Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Case Studies Production and Operations Management
Case Studies Production and Operations Management
practical problems than merely going through the theory. Suddenly he seems to
have won the admiration of the gathering.
Prof. Rao who was chairman of the technical session gave his concluding remarks.
He appreciated the ideology of JIT but advised executives to take it up step by step
and ensure pragmatic views and do not overdepend on JIT to fail. This he told as
Indian Industrial Environment is yet to mature to take care of JIT systems in totality.
QUESTIONS
1. Explain why JIT purchase works well in the developing countries
2. Do you agree with Mr. Joshis views on constraints to JIT? Explain the correct
problems in northern and eastern India.
3. Write how you feel the JIT systems can be adopted in India with an example.
air. Though PSU was not started a private enterprise JInal Group took interest and applied for license to
the Central Government. By the year 1990 they obtained license and Vijaynagar Steel plant with foreign
technology and decided to make only sheet products, which fetch higher prices. They also kept bare
minimum workforce and executives to make it economical right from inception. By this time broad gauge
lines were formed and nearest seaport was Goa and hence some problems were taken care. This unit
became operative in about 3 years and is also running profitably.
QUESTIONS
1. What are essential factors for locating a Steel plant and why?
2. Explain how political pressures and pulls effect decision making and delays in starting industries.
3. Explain how it was possible to make Vijaynagar plant visible.
4. Technology, HR, natural facilities play vital role to start new enterprise. Explain your views.
manufacturing operations, simulate the ergonomics, and develop control code for the automation. With
virtual manufacturing, one can predict the performance of a manufacturing process or a system without
building the process or the system given set of manufacturing conditions.
In addition to shortening the time required to bring products to market, Virtual Manufacturing will also
reduce the cost of tooling, eliminate the need for multiple physical prototype, and reduce material waste,
because you can get it right the first time. In short, it will provide a manufacturer the confidence of
knowing that they can deliver quality products to market on time and within budget. The project manager
of the digital factory at Audi, The number of model versions is complexity and scope of development
work, but less time is available for development. A near model needs to be on the market as fast and in as
great a volume as possible, right from the start. Without virtual planning methods, it would not be
possible to realize several model projects every year.
Virtual Manufacturing is one element, albeit it is a large and significant one, needed to fully address the
issues involved in creating a workable on-line product development system. From a business perspective,
it is clear that small improvements in manufacturing can have dramatic and profound effects in terms of
cost and quality. For example, if it were possible to reduce, even slightly, the thickness of a given
material, say the metal used to form the hood of an automobile, while at the same time maintaining, or
even improving, its structural integrity, then, the potential cost savings would be enormous.
The evolution
Prior to the digital revolution of the late 70s; the realization of the designers styling concepts, the
definition of body sheet-metal, and the design and construction of stamping and assembly tooling relied
entirely on physical models. Other models were used for the construction of assembly and checking
fixtures. It took a while before the automotive and aerospace industries accepted CAD. Even then, it was
used more like an electronic pencil than a design system, simply computerizing the existing
methodology. It took years for design to evolve to the point where the CAD drawing was an output rather
than the input to the process.
Today, the process has evolved much further to a situation where 3-D geometry is now the basis of the
design process. It is not surprising to see the design department in a typical automotive OEM using
digitals tools to model vehicle shapes of new vehicles concepts. Here, sketching tools emulate paper, pen
and paint. Photorealistic modelers give the designer an almost true to life view of the new model. In fact,
today, vehicle component design is done entirely in A CAD. Digital assembly of the vehicle insures that
the parts will fit and function together. Standard parts and steels are used from the CAD library. The
finished design is inspected and adjusted in 3D CAD environment before build begins. Even here,
assembly systems, manual work stations, conveyors, piping, and safety work envelopes are maintained
within a CAD facility layout of the entire plant.
Benefits
Reduced time-to-market
Improved quality
Discrete event simulation of the plant includes things like the conveyor speeds, production throughput,
and machine downtime. These parameters assist in understanding causes of bottlenecks and the impact of
new technology in the plant.
Tool are in place
The current scenario can be summarized this:
The realistic simulation of products and process generally begins with a three dimensional model.
Finite Element Modelling and dynamic simulation tools are helping reduce the cost while
improving the performance of manufacturing tooling.
The concept of virtual prototyping of products, if not yet manufacturing processed, is widely
accepted. Rapid prototyping tools are helping streamline the tooling development process further,
by eliminating steps in the manufacturing process.
The mathematics of non linear simulations are well understood and confirmed by tests
Database tools provide quicker and easier access to digital designs and equipment performance
histories.
The factory floor is getting populated with intelligent devices that are helping to reduce if not
eliminate variability.
Leading edge companies have demonstrated the successful use of virtual manufacturing techniques. For
example, the Boeing 777 is the first paper-less airplane produced, involving co-ordination with 250 crossfunctional teams in diverse locations. Furthermore, the rapid development in computing power has meant
that virtual manufacturing is not restricted to large companies like Boeing who can afford powerful main
frames. Today, virtual manufacturing software operate on work stations running any of the popular
operating systems. With all the tools conducive to virtual manufacturing in place, it may not be overoptimistic to claim the virtual manufacturing will soon be a business requirement for all manufacturing
companies.
QUESTIONS
1. Explain the methods adopted to speed of new model development
2. Compare how there are delays in product development in developing countries and speed at
developing countries
3. What is the current scenario to product development
4. If you were M.D. of Maruti Udyog Ltd. what steps would you take to improve new product
development in terms of time and cost.