Manufacturing Methodology: Influencing Factors

Manufacturing Methods Vary by Industry, and Change for the Better

Jun 4, 2009 Gopinathan Thachappilly

Manufacturing industry can use job, batch or continuous processes depending on the industry and scale of operations, and the practices are constantly being improved.

Manufacturing involves transforming raw materials into finished products. These products might be consumer or industrial products, or intermediate products used in further manufacture to produce consumer or industrial products. Manufacturing started as handicrafts by skilled craftsmen and has now become mainly a capital intensive activity that uses plant and machinery.

Manufacturing Methodologies: Job, Batch and Continuous

• Job Production: Job manufacture typically involves producing a one-off product for a specific customer. A construction contract for building a factory or home is a good example. In the services sector, job production examples include repairing a computer or organizing a publicity campaign for a client. A major feature of job production is the high degree of customization to meet customer needs. On the other hand, job production is slower and costlier.
• Batch Production: Batch production typically involves production runs and manufacture of components. A batch of components is produced in one production run and then the equipment is prepared for another batch. The manufacturing tools tend to be versatile in that they can be configured to produce different products. Batch production is less costly than job production and less risky than continuous production (lower capital outlay; versatile production capabilities).
• Continuous Production: Industries like petroleum refining and steelmaking use continuous processes that run uninterrupted. There is a high degree of automation and production capacities tend to be huge. Unit costs are lower with continuous production but investment costs are high. So are the risks as the equipment cannot typically be converted for producing other products (in case demand for existing products falls).

Manufacturing Management from Quality Control to Six Sigma

Increasing competition has led to pressures on quality and cost control. Producers seek to offer higher quality to gain greater customer acceptance, and to achieve lower costs to offer their products at attractive selling prices. Processes have been improved constantly for manufacturing quality control and lower production costs.

• Quality Control: Quality can be improved by inspecting all produced items and rejecting those which do not pass the quality criteria. However, this can be a costly exercise. Inspections and rejections both cost money. Statistical quality control can reduce the cost of inspection. Improving the quality of production processes and training operators in quality-controlled operations can reduce rejections.
• Lean Manufacturing: Lean is a production process that seeks to eliminate anything in the process that does not produce customer value. If a customer is not willing to pay for a particular feature, that feature is eliminated if possible. If the customer can be satisfied with less expensive components, existing high cost components are replaced.
• TPM: Under TPM - Total Productive Maintenance - the production operators attend to most of the routine maintenance of the machines. TPM is a proactive measure aimed at reducing equipment deterioration and the need for dedicated maintenance. It can lead to lower machine downtimes, i.e. times when machines are needed but not available as they are under maintenance.
• Six Sigma: Six Sigma is a management strategy that results in high quality and lower costs. The emphasis is on identifying the factors that lead to defects and improving processes to eliminate these factors. For example, reasons for defects might be traced to quality of raw materials, and the specifications of the latter might be changed to minimize the defects. Methods like Statistical Quality Control will also be in place. The presence of a special team of six sigma experts is another characteristic.

Manufacturing methodologies have two major dimensions. Firstly, the methodology must be tailored to the industry and scale of operations. Secondly, the methods are changing to improve quality and reduce costs, essential requirements under competitive conditions. Practices such as SQC, Lean Manufacturing and Six Sigma are examples of these practices.

The copyright of the article Manufacturing Methodology: Influencing Factors in Business Management is owned by Gopinathan Thachappilly. Permission to republish Manufacturing Methodology: Influencing Factors in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Manufacturing Method

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