Operations

Management
Module E –
Learning Curves

PowerPoint presentation to accompany

Heizer/Render
Principles of Operations Management, 7e
Operations Management, 9e
© 2008 Prentice Hall, Inc. E–1
 Outline
 Learning Curves in Services and
Manufacturing
 Applying the Learning Curve
 Arithmetic Approach
 Logarithmic Approach
 Learning-Curve Coefficient Approach
 Strategic Implications of Learning
Curves
 Limitations of Learning Curves
© 2008 Prentice Hall, Inc. E–2
 Learning Objectives
When you complete this module you
should be able to:
1. Define a learning curve
2. Use the arithmetic concept to
estimate times
3. Compute learning curve effects with
the logarithmic and learning-curve
coefficient approaches
4. Describe the strategic implications of
learning curves
© 2008 Prentice Hall, Inc. E–3
 Learning Curves
 Based on the premise that people and
organizations become better at their
tasks as the tasks are repeated
 Time to produce a unit decreases as
more units are produced
 Learning curves typically follow a
negative exponential distribution
 The rate of improvement decreases
over time

© 2008 Prentice Hall, Inc. E–4

 Learning Curve Effect
Cost/time per repetition

0 Number of repetitions (volume)

Figure E.1
© 2008 Prentice Hall, Inc. E–5
 Learning Curves
T x Ln = Time required for the nth unit

T = unit cost or unit time of the first unit

L = learning curve rate
n = number of times T is doubled

First unit takes 10 labor-hours

70% learning curve is present
Fourth unit will require doubling twice — 1 to 2 to 4

Hours required for unit 4 = 10 x (.7)2 = 4.9 hours

© 2008 Prentice Hall, Inc. E–6

 Learning Curve Examples
Learning-
Curve
Improving Cumulative Slope
Example Parameters Parameter (%)
Model -T Ford Price Units produced 86
production
Aircraft Direct labor-hours Units produced 80
assembly per unit
Equipment Average time to Number of 76
maintenance replace a group of replacements
at GE parts
Steel Production worker Units produced 79
production labor-hours per
unit produced

Table E.1
© 2008 Prentice Hall, Inc. E–7
 Learning Curve Examples
Learning-
Curve
Improving Cumulative Slope
Example Parameters Parameter (%)
Integrated Average price per Units 72
circuits unit produced
Handheld Average factory Units 74
calculator selling price produced
Disk memory Average price per Number of bits 76
drives bit
Heart 1-year death rates Transplants 79
transplants completed

Table E.1
© 2008 Prentice Hall, Inc. E–8
 Uses of Learning Curves
Internal: labor forecasting,
scheduling, establishing
costs and budgets
External: supply chain negotiations
Strategic: evaluation of company and
industry performance,
including costs and pricing

© 2008 Prentice Hall, Inc. E–9

 Arithmetic Approach
 Simplest approach
 Labor cost declines at a constant rate,
the learning rate, as production doubles

Nth Unit Produced Hours for Nth Unit

1 100.0
2 80.0 = (.8 x 100)
4 64.0 = (.8 x 80)
8 51.2 = (.8 x 64)
16 41.0 = (.8 x 51.2)
© 2008 Prentice Hall, Inc. E – 10
 Logarithmic Approach
Determine labor for any unit, TN , by

TN = T1(Nb)

where TN = time for the Nth unit

T1 = hours to produce the first
unit
b = (log of the learning
rate)/(log 2)
= slope of the learning curve

© 2008 Prentice Hall, Inc. E – 11

 Logarithmic Approach
Determine labor for any unit, TN , by

TN = T1(Nb)
Learning b
where TN = time for the
RateN(%)
th
unit
T1 = hours to produce
70 the – .515
first unit 75 – .415
b = (log of the learning rate)/
80 – .322
(log 2)
= slope of the85learning – .234
curve 90 – .152
Table E.2
© 2008 Prentice Hall, Inc. E – 12
 Logarithmic Example
Learning rate = 80%
First unit took 100 hours

TN = T1(Nb)
T3 = (100 hours)(3b)
= (100)(3log .8/log 2)
= (100)(3–.322)
= 70.2 labor hours

© 2008 Prentice Hall, Inc. E – 13

 Coefficient Approach

TN = T1C

where TN = number of labor-hours

required to produce the Nth unit
T1 = number of labor-hours
required to produce the first
unit
C = learning-curve coefficient
found in Table E.3

© 2008 Prentice Hall, Inc. E – 14

 Learning-Curve Coefficients
Table E.3
70% 85%
Unit
Number
(N) Unit Time Total Time Unit Time Total Time
1 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000
2 .700 1.700 .850 1.850
3 .568 2.268 .773 2.623
4 .490 2.758 .723 3.345
5 .437 3.195 .686 4.031
10 .306 4.932 .583 7.116
15 .248 6.274 .530 9.861
20 .214 7.407 .495 12.402

© 2008 Prentice Hall, Inc. E – 15

 Coefficient Example
First boat required 125,000 hours
Labor cost = $40/hour
Learning factor = 85%
TN = T1C
T4 = (125,000 hours)(.723)
= 90,375 hours for the 4th boat
90,375 hours x $40/hour = $3,615,000

TN = T1C
T4 = (125,000 hours)(3.345)
= 418,125 hours for all four boats
© 2008 Prentice Hall, Inc. E – 16
 Coefficient Example
Third boat required 100,000 hours
Learning factor = 85%

New estimate for the first boat

100,000
= 129,366 hours
.773

© 2008 Prentice Hall, Inc. E – 17

 Strategic Implications
To pursue a strategy of a steeper curve
than the rest of the industry, a firm can:
1. Follow an aggressive pricing policy
2. Focus on continuing cost reduction
and productivity improvement
3. Build on shared experience
4. Keep capacity ahead of demand

© 2008 Prentice Hall, Inc. E – 18

 Industry and Company
Learning Curves
In
C du
om st
ry
Price per unit (log scale)

pa pr
ny ice
co
st
(c)
Loss
(b)
Gross profit (a)
margin

Figure E.2 Accumulated volume (log scale)

© 2008 Prentice Hall, Inc. E – 19

 Limitations of Learning
Curves
 Learning curves differ from company to
company as well as industry to
industry so estimates should be
developed for each organization
 Learning curves are often based on
time estimates which must be accurate
and should be reevaluated when
appropriate

© 2008 Prentice Hall, Inc. E – 20

 Limitations of Learning
Curves
 Any changes in personnel, design, or
procedure can be expected to alter the
learning curve
 Learning curves do not always apply to
indirect labor or material
 The culture of the workplace, resource
availability, and changes in the process
may alter the learning curve

© 2008 Prentice Hall, Inc. E – 21