Unit 5 Product Design, Process Planning and Design UNIT 5 ... › eslm › SLM 3rd Sem › Master Degree › MBA 3rd Sem › Producti… · 72 Production and Operation Management

70 Production and Operation Management

Unit 5 Product Design, Process Planning and Design

UNIT 5: PRODUCT DESIGN, PROCESS PLANNINGAND DESIGN

UNIT STRUCTURE5.1 Learning Objectives

5.2 Introduction

5.3 Product Design and Analysis

5.3.1 New product development

5.3.2 Factors to be considered in Product Design

5.4 Process planning and design

5.4.1 Selection of process

5.4.2 Process selection decisions

5.4.3 Process planning design

5.4.4 Steps in Process Planning

5.4.5 Process Design

5.4.6 Process research

5.4.7 Capacity considerations in Process Design

5.5 Let Us Sum Up

5.6 Further Reading

5.7 Answers to Check Your Progress

5.8 Model Questions

5.1 LEARNING OBJECTIVES

After going through this unit, you must be able to:

• explain the basics of product design and analysis

• describe process of new product development.

• describe factors to be considered in product design.

• describe process planning and design

5.2 INTRODUCTIONIn this unit, we are going to discuss the basics of product design

and analysis, and process planning and design. Proper implementation

of these concepts can play an important role in the production of any

71Production and Operation Management

Product Design, Process Planning and Design Unit 5

goods or in the delivery of any service. In fact, these concepts can lead

to effective production process or service delivery process.

5.3 PRODUCT DESIGN AND ANALYSIS

In business and engineering, new product development (NPD) is

the term used to describe the complete process of bringing a newproduct or service to market. Design has become a critical and strategicfunction in today’s evolving organisations, and the need for theknowledge, the ability and the skills to think, plan and manage for designis becoming more important.

There is a very interesting connections between creativity,innovation and design.

Creativity: is the generation of new ideas. Either new ways oflooking at existing problems, or the discovery of new opportunities.

Innovation: is the exploitation of new ideas. It is the process thatcarries a concept through to new products, services, or ways ofoperating the business.

Design: is what links creativity and innovation. It shapes ideas sothat they become practical and attractive propositions for users orcustomers.Concepts involved in product design:

The concepts involved in product design are as follows:(i) Research and Development: It is responsible for conducting

research work, design and development for products andservices as well as their manufacturing and delivery processes.

(ii) Reverse Engineering: It refers to the process of carefullydismantling an existing product (of a competitor) step by step inorder to understand the unique underlying concepts. In duecourse of time, this helps in designing new products.

(iii) Manufacturability: It implies designing new products or servicesin such a manner that its manufacturing / assembling / deliverycan be conducted easily.

(iv)Standardization: It refers to the process designing products insuch a manner so as to reduce variety so that there is no

variation from the existing products.



(v) Robust Design: It refers to the designing of a product which isoperational under varying environmental conditions.

(vi)Concurrent Engineering: It can be defined as the approach inproduct design in which the design team includes the following:(a) Marketing Department- To specify customer requirements(b) Engineering Department- To look into feasibility of design.(c) Production Department- To look into existence of production

capability for the design.(d) Materials Department- To provide details about availability of

materials according to design specifications.(e) Finance Department-To look into financial feasibility of

design.Concurrent Engineering may also include other functionaldepartments within the same organizations while designing anyproduct.

Life Cycle of a product: It is the pattern of demand throughout theproduct’s life (Adam and Ebert, 2008). The product life cycle has thefollowing stages:

(i) Start-up Stage: It is characterized by lower demand of a productdue to lack of awareness among the customers.

(ii) Rapid Growth Stage: It is characterized by increasing demandfor the product through increased awareness and addition ofnewer features.

(iii) Maturation Stage: It is characterized by the onset of stabilizationof demand for the product inspite of addition of newer features.

(iv)Commodity or Decline Stage: It is characterized by decreasing

demand for the product.



Therefore, new product development activities should be a continuous

activity in order to deal with the decline stage. In present business

environment the Product life cucle has also become very short. A very

common example is the rapid obsolesce of mobile phones and similar

electronic gadgets. With rapid development of advanced technologies

Product Life Cycle Management (PLM) has become very crucial in new

product development.

5.3.1 New Product Development

Following diagram illustrates the generic concept

development process for new product and services. First of all

the vision and mission of the new product development initiative

has to be formulated. After that, customer needs are identified with

consultation with the marketing research team or with the help of

primary and secondary customer research. Based on the gap

identified from the customer research, target specifications for the

new design is defined. Design manager gives the design brief to

the design team to generate concepts. Based on the design brief,

designers generate several design concepts. After that, concepts

are screened, based on criterion specified by the design manager

and the design team. Some concepts are selected, based on

ratings on the screening process. Concepts are than synthesized

to generate the final concept(s). After that, concepts are tested

with virtual or physical modeling and simulation. Based on the

results of modeling and simulation excercise, concepts are further

refined and modified and final specifications are defined. After that

final prototype is developed for downstream production. During the

entire journey of concept development, three activities are

performed on a parallel and simultaneous basis viz. (i) economic

analysis (ii) benchmarking of competitive products and (iii)

development of modeling and prototypes ( virtual or physical).



Fig 5.2: Generic Concept Development Process for New Product / Services

5.3.2 Factors to be Considered in Product Design

The main factors to be considered in product design are:

(i) Consumer demand of the product

(ii) Choice of materials for product

(iii) Fitness for purpose of the product

(iv) Purchase price of the product for the customers

(v) Operating costs of the product

(vi) Durability of the product

(vii) Ease of maintenance of the product

(viii) Technical Performance of the product

(ix) Efficiency of the product

(x) Possibilities of customization of the product for the

customers

(xi) Economy of use by the customers

(xii) Quality of the product

(xiii) Technological opportunity with respect to the product

(xiv) Safety of the product

(xv) Obsolescence of the product

(xvi) Aesthetics of the product

(xvii) Usability or user friendliness of the product

(xviii) Environmental safety considerations of the product

(xix) Social considerations of the product



CHECK YOUR PROGRESSQQ 1: Which of the following statement is

true?

(a) Creativity is the generation of new

ideas

(b) Innovation is the exploitation of new ideas

(c) Design is what links creativity and innovation

(d) All of these these

Q 2: Which of the following is a parallel or simultaneous activity

in the concept generation process in new product

development?

(a) Marketing Research (b) Economic analysis

(c) Concept screening and testing

(d) Establishment of target specification

Q 3: Which of the following refers to the process of carefully

dismantling an existing product (of a competitor) step by step

in order to understand the unique underlying concepts?

(a) Reverse Engineering (b) Standardization

(c) Robust Design (d) Time study

5.4 PROCESS PLANNING AND DESIGN

Process refers to the transformation process used to convert

inputs into desired outputs (products and/or services). The purpose of

process planning and design is to determine the type of productive

process and the appropriate span of time to complete that.

Process planning is associated with planning the transformation

(conversion) processes needed to convert inputs into desired finished

outputs (products and/or services). A production process is a series of

manufacturing operations performed at workstations to achieve the

design specifications of the planned output. Such a production process

may result in a vast number of different operations. For this purpose,

various kinds of equipments and machines may be required to produce



a complex product (for example, a car). Simpler parts may require fewer

operations (for example, a hammer).

Process planning consists of the following two parts:

(i) Process design: It is concerned with the entire series of

operations required to achieve the product specifications for any

product. It specifies the following:

(a) The type of machines/ equipments in work stations that are to

be used

(b) The required such machines and equipments in work

stations, and

(c) The required quantities of such machines and equipments in

work stations.

The sequence of operations by the above such machines and

equipments in work stations in the manufacturing process is

determined by the following:

(a) The nature of the product

(b) The materials used

(c) The quantities being produced

(ii) Operations design: It is concerned with the design of the

individual manufacturing operations. It comprises examination of

the man-machine relationship in the manufacturing process. The

latter is designed for converting the raw materials into the finished

or semi-finished products. Operations design specifies the

required number of manpower and machine time for each unit of

production.

5.4.1 Selection of Process

Processes are of the following types:

(i) Continuous Process: It is continuous in nature with very long

set-up time as well as very long duration. In this case products are

produced in higher volumes and are highly standardized with

almost no variety. For example steel, urea, sugar, plastic etc.



(ii) Semi-Continuous Process: These are assembly processes

characterized by repetitive nature. In this case products are

produced in higher volumes with little variety. It requires

specialized machines, semi-skilled workers and lead to low cost

per unit.

(iii) Intermittent Process: It is characterized by production

stoppages at regular intervals of time as the product needs

processing on different machines leading to different varieties of

products. These processes are slow in comparison to continuous

and semi-continuous processes. Such processes are of the

following types-

(a) Batch Process- It is adopted when items are to be produced

in batches or lots using the same set of machines in the same

sequence. For example in a bakery, batch of cakes can be

produced in an oven followed by a batch of chocolates and then

by a batch of biscuits.

(b) Job Shop- It is adopted when items are to be produced in

batches or lots in greater variety from each other wherein the

processing may be done on different machines, different

sequences with varying processing times. For example in a

restaurant every customer gives different order of dishes that are

prepared by different chefs using different set of utensils, different

devices, different recipes etc.

(iv) Projects: These are processes that cover very complicated

and unique set of activities or tasks that is to be completed in a

limited time period. For example construction projects, software

development projects etc.

Factors influencing selection of processes: The main

factors influencing selection of processes in any production

operation are:

(i) Market conditions

(ii) Capital Requirements

(iii) Labour



(iv) Management Skills

(v) Raw materials

(vi) Technology

5.4.2 Process Selection Decisions

Process selection decisions are dependent on the

following:

(i) Quality: what do customers want?

(ii) Goods & Service Design: what to sell?

(iii) Process & Capacity Design: how to make it and how much

capacity to have? When add more? Where? How?

(iv) Location Selection: where to build?

(v) Layout Design: how to design facilities?

(vi) Human Resource & Job Design: what skills and how many

people needed?

(vii) Supply chain management: vendor management, who use

as suppliers?

(viii) Inventory: how much and where?

(ix) Scheduling: HR, facility needs, when?

(x) Maintenance: how much, when?

Process selection decisions are centered on the following

operations management decisions:

(i) Strategic decisions: Strategic decisions are long-term and

broad in nature and usually have a time period of five years or

more. Long-term strategic decision are concerned with production

and process design, facility location and layout, capacity,

expansion of existing facilities, etc. These decisions impact long

term profitability of an organization.

(ii) Tactical decisions: Tactical decisions are medium-term in

nature and have a time frame of one or two years. These

decisions are concerned with identifying the manpower

requirement, determining the appropriate inventory level for

various materials, determining the reordering level and order

quantity, identifying vendors, etc.



(iii) Operational decisions: Operational decisions: are short-

term in nature and generally have a time frame of less than a

week. These are specific in nature, and they address problems

and requirements at the operational level, such as scheduling

weekly production and assigning jobs/responsibilities to workers.

5.4.3 Process Planning Design

Process planning design is dependent on the following factors:

(i) Characteristics of the product or service being supplied to

customers

(ii) Expected volume of output

(iii) Types of available equipment or machinery

(iv) Requirement of customization of equipment or machinery

(v) Cost of required equipment and machinery to produce

products

(vi) Types of available labour skills

(vii) Money needed for the manufacturing process

(viii) Requirement of capital intensive processes or labor

intensive processes

(ix) Decision regarding manufacture or purchase of

components or parts for the manufacturing process

(x) Identification of the optimal means to handle the materials

for the manufacturing process

Presently, a Systems Approach to process planning design

is being followed. Here process planning design is viewed as

a system with the following characteristics:

(i) Interdependence of parts

(ii) A system is composed of several sub-systems each having

its own norms

(iii) Systems are open

(iv) Systems influence and are influenced by other systems



5.4.4 Steps in Process Planning

The main steps in process planning are:

(i) Analysis of the part print to get an overall picture of what is

wanted

(ii) Making recommendations to or consultations with product

engineers or product design changes

(iii) Listing the basic requirements needed to produce the part to

drawing or specifications

(iv) Determining the most practical and economical

manufacturing method and the form of tooling required for

each operation.

(v) Devising the best way to combine the operations and putting

them into sequence.

(vi) Specifying the gauging required for the process.

5.4.5 Process Design

The different types of process design are:

(i) Job shop technology: It is suitable for a variety of custom-

designed products in small volumes.

(ii) Batch technology: It is suitable for a variety of products in

varying volumes.

(iii) Assembly line technology: It is suitable for a narrow range

of standardized products in high volumes.

(iv) Continuous flow technology: It is suitable for producing a

continuous flow of products.

Fig 5.3: Process Life Cycle



5.4.6 Process Research

The different concepts in process research are:

(i) Flexible manufacturing system (FMS): It is a computer-

controlled process technology suitable for producing a moderate

variety of products in moderate. It aims at producing a moderate

variety of products in moderate and flexible quantities. The main

characteristics of an FMS are:

(a) All products are variations of a stable basic design

(b) All products utilize the same family of components

(c) The number of components is only moderate (10 to 50)

(d) The volume of each component is moderate (1,000 to

30,000 units annually), but in lot sizes as small as one

unit.

(ii) Computer Integrated Manufacturing (CIM): It is a computer

information system utilizing a shared manufacturing database for

engineering design, manufacturing engineering, factory production

and information management.

(iii) Computer-aided Design (CAD): It refers to software that

helps any designer to make three dimensional design of a product

on a computer and visualize the design from different angles. The

most common versions of this software is available as AutoCAD.

(iv) Computer-aided Manufacturing (CAM): It refers to the

manufacturing systems utilizing computer software programs that

control the actual machine on the shop floor.

(v) Group Technology: This is manufacturing philosophy in

which similar component /parts are identified and grouped

together to take advantage of their similarity in design and

production.

(vi) Cellular Manufacturing: Cellular manufacturing is an

application of group Technology in which dissimilar machine/

process are segregated into sales, cash of which is dedicated to

the production of a part family.



Design of service and service processes: This is clearly

shown in Fig 2.5 below.

Fig 5.4: Design of service and service processes

5.4.7 Capacity Considerations in Process Design

The main capacity considerations in process design are:

(i) Proper process quality control so that there are lesser

defective items requiring rework

(ii) Proper facility location, layout and internal working

conditions

(iii) Making products and services as uniform as possible

in design so that the number of set ups required are

less.

(iv) Proper training and motivation for the workers

(v) Proper coordination with the suppliers for timely and

defect free supplies

(vi) Proper scheduling of products on machines

(vii) Proper adherence to environment friendly norms and

practices

CHECK YOUR PROGRESSQ 4: Which of the following processes is

continuous in nature with very long set-

up time as well as very long duration? (In



this case products are produced in higher volumes and are

highly standardized with almost no variety).

(a) Quasi-Manufacturing (b) Batch Process

(c) Continuous Process (d) None of these

Q 5: Which of the factors influence selection of processes in

product design and development?

(a) Market conditions (b) Continuous Requirements

(c) Raw materials (d) All of these

Q 6: Which of the following is not a capacity considerations in

process design?

(a) Proper process quality control so that there are lesser

defective items requiring rework

(b) Proper facility location, layout and internal working

conditions

(c) Making products and services as uniform as possible in

design so that the number of set ups required are less.

None of these

5.5 LET US SUM UP

In this unit, the following modern production management tools

have been discussed:

• The purpose of product design and analysis is to determine and

specify products that will be profitable to manufacturers and

distributors and will give human satisfaction.

• The steps in new product development are New product strategy

development, Idea generation, Screening and evaluation, Business

Analysis, Development, Testing, and Commercialization.

• The purpose of process planning and design is to determine the type

of productive process and the appropriate span of time to complete

that.

• The different types of process design are Job shop technology, Batch

technology, Assembly line technology, and Continuous flow

technology.



5.6 FURTHER READINGS

Industrial Engineering and Production Management by M.S. Mahajan,Dhanpat Rai and Company Private Limited, pp.780-784.

Operations Management by M.S. Mahadevan, Pearson Education,pp.474-509.

Production and Operations Management by E.E.Adam and R.J. Ebert,Prentice Hall of India Private Limited, pp.521-549.

Production and Operations Management by K. Aswathappa K.S. Bhat,Himalaya Publishing House, pp.294-322.

Production and Operations Management by K. Bedi, Oxford UniversityPress.

Production and Operations Management by S.N. Chary, Tata-McGrawHill Publishing Company Limited, pp.23.1-23.16.

Production and Operations Management by R. Panneerselvam,Prentice Hall of India Private Limited, pp.264-279.

Production and Operations Management by J.P. Saxena, Tata-

McGraw Hill Publishing Company Limited, pp.359-379.

5.7 ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR

PROGRESS

Ans to Question No.1: (d) all of these

Ans to Question No.2: (b) Economic Analysis

Ans to Question No.3: (a) Reverse Engineering

Ans to Question No.4: (c) Continuous Process

Ans to Question No. 5: (d) All of these

Ans to Question No. 6: (d) None of these

5.8 MODEL QUESTIONS

Q.1) Explain the generic concept development process for new productand service development.

Q.2) What are the main steps in process planning?

Q.3) What are the main capacity considerations in process design?

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Unit 5 Product Design, Process Planning and Design UNIT 5 ... › eslm › SLM 3rd Sem › Master Degree › MBA 3rd Sem › Producti… · 72 Production and Operation Management