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T3: Process design and analysis (Ch4/5) (Advice from Tomas Johnsson,…
T3: Process design and analysis (Ch4/5)
Advice from Tomas Johnsson, Mantra, on changing a process (AIB video)
Be very determined and prepared to encounter resistance to change, have a plan for this
But also be open to be wrong and change your mind, if the evidence doesn't continue to support the change then rethink the plan
Be very detailed in process mapping and understand knock-on effects - no assumptions - DOCUMENT then REVIEW then CHANGE, then repeat...
Be clear on decisions
Be aware of the implications on ALL stakeholders AND involve them where you can, bring them along
Celebrate wins along the way (and at the end!)
Have very clear objectives
It is much harder than you think, so double your time, energy, and resource allocations.
Process design - positioning (Ch4)
Process layout (p.126)
Types (from LVol/HVar to HVol/LVar) See table 4.1 p.129
Functional - cluster complimentary resources together, e.g. hospital
Cell - a particular part of a functional layout, e.g. maternity unit
Product - transformed resources move along a set 'flow' or 'line' where transforming resources are organised around them, e.g. car assembly, cafeteria
Fixed position - transforming resources move to the transformed resource because they can't, won't or too fragile to move, e.g. construction, surgery
Hybrids of above types
Objectives
Minimise unnecessary movements/transport
Optimise workflow productivity through close physical cooperation between units
Effectively a 'location' decision about resources (people and technology)
Resources
Transform
ing
Transform
ed
Influenced by the volume-variety scale
'Servicescapes' (p.130)
Customer/staff responses are in 3 main categories
Cognitive - what they think
Emotional - how they feel
Physiological - their body's experience
Traditional back of house processes must consider this aspect if they are going to become visible, e.g. open view kitchen in a restaurant
In high-visibility processes the layout must support the look and feel for the customer and staff
Process technology
Trade-offs
Degree of automation trade-offs
Scale or flexibility trade-offs
Cost/benefit trade-off exercise
Influenced by volume-variety scale
Types
Direct process technology - actually used to transform resources
Indirect process technology - used to facilitate the processing of resources, e.g. IT
Dimensions
Scale and Scalability
Coupling/Connectivity - are their 'gaps' between stages in the process/es
Automation - range from minimal human intervention (i.e. servicing a machine) to human as the brain of the technology (i.e. excel spreadsheets)
Volume-variety scale
Established what type of process it will be
Decided by the market place, so based on market research
Linked to the 5 performance objectives
Types (from LVol/HVar to HVol/LVar)
Goods
Mass, e.g. car plants, food processes
Jobbing, e.g. toolmaking, made-to-measure products
Continuous, e.g. steel, electricity, internet server farms
Project, e.g. construction, movie production
Batch, e.g. some gourmet food ranges, production of components that go into mass assemblies
Services
Service shops, e.g. banks, travel agents, hotels
Mass services, e.g. airports, supermarkets, call centres
Professional services, e.g. consultants
The '
natural diagonal
' refers to the matrix positioning where the types of processes 'fit' with the volume-variety position of the task - off the natural diagonal means the processes are not the right fit and therefore efficiencies are being lost
Business process reengineering (BPR)
Must constantly ask - is this the best we can do?
Considered a radical approach, but needed in fast paced markets
Job design (p.133)
Influenced by volume-variety scale
Primarily about how people carry out their tasks
Common factors to all processes
Safety
Ethical issues
Work/life balance
Aspects heavily influenced
Job definition
Division of labour
Pros of high DoL
Automation is easier
Productivity increased
Faster learning
Cons of high DoL
Monotonous - retention/absenteeism issues
Physical injury - RSI
Low flexibility in the plant / line
Poor robustness - one aspect faulty, whole line affected
Job commitment
Low definition job more likely to be intrinsically motivated
High divided and defined job needs additional commitment methods to be designed into the job
Job enlargement
Job rotation
Job enrichment
Empowerment
Team work
Process analysis (Ch5)
Process flow objectives (p.150)
Objectives
Number of units in the process on average
Utilisation of resources in the process
Throughput time
Throughput rate
Influencing factors
Variability of input arrival
Configuration of resources and activities in the process
Capacity of the resources at each point
Variability of the activities in the process
Process mapping (p.152)
Flowcharts created using semi-universal symbols for clear understanding - see symbols in Fig 5.3 p.152
Visibility
Visibility success can be mapped through emotional considerations - how do we want people to feel? Are we achieving that?
Can be helpful to define the diagram with 'line of interaction' and/or 'line of visibility' determinants to easily identify different influences on parts of the process
Important to consider all possible 'touch points' and determine if they are having the intended effect.
See Table 5.2 p.151 for common terms in the design process
Process configuration (p.156)
Question to ask: How can we increase the capacity of the process in a cost effective way?
Improvement options
Task precedence (p.157)
- determine what MUST come first, see 'precedence diagram' Fig 5.8 p.158
Series and parallel configuration (p.157)
- sequential or parallel activites, long-thin 'series' configuration or short-fat 'parallel' configuration - or somewhere in between?
Series pros
Simple materials handling
Lower capital requirements
More efficient operation
More controlled flow
Parallel pros
Higher volume flexibility
Higher robustness
Higher mix flexibility
Less monotonous work
Cycle time and process flow (p.161)
- the time between completed units emerging from the process - important to measure and determine the required cycle time to meet demand
Process balancing (p.162)
The analysis of bottlenecks, starving and blocking, idle time and balancing loss %
When comparing different configurations, one can determine which will have the lowest balancing loss
Throughput, cycle time and work in process (p.163)
The higher the capacity the shorter the cycle time and the fast the throughput rate, e.g. 100 bottles/hr = .6m/bottle or 200 bottles/hr = .3m/bottle
Units can be held up in 'work-in-process' inventories due to bottlenecks
Little's Law (p.163)
throughput time = work in process x cycle time
work in process = throughput time x (1/cycle time)
work in process = throughput time x throughput rate
Impact of Variability and Waiting time on the process (p.166)
You must be able to draw and understand the process first, then analyse if it is effective and if it can be improved.