If you’re a scientist—and this is often especially applicable if you’re a research scientist—you may ask why you ought to care about manufacturing functions. the solution is vital to you. If you design a product that can’t be made economically from a producing, financial, or marketing point of view, your company doesn’t have a product and you will not have employment. that ought to be sufficient motivation to learn about manufacturing. If you’re involved in internal control or technical services, you want to understand how your product was, is, or are going to be manufactured in order that you’ll be able to work effectively. You should also know what sorts of processes are run in your plant so a new product you design may be produced on existing equipment. Even if you’ve got the luxurious of designing a product and determining the equipment to be purchased to manufacture it, you ought to still understand the general aspects of producing.
Over the years, brilliant development people have designed new products in laboratories only to seek out out that the products could not be produced economically. Conversely, if your job is to develop new products, don’t consider economics initially because it’ll restrict your imagination. If you’re a researcher, dump the economics until you have got developed an initial product or process. Then, as you refine the initial version to the prototype state, you’ll be able to consider economic factors. Economics isn’t an element early within the creative process, but it becomes a crucial consideration for production planning.
Some inquiries to ask yourself when designing a replacement product are:
- Can it’s made?
- Can or not it’s made economically?*
- Can or not it’s fabricated from materials that are readily available?
- Will it sell within the marketplace?
- What skills do people have to manufacture it?
- Can our existing equipment produce it or can we need new equipment?
- Can an acceptable quality level be achieved consistently?
- Can we test it accurately and consistently for quality?
- Will it meet regulatory requirements, i.e., is it environmentally clean, etc.?
- What other considerations are relevant to the current product?
Types of Production Systems
The three styles of production systems are job shop, batch, and continuous operations.
Job Shop Production
Each customer order represents a personal job. Each product is customized for each customer. Production is scheduled supported whether the necessary parts are available or must be ordered for employment. Examples of job shops are automobile repair and hair styling businesses.
Batch Production
This type of production involves making several items from raw materials at just one occasion. Each item has its own characteristic identification or lot number. Each batch or lot of ultimate product is about aside for shipping and a new batch is started. Pharmaceutical products are samples of batch production.
Each batch receives plenty number or alternatively several batches may be combined within a personal lot number. The lot identification number, usually composed of letters and numbers, will identify to the manufacturer the plant at which the fabric was manufactured and also the date of manufacture. Some lot identification numbers also include the time of day and therefore the assembly line on which the batch was produced.
Continuous Production
As the name implies, production is continuous and raw materials are replaced as used. this sort of operation requires more effort to stay track of the lots and identification numbers of the raw materials because new identification numbers for raw materials must be incorporated into the flow of the system. Additionally, lots number is assigned to each X number of things produced by a line. this is often finished tracking purposes to benefit both the buyer and also the manufacturer.
The manufacturer determines the dimensions of plenty. the quantity must be large enough to accommodate many individual items (hundreds, thousands, or perhaps millions) but not so large on cover several lots of different components. Traceability of product components is vital if a controversy arises after the merchandise reaches the market. Large paper rolls are samples of continuous manufactured products. The ingredients are continuously added because the mixture moves along the production line.
Combination Production
In reality, many manufacturing processes combine batch and continuous operations. for instance, in tire manufacturing, a batch of compounded rubber formulation is produced then the batch is employed to make many tires. The tires are continually produced in molds in rapid succession; each tire is molded for several minutes. The important issue for a manufacturer is to confirm traceability of your ingredients.
Why does one need traceability of ingredients that constitute a final product? If a controversy arises and you’ll be able to trace it to plenty of staple used in your product, you’ll be able to correct the matter and stop recurrence. If there’s a controversy and no difference in ingredient quality is detected, perhaps a controversy occurred within the production process.
If a product differs in quality, a stuff (content or quality) or a step within the process may have varied. Determine what differed from earlier production and proper the deficiency.
Inputs to Production Planning Systems
When management plans production of a brand new product, it must consider certain factors:
- material availability
- Suppliers that may deliver proper quality on time
- Market demand
- Economic conditions like stable material and labor costs
- Competitors
- Relevant legal and regulatory requirements for ingredients and product
- Available workforce with required knowledge and training
- Inventory levels
- Sufficient hands and space to handle production activities
- Sufficient equipment and space to handle production activities
- Distributors and outlets or capability for selling on to customers
