process
Work in Progress
o The number of items in the process as an average over a period of
time
Utilization of Process Resources
o The proportion of available time that the resources within the process
are performing useful work

1 Standardization of Processes
o Standardization
Doing things in the same way
Adopting a common sequence of activities, methods,
and use of equipment

Standardizing processes can give some significant advantages,

but not every process can be standardized.

1 Environmentally Sensitive Process Design

Fundamental Issues (SQATT)

1 Sources of inputs
Will they damage the environment? Abuse labor?
2 Quantities and sources of energy
Do the materials used in the products result to more
energy required for production?
3 Amounts and type of waste material
Are the waste produced recyclable?
4 The life of the product itself
Useful life of the product
5 The end-of-life of the product
 Disposal of the product

The Volume-Variety Effect on Process Design

Low-volume processes often produce a high variety of products and services

High-volume operations processes often produce a narrow variety of
products and services

Process Types (Pang Jologs Ba Mag Coffee Pag Sweldo Mo)

1 Project processes
Discrete, highly customized products
Low volume, high variety
Each item has resources devoted more or less exclusively to it
Ex. Software Design, Movie Production, Construction
2 Jobbing processes
Low volume, high variety
Has to share the organization's resources with many others
Made-to-measure Tailors, Furniture Restorers
3 Batch processes
May look similar to Jobbing processes but with much less level
of variety
produce more than one item at a time
Different items go through the same processes
4 Mass processes
Produce items in high volume and narrow variety
Ex. Automobile Plants, Frozen Food Production, Television
Factories
5 Continuous processes
Even higher volume and lower variety than Mass processes
Produces are inseparable, being produced in an endless flow
Smooth flow from one part of the process to another
Ex. Water Treatment Plants, Oil Refineries. Electricity Utilities
6 Professional services
Customers spend considerable time in the service process
High levels of customization
Tend to be people based rather than equipment based
Ex. Doctor's, Lawyers, Architects
7 Service shops
Have levels of volume and variety between professional and
mass services.
Services are provided via mixes of Front and Back-office
activities.
Ex. Banks, Schools, High Street Shops, Restaurants, Hotels,
Travel Agents
8 Mass services
Many customer transactions, limited contact time, little
customization
Staff have defined division of labor, and follow set procedures
High volume
 Ex. Supermarkets, airport, library, Call centers

Detailed Process Design

Identifying all the individual activities that are needed to meet the objectives
of the process
Deciding on the sequence of the activities in which they are to be performed
and who is going to do them

Process Mapping
Describing processes in terms of how the activities in the process relate to
each other

Little's Law
The average number of objects in a queue is the product of the entry rate
and the average holding time
Throughput Time = Work-in-progress x Cycle Time
Throughput Time
Elapsed time between an item entering the process and leaving it
Cycle Time
Average time between items being processed
Work-in-progress
Number of items within the process at any point in time

Throughput Efficiency
Percentage Throughput Efficiency = (Work Content/Throughput Time) x
100