3 THE FIVE Ps OF PRODUCTION introduction ction operati aa nies Roeeaacrenee referred to five Ps of production. These five Ps ale. “The first P of producti ie Process, the plant, the programme and the peer P of production oper lon operations include “Product and Service Design”. The soit’ and ea a is concemed with “Process Design and Selection”, rat eae a ity Statistical Quality Control.” The third P of production - eae rae aa Plant Layout". The fourth P of production operations, ai ve an ae on scareh and Inventory Management and Control”. ‘ erations is concerned to wi is 4 1 Resources In Operations Management.” SCAM ecied eo are 5 Ps of Production Operations Management, We can study the five Ps of production as under: Ps of Production Product and Service Design Process Design and Selection Work Studyps of Production 36 The Five ai Facility Location Facility Layout 4 Programmes | n ds 4. Programmes 1. Forecasting of Deman " 3 Inventory Management and Analysis 3. Waiting Line Management pammceee 7. -Human Resources in Operations Managemen the first P of production, that is “Product Here, in this chapter, we are discussing eparate chapter. and Service Design.” The remaining Ps have PRODUCT AND SERVICE DESIGN been discussed under a sf Introduction What should we produce? The product or servic customer, An organisation which achieves customer's sal the customer's changing requirements will always have a competitive edge over others. Design is a critical process for the organisation. Essentially it encashes on the corganisation’s core competencies and also identifies the core competencies that need to be developed. Product design deals with form and functionality of the product. Service design deals with the physical items, the sensuous benefits and the psychological benefits that the service will provide to the customer. The marketing team identifies the need of the customer and the operations designs the product to satisfy it. Design affects the quality of the product and consequently its ability to satisfy the customer's needs. Poorly designed products may not meet the customer's needs, if the design has a very high cost it may not be viable to recover the costs through pricing. An effective design should match the attributes of the product or service with the customer's requirements in a simple and cost effective manner. The design process itself should not take too much time, else competitors will ae market. The design must be workable and require the least amount of e has to satisfy the needs of the tisfaction and keeps pace with Approaches for Design of Product Following are the approaches for designing a . 1. Traditional ‘ApproachTredtionaly organisation, tend | compartments. The product or service design involves the aaa in water tight department, product or service designers, production or operations ler, the marketing department and the suppliers. A sequential approach is followed team, the purchase figure : @S shown in followingme ive PS of Production 37 Customers, Performance Design specifications engineer Product Design concept specifications Marketi * personne a Manufacturing ‘specifications + Production Purchase personnel personnel Supplier Fig. : Product Design—Traditional Approach This approach suffers from lack of coordination and integration. The marketing team identifies the customer's needs and passes on the requirement to the design team. They invariably feel that the requirements as projected by the marketing team are unrealistic in terms of available technology and resources. They produce a design based on their perceptions. When the design is received by the manufacturing team, they modify it further to suit manufacturing processes. The purchase department poses its own problems about the difficulty of procuring materials as specified in the design. The suppliers add to the confusion by expressing inability to supply to the specifications. Each team modifies the design specifications to sult its requirements. This results in the product being substandard and not in conformity with the customer's needy. The marketing department fails to sell the substandard product and returns it for modifications and changes. It is better to form design teams with representatives of all departments involved and instead of sequential design, use the concept of concurrent design to Teduce the desi cle time. a Concurrent Engineering Approach—Concurrent engineering is the product design approach in which the design teams are formed with representatives of all the departments concerned, Instead of following a sequential procedure where eo concept leads to design specifications and then to manufacturing specifications an‘ detailed engineering and working drawings, different departments work concurrently on the design, For example, in case of item® which are ie poaed oe eee ed ( specifications and drawings traditional approach Is to walt tall spent the supplier is given broad and calls for bids from suppliers. In concurrent design, | ' Steccations pr ie item and is asked to rear 5 po fe ne —s ; ier since he is part of the design ; leans, Tis in considerable reduction of development time and resources,aa The Five Ps of Production wufacturing processes. Often, design, Concurrent design integrates the design and the M2 manufacturing process Engineers may not be aware of the limitations or strens ise wo beter The inclusion of manufacturing engineers in the design team ble designs and reduces costs and time of reworking on designs. ee and design choices can be considered at an early stage. The solution t ‘aster ace, i 7 1 3. Computer-aided Design Approach—Computer-aided a 7 isa software which helps the designer to make three-dimensioral lesign 0 ul luct on the computer and visualize the design from various angles. The designs made on CAD can be seen at different workstantions through intranets simultaneously. Also, these can be sent to distant locations using internets. Steps in Design Process Most of the designs pass through the following stages : ; 1. Idea generation—The design process starts with draft specifications of the product or service, Marketing team in consultation with the customer must draw up product concept and performance specifications in as much detail as possible. Ideas for New products and services or for improvements in existing products and services may come from customers, research and development department, suppliers, salespersons, customer complaints or suggestions, factory workers, and new technological developments. The draft specifications should include the following : 1. Performance requirements including requirements of relia bility and quality 2. Appearance or styling requirements 3. Probable quantity of product or service usage that is required 4. The time by which the product or service is required 5. The likely price at which product or service will sell, This May initially be in the form of "Price not to exceed . . ! 8, Maximum cost of designing. ‘This is important as the desi through the price of the product ign cost has to be recovered ofall sub : ee that these are prepared carefully, Sequent activities and itis important 2. Acceptance or. feasibility study~the a | feasibllty and then either accepted, modited reese sation pees (ole wil be able to perform ths tack much better thn a tear eee ig cg tan engineers. The feasibility study includes 3 Market analysis, an econo lel i of es Bs ham analysis, nalysis assesses whether the market technical and strategic analysis, The market ay demand is sufficient to justify developing theve Ps of Production se 39 nology, new facilities will be requir ed. i eeeefnt and the Necessary labour ski It determines whether the existing capacity ul ilable. a i i aifcet” care available, Strateg Taw materials and other infra-structural virements are 'GIC aspects such as core com} my S ‘as core competencies and competiti ves that the company has lai priors th pany has laid down must also be considered while launching a oduct A ea p ition or prelimi i 5 ed ee aaa SiGe esas he product or service found Feasible making 2 umber of models Kesting them, mean revng the, reloting them wd 30 on till a viable design is produced. The design incorporates. bath form ond functional design. The models produced may not conform to the specifications or ee ot perform as per the specifications. Generally such differences occur because o problems of Scale. The cost of producing a full fledged scale model may be too much gad it may not be possible to make full scale models before the design is finalised orm design—Ttis refers to the physical appearance ofa product: Is concerned with its shape, size, colour, aesthetics and market appeal of the product. The product must'feel' right, For instance, the styling of car interiors may not add much to functionality of the car but is an essential part of the market appeal of the car. Functional design—the functional design is concerned with the performance of the product. Reliability and maintainabiity are two important considerations at this stage. These will be dealt in detail in a separate chapter. ‘¢ Translation or production design—This stage of the design process deals vith how the product will actually be made or how the service will actually be operated. This also includes aspects of after sales service. ‘Difficult to execute’ designs result in poor quality products. Providing too many options and features in the product rendering its manufacture an extremely difficult task. Some products become too complex because ofa large number of options and features, and the customer is unsatisfied with them. For example, modern music systems and digital handy cams have so many’ features incorporated that their instruction manuals run into over a hundred pages. The average customer does not use most of the special features. They only add to the cost of the product. 7 a Sometimes the design engineers are not aware of the production facilities. The design has then to be modified to make it viable (© produce. This results in delays. Integrated design teams with adequate representation from the production floor will overcome this problem amplification, standardisation and modular design are some of the recommended approaches. : Simplification—At is the reduction of variety of unnecessary parts, materials and earl “ag lesser number of parts. ‘Some of the parts can brocesses Designs are simplified by using IeSS°" 7 cacarate them. Simplification bemeuided together if there isno functional ae f the production process and Fesults in red f costs, increases the efficiency of the PI f reduction of , inc © re increased and a simpler design lends educes the time required per unit, Productivity is incr itself to better automation and production using robots. —<$<$——The Five Ps of Production oe inimum number of pa; —_ jis a tool to promote the Use Oye economical mame Standardisation is 2 urposes consistent Wi acossary t0 ensure ea tt ‘en Sele ae the quality ee ro venience in buying standary minimum whol Miers simpli dardised compon ffectiveness. Customers benefit from standal ents tp ence’ =e costs and time can be sa wed by using the small components j; ac ora family of products For instanck, most of andardistion eral make a product or a Maruti Udyog are standardis d. to all cars manufactured by Ma ry engineerin design when a suitab) increased productivity by avoiding unnecessery. T Se components ee component already exists, reducti ion of inventories nl stance, light bulbs the system and elimination of unnecessal te. For in: ig ie ry was! ised components. a Brannan is the creation of products from some combination of basic, ies can be combined to make a large CE ee aerial ape in the electronics and automobile i . Modular designs are ; Oana camiaee ea produce a large variety of computers by combining different modules. Modular design is also easier to maintain and repair. Faulty modules can be quickly replaced by new ones and then repaired at leisure in a workshop without affecting the customer. For instance, TV sets and computers have cards with printed circuits and components fitted to them. Restaurants and fast food establishments also prepare base ingredients and mix them in different proportions as required by a recipe to produce a large variety of items. This reduces inventory costs, as each separate product does not have to be manufactured and stored; only the subassemblies and subsystems are stored and assembled to produce products as and when required. Design of Services . Design of Series varies from the design of products because of the characteristics of services. Services generally provide physical benefits, sensu i 5 : : a lous benefits and psychological benefits. For instance, in a restaurant, the food, the tables, the chairs, the hapkins and so on are the physical benefits provided by it. The taste of the food, the aroma, the soft musi, the ambience created by soft lighting, the people and so on are Posh place, the relaxation, characteristics of services and how they ae the ees bene, Let us examine the services, 1, Intangibility—Servic . intangibility—Services are intangible and are experienced by the customer. It is obviously difficult to design something th it of the customer vary according to his cae be touched or seen, The expectations It is difficult to standardise all service Experience, percepti ae S. The servic * ption and preference. flexible in his approach to be able to provide the cists Provider or operator has to be his or her expectations. Designers begin by compl ‘omer ‘an ‘experience’ according to | |The Five Ps of Production 42 2, perishability—Services cannot be stored. They have to be delivered as soon 25 they are produced. It is important not only to know what to deliver but also where and when to deliver. 3, Heterogeneity—Service output varies because services are based on the preference and perception of the customer. The variance is also because of different persons providing the service. While the demands of the customer vary, his experience is expected to be consistent. This poses considerable design problems. Organisations ees who provide the can achieve consistency in service by proper training of employees \ , service. For example, Domino's ensure that their pizzas are home delivered within half ‘an hour. Hotels lay down stringent housekeeping norms for their staff to ensure a consistent service experience throughout their chain. | > Service concept Service package Desired service experience Physical items Ce Pargeted customer ‘Sensuous benefits Psychological benefits Performance specifications Customer requirements le<—1 Customer expectations Design specifications Activities Facility Provider skills Cost and time estimates Schedule Deliverables | Location Lod Fi +: Steps in Service Design 4, Simultaneity—This occurs because the customer must be present while most services being provided. Often the customer becomes the throughput of the system. For instance, a hairdresser styles the hair of the customer. The customer, in this case becomes a part of the throughput of the system. There is greater contact between the customer and the service provider. The customer does not make a distinction between the service and its delivery. The service design has not only to consider what is to be delivered, where and when, but also howitis to be delivered. ‘How’ decisions must take into account the degree of customer participation that the service will permit. It should also consider what activities will be performed in the presence of the customer (front- room activities) and what will be performed out of the customer's sight (back-room activities). a42 The Five Ps of Production 5, Service concept—The design process starts with service concept which describes the target customer and the desired service experience. It also describes how the organisation's service will be different from others in the field and on what basis will it compete with the others. For example, while Domino's Pizza stresses O” home delivery within half an hour, Pizza Hut emphasises on the freshness of its pizzas made from dough prepared daily. 6. Service package—Based on the service conce service package. This includes the physical items, th and psychological benefits that the service will provide. For example, a management institute may provide air conditioned class rooms, equipped with the best and most comfortable furniture, the latest training aids like computer projection systems, a well stocked library, an ultra modern computer centre, a cafeteria and so on in terms of physical items. It may have highly qualified faculty members who employ the latest audio video training aids for teaching. This provides the sensuous benefit. The institute may have a brand name and adopt a stringent screening system for admission. Being a member of such an elite group would provide the psychological benefit. The physical, the sensuous, and the psychological benefits must be compatible with the service being provided, It would be pointless to provide very comfortable chairs and tables in 2 ast food restaurant where the customer is expected to be served quickly and is expected to leave quickly after service. Similarly, self help service would be totally out of place ina restaurant which specialises in serving made-to-order meals from an exclusive pt, the next step is to create a e sensuous benefits and the menu of exotic dishes, 7. Performance specifications—After defining the service package, performance specifications are developed. They ‘outline customer requirements and customer expectations. 8, Design specifications—The design specifications include the activities to be performed by the service provider so that the service can be consistent. They also include the special skills that the service provider should acquire. A cost and time estimate is included at this stage. The location, layout and other details of the service facility are also considered. So the design specifications include the physical, sensuous and psychological benefits that are to be provided. 9. Delivery specifications—These outline the work schedule, the deliverables of the service and the location at which the work is to be carried out. Service design is influenced by factors such as the nature of service in terms of labour intensity, contact with the customer, interaction with the customer, and customisation provided—choice, fixed or adaptation. i Technology and Design ‘The advent of computers and information technol rs logy has revolutionised the design process. The product cycle is becoming shorter and new products hit the market araThe Five Ps of Production 43 much rapid pace than before. Companies like 3M innovate at a rapid pace. Twenty-five percent of 3M’s revenue comes from new products every year. Computer Aided Design (CAD), Computer Aided Engineering (CAE), Computer Aided Manufacture (CAM) and Collaborative Product Commerce (CPC) are being commonly used. 1, Computer Aided Design (CAD)—It is a software system that uses computer graphics to help in creation, modification and analysis of a design. The software generates 2 dimensional or 3 dimensional images based on plan and elevation views. The images can be rotated to view the object from any angle. The design can be modified. Built libraries exist in the software to guide on the materials to be used, the colour scheme and so on. The design can be modified. Once the design is finalised the software generates drawings with dimensions and material specifications. 2, Computer Aided Engineering (CAE)—Some CAD packages incorporate computer aided engineering also. They are capable of analysing the design for its engineering strengths and flaws. A finite element analysis can be performed. The components can be subjected to various tests virtually on the computer and analysed for their performance. For instance, the package can be used to test whether a car body and chassis will be able to withstand a collision or an accident, Autocad is a software with which the design can be optimised from an engineering point of view. 3. Computer Aided Manufacture (CAM)—Computer aided manufacture refers to the control of the manufacturing process by computers. CAD/CAM converts the CAD designs into instructions for computer-controlled machines which may be coupled with robotics to produce the product as designed. 4. Collaborative Product Commerce (CPC)—CPC incorporates internet technology to share CAD generated product design files between various agencies concerned that are geographically separated. The teams work on the design concurrently in real time, reducing the time required for design, approval, making of prototypes, testing and finalising. The design engineers, the production engineers, the suppliers of raw materials and subassemblies, and all others concerned with the product can use a common virtual space to view, modify and test designs and can interact with each other in real time even when they are not co-located. Quality of design and quality of manufacture contribute to the success of any product. The product should be reliable, easily maintainable and have value. These aspects of the product or service are discussed in a subsequent chapter.