MNG 4103- Production Management class held on Tuesday 2025-10-21
CAD- Computer Aided Design
Automation — The replacement of human supervision by robotics/machines.
(Note): Albania appointed an AI robot as a minister to research.
Process Flow Design
What is process flow design?
Process flow design focuses on the specific processes that raw materials, parts, and sub-
assemblies follow as they move through a manufacturing plant.
Special production-management tools are used in planning the process flow. These include:
Assembly drawings
Assembly charts
Route sheets
Flow-process charts
Each of these charts is a useful diagnostic tool and is used to improve operations during the
steady state of the production system.
The standard first step in analyzing any production system is to map the flows and operations
using one or more of these techniques.
What is assembly chart
Assembly chart uses information in an assembly drawing and defines many other things as how
parts goes together, their order of assembly and the overall material flow pattern.
Operation and Route Sheets
This specifies operations and process routing for a particular part.
It conveys such information as:
The type of equipment, Tooling, and Operations required to complete the item.
Flow Process Chart
This typically standardizes symbols to show what happens to the product as it progresses through
the production facility. As a rule, the chart shows the delays, flow, and storages in the process
that the item undergoes.
Layout Design
After determining the placement of departments, work groups, workstations, machines, and
stock-holding points within a production facility, the objective is to arrange these elements in a
way that ensures a smooth workflow.
The classic layout frameworks are in three parts:
1. Process Layout- This layout is designed to minimize material handling costs.
2. Product Layout- This layout is design to manage work flows
3. Fix position layout- This layout is used when the product remains in one place all the
time, and workers, materials, and equipment move to it.
Good Factory or Office Layout
A good factory or office layout can provide a real competitive advantage by facilitating material
and information flow processes. It can also enhance employee well-being and productivity.
Factors to Be Considered When Designing a Layout
1. Capacity and space requirements – Determine if there is adequate space available.
2. Material handling equipment – Identify the types of equipment needed to handle given
materials.
3. Flow of information and materials – Ensure the flow of both information and materials takes
place smoothly.
4. Cost of moving between work areas – Minimize movement and ensure a free flow between
work areas.
5. Storage of information – Provide proper space and systems for storing documents or data.
6. Storage of materials.
7. Accessibility to service or products where customers having access
8. Is there a great demand for the product
9. The environment requirements- To have minimum pollution, attractive, pleasing to the eyes.
10. The disposal of waste.
The formats by which departments are arranged in a facility are defined by a general pattern of
work flow.
There are three basic formats:
1. Work Centre
2. Assembly Line
3. Project Layout
Work Centre
A work centre is an area in which similar equipment or work processes are arranged according to
the type of operation or function they perfor
Assembly Line
The assembly line balancing problem is one of assigning all tasks to a series of workstations so
that each workstation has no more than can be done in the workstation’s cycle time — and so
that the unassigned (idle) time across all workstations is minimized.
Project Layout
In a project layout, the product remains in one location because of its weight, size, or fixed
position.
Manufacturing equipment, materials, and workers are moved to the site to perform the required
operations.
Precedence Relationship
A precedence relationship specifies the order in which tasks must be performed in the assembly
process.