This document discusses process design in operations management. It begins by defining process design and its objectives to effectively produce products and services. Process types are determined by volume and variety, such as jobbing, batch, and continuous processes for manufacturing and professional service, service shop, and mass service for services. Process design and product/service design are interrelated and should be considered together. The document provides examples of mapping processes at different levels and redesigning a process to better produce customized products.
4. Key operations questions
• What is process design?
• What objectives should process design have?
• How does volume and variety affect process design?
• How are processes designed in detail?
5. Nature and purpose of the design activity
Products, services and the processes which produce
them all have to be designed.
Decisions taken during the design of a product or
service will have an impact on the decisions taken
during the design of the process which produces those
products or services and vice versa.
6. Products and
services should be
designed in such a
way that they can be
created effectively
Designing the
product or service
Processes should be
designed so they
can create all
products and
services which the
operation is likely to
introduce
Designing the
process
Product / service
design has an
impact on the
process design
and vice versa
Design of products / services and design of
processes are interrelated and should be treated
together
7. Design of
the Service
Design of
the Process
Design of
the Product
Design of
the Process
In most service
operations the overlap
between service and
process design is implicit
in the nature of service
In manufacturing
operations overlapping
the activities of product
and process design is
beneficial
8. Designing processes
• There are different ‘process types’.
• Process types are defined by the volume and
variety of ‘items’ they process.
• Process types go by different names depending
on whether they produce products or services.
10. How the market measures the product’s suitability
1. These criteria do not always have equal weight.
Their importance relative to each other
depends upon the market.
2. Some are necessary to enable the organisation’s product
to be considered in the market place i.e order-qualifying.
3. Once the product is considered fit to compete, there are
criteria which must be satisfied in order to make
customer choose that particular product i.e order-winning
12. One-off, complex, large scale, high work content
‘products’
Specially made, every one customized
Defined start and finish: time, quality and cost objectives
Many different skills have to be coordinated.
Project processes
13. Very small quantities: ‘one-offs’, or only a few required
Specially made. High variety, low repetition. ‘Strangers’
every one customized
Skill requirements are usually very broad
Skilled jobber, or team, complete whole product.
Jobbing processes
14. Higher volumes and lower variety than for jobbing
Standard products, repeating demand. But can make
specials
Specialized, narrower skills
Set-ups (changeovers) at each stage of production.
Batch Processes
15. Higher volumes than batch
Standard, repeat products (‘runners’)
No set-ups, or almost instantaneous ones.
Low and/or narrow skills
Mass (line) processes
16. Extremely high volumes and low variety: often single
product
Standard, repeat products (‘runners’)
Highly capital-intensive and automated
Few changeovers required
Difficult and expensive to start and stop the process.
Continuous processes
17. VolumeLow High
VarietyLowHigh
Service process types
Process
tasks
Process
flow
Diverse/
complex
Repeated/
divided
Intermittent
Continuous
Professional
service
Service shop
Mass service
18. Professional service
High levels of customer (client) contact.
Clients spend a considerable time in the service
process.
High levels of customization with service processes
being highly adaptable.
Contact staff are given high levels of discretion in
servicing customers.
People-based rather than equipment-based.
19. Medium levels of volumes of customers
Medium, or mixed, levels of customer contact
Medium, or mixed, levels of customization
Medium, or mixed, levels of staff discretion.
Service shops
20. High levels of volumes of customers
Low to medium levels of customer contact
Low, or mixed, levels of customization
Low, or mixed, levels of staff discretion.
Mass service
21. Variety
Volume
Deviating from the ‘natural’ diagonal on the product–process
matrix has consequences for cost and flexibility
None
None
The ‘natural’ line of fit of process to
volume/variety characteristics
Project
Jobbing
Batch
Mass
Continuous
Manufacturing
operations
process types
Professional
service
Service
shop
Mass
service
Service
operations
process types
More process
flexibility than
is needed so
high cost
Less process
flexibility than
is needed so
high cost
22. Deviating from the ‘natural’ diagonal on the product–process
matrix has consequences for cost and flexibility (Continued)
Variety
Volume
None
None
The ‘natural’ line of fit of process to
volume/variety characteristics
Old
process
Old
process
new
product
New
process
new
product
23. Delay (a wait, e.g. for materials)
Operation (an activity
that directly adds
value)
Inspection (a check of
some sort)
Transport (a movement
of something)
Storage (deliberate
storage, as opposed to a
delay)
Process mapping symbols
derived from ‘Scientific
Management’
Decision (exercising discretion)
Process mapping symbols
derived from Systems
Analysis
Direction of flow
Input or Output from the
process
Activity
Beginning or end of
process
Process mapping symbols
26. The operation of
making and selling
customized
sandwiches
The outline process of
making and selling
customized sandwiches
Prepare
Assemble as
required
Take
payment
Bread and
base filling
Stored
‘bases’
Fillings
Assemble whole
sandwich
Customer request
Use standard
‘base’?
Assemble from
standard ‘base’
No
Yes
The detailed process of
assembling customized
sandwiches
Sandwich
materials and
customers
Customers
‘assembled’ to
sandwiches
Higher level process map
27. Bread and
base filling
Assembly of
‘sandwich
bases’
Assemble from
standard ‘base’
Take
payment
Assemble whole
sandwich
Customer request
Use standard
‘base’?
No
Yes
Fillings
Stored ‘bases’
Customized sandwich - new process
