Operations Management: Focused Work Centers and Focused Factories 9

Focused Work Center and Focused Factory

• Focused Work Center: a plant within a plant, where cells are organized to focus on specific production tasks, moving away from general-purpose, process-oriented facilities.
• Focused Factory: a separate facility that houses a focused work cell, which can be focused on product lines, layout, quality, new product introduction, flexibility, or other requirements.

Product-Oriented Layouts

• Fabrication line: builds components on a series of machines, machine-paced, and requires mechanical or engineering changes to balance.
• Assembly line: puts fabricated parts together at a series of workstations, paced by work tasks, and balanced by moving tasks.

Advantages of Product-Oriented Layouts

• Advantages of fabrication and assembly lines include balanced production, reduced waste, and improved efficiency.

Computer Software in Layout Planning

• Three-dimensional visualization software helps managers view possible layouts, assess process, material handling, efficiency, and safety issues.

Focused Facilities

• Focused facilities are designed to match customer requirements and demand, reducing waste and capacity requirements.
• They are suitable for a family of similar products with reasonably stable demand.

Work Cells

• Work cells reorganize people and machines into groups to focus on single products or product groups.
• Group technology identifies products with similar characteristics for particular cells.
• Volume must justify the creation of cells, and cells can be reconfigured as designs or volume changes.

Requirements of Work Cells

• Identification of families of products is necessary.
• A high level of training, flexibility, and empowerment of employees is required.
• Work cells should be self-contained, with their own equipment and resources.
• Testing (poka-yoke) should be performed at each station in the cell.

Advantages of Work Cells

• Reduced work-in-process inventory
• Less floor space required
• Reduced raw material and finished goods inventories
• Reduced direct labor cost
• Heightened sense of employee participation
• Increased equipment and machinery utilization
• Reduced investment in machinery and equipment

Warehouse and Storage Layouts

• The objective is to find the optimum trade-offs between handling costs and costs associated with warehouse space.
• Maximize the total "cube" of the warehouse, utilizing its full volume while maintaining low material handling costs.

Warehousing and Storage Layouts

• Warehouse density tends to vary inversely with the number of different items stored.
• Automated Storage and Retrieval Systems (ASRSs) can significantly improve warehouse productivity.
• Dock location is a key design element.

Cross-Docking

• Materials are moved directly from receiving to shipping, without being placed in storage in the warehouse.
• Requires tight scheduling and accurate shipments, with bar code or RFID identification used for advanced shipment notification.

Random Stocking

• Typically requires automatic identification systems (AISs) and effective information systems.
• Allows more efficient use of space.
• Key tasks include:
  • Maintaining a list of “open” locations
  • Maintaining accurate records
  • Sequencing items to minimize travel, “pick” time
  • Combining picking orders
  • Assigning classes of items to particular areas

Customizing

• Value-added activities performed at the warehouse, enabling low-cost and rapid response strategies.
• Examples include:
  • Assembly of components
  • Loading software
  • Repairs
  • Customized labeling and packaging

Focused Work Center and Focused Factory

• Focused Work Center: a plant within a plant, where cells are organized to focus on specific production tasks, moving away from general-purpose, process-oriented facilities.
• Focused Factory: a separate facility that houses a focused work cell, which can be focused on product lines, layout, quality, new product introduction, flexibility, or other requirements.

Product-Oriented Layouts

• Fabrication line: builds components on a series of machines, machine-paced, and requires mechanical or engineering changes to balance.
• Assembly line: puts fabricated parts together at a series of workstations, paced by work tasks, and balanced by moving tasks.

Advantages of Product-Oriented Layouts

• Advantages of fabrication and assembly lines include balanced production, reduced waste, and improved efficiency.

Computer Software in Layout Planning

• Three-dimensional visualization software helps managers view possible layouts, assess process, material handling, efficiency, and safety issues.

Focused Facilities

• Focused facilities are designed to match customer requirements and demand, reducing waste and capacity requirements.
• They are suitable for a family of similar products with reasonably stable demand.

Work Cells

• Work cells reorganize people and machines into groups to focus on single products or product groups.
• Group technology identifies products with similar characteristics for particular cells.
• Volume must justify the creation of cells, and cells can be reconfigured as designs or volume changes.

Requirements of Work Cells

• Identification of families of products is necessary.
• A high level of training, flexibility, and empowerment of employees is required.
• Work cells should be self-contained, with their own equipment and resources.
• Testing (poka-yoke) should be performed at each station in the cell.

Advantages of Work Cells

• Reduced work-in-process inventory
• Less floor space required
• Reduced raw material and finished goods inventories
• Reduced direct labor cost
• Heightened sense of employee participation
• Increased equipment and machinery utilization
• Reduced investment in machinery and equipment

Warehouse and Storage Layouts

• The objective is to find the optimum trade-offs between handling costs and costs associated with warehouse space.
• Maximize the total "cube" of the warehouse, utilizing its full volume while maintaining low material handling costs.

Warehousing and Storage Layouts

• Warehouse density tends to vary inversely with the number of different items stored.
• Automated Storage and Retrieval Systems (ASRSs) can significantly improve warehouse productivity.
• Dock location is a key design element.

Cross-Docking

• Materials are moved directly from receiving to shipping, without being placed in storage in the warehouse.
• Requires tight scheduling and accurate shipments, with bar code or RFID identification used for advanced shipment notification.

Random Stocking

• Typically requires automatic identification systems (AISs) and effective information systems.
• Allows more efficient use of space.
• Key tasks include:
  • Maintaining a list of “open” locations
  • Maintaining accurate records
  • Sequencing items to minimize travel, “pick” time
  • Combining picking orders
  • Assigning classes of items to particular areas

Customizing

• Value-added activities performed at the warehouse, enabling low-cost and rapid response strategies.
• Examples include:
  • Assembly of components
  • Loading software
  • Repairs
  • Customized labeling and packaging

Three-Dimensional Visualization Software

• Allows managers to view possible layouts and assess process, material handling, efficiency, and safety issues

Focused Facilities

• A family of similar products with reasonably stable demand
• Match facilities to customer requirements and demand
• Reduces waste and capacity requirements

Work Cells

• Reorganizes people and machines into groups to focus on single products or product groups
• Group technology identifies products that have similar characteristics for particular cells
• Volume must justify cells
• Cells can be reconfigured as designs or volume changes

Requirements of Work Cells

• Identification of families of products
• A high level of training, flexibility, and empowerment of employees
• Self-contained, with its own equipment and resources
• Testing (poka-yoke) at each station in the cell

Advantages of Work Cells

• Reduced work-in-process inventory
• Less floor space required
• Reduced raw material and finished goods inventories
• Reduced direct labor cost
• Heightened sense of employee participation
• Increased equipment and machinery utilization
• Reduced investment in machinery and equipment

Warehouse and Storage Layouts

• Objective is to find the optimum trade-offs between handling costs and costs associated with warehouse space
• Maximize the total "cube" of the warehouse – utilize its full volume while maintaining low material handling costs

Warehousing and Storage Layouts

• Warehouse density tends to vary inversely with the number of different items stored
• Automated Storage and Retrieval Systems (ASRSs) can significantly improve warehouse productivity
• Dock location is a key design element

Cross-Docking

• Materials are moved directly from receiving to shipping and are not placed in storage in the warehouse
• Requires tight scheduling and accurate shipments, bar code or RFID identification used for advanced shipment notification as materials are unloaded

Random Stocking

• Typically requires automatic identification systems (AISs) and effective information systems
• Allows more efficient use of space
• Key tasks include:
  • Maintaining a list of “open” locations
  • Maintaining accurate records
  • Sequencing items to minimize travel, “pick” time
  • Combining picking orders
  • Assigning classes of items to particular areas

Customizing

• Value-added activities performed at the warehouse
• Enables low-cost and rapid response strategies
• Activities include:
  • Assembly of components
  • Loading software
  • Repairs
  • Customized labeling and packaging

Focused Work Center and Focused Factory

• Focused Work Center:
  • Cells may be organized as focused work centers – plant within a plant
  • Moves production from a general-purpose, process-oriented facility to a large work cell
• Focused Factory:
  • A focused work cell in a separate facility
  • May be focused by product line, layout, quality, new product introduction, flexibility, or other requirements

Product-Oriented Layouts

• Fabrication line:
  • Builds components on a series of machines
  • Machine-paced
  • Require mechanical or engineering changes to balance
• Assembly line:
  • Puts fabricated parts together at a series of workstations
  • Paced by work tasks
  • Balanced by moving tasks
• Both types of lines must be balanced so that the time to perform the work at each station is the same