Product Design
09-11-2013
Background
 Designing new product and getting them to the market is
the challenging job faced by most of the manufacturers in
this competitive market.
 Customers demands are changing rapidly so it is the
main responsibility of manufacturers to add the
customers’ specifications in the product and deliver it to
them in lowest cost.
 The product development activity links customers needs
and expectations to the activities required to
manufacturer the product.
 How manufactured products are designed and how the
process to produce them is selected are the main concern
of this topic.
PRODUCT DESIGN - DEFINATION
 Product design is concerned with form and functions of a
product. It refers to the arrangement of elements or parts
that collectively form a product.
 Although the potential opportunities to be realized in
developing new products are exciting. Making them happen
is a demanding challenge.
 Product design specifies which materials are to be
used, determines and tolerances, defines the appearance of
the product and sets standards for performance.
 An organization can gain a competitive edge through
designs that brings new ideas to the market quickly, do a
better job of satisfying customer needs, or are easier to
manufacture, use and repair the existing products.
PRODUCT DESIGN – DEFINATION cont….
 In any business venture, product design is the first step
immediately after accepting the concept of a product.
 It has direct bearing on plant layout, and in process
material flow. In the process of product design, one has
to critically analyze different design features with
relevance to places of use, substitute materials, and
carefully plan equipment alternatives for
manufacturing the product.
 Therefore, the purpose of product design is to
determine and specify products that will be profitable
to manufacturers and distributors and will give
customers satisfaction.
Various aspects in product design
The various aspects in product design are as follows:
 Design for function: A product must perform the function
which its customers expects it to do. If a product is designed
by taking its functional features in to account, then it will
create satisfied customers, and will further lead to having
more repeat customers. The factors which are to be
considered for functional design are strengths and wearbility
of the product and its components.
Various aspects in product design cont….
 Design for making: A product design that solves the
functional problem smoothly, but is impossible to
manufacture, is of no use. Attention must be given to
materials, fastening devices, etc., while designing a
product.
 The hardness of the material specified at the design
stage must be within the permitted range while
machining.
 Making use of standard parts in an important aspect of
product design. Also, operational convenience of the
machineries must be taken into account at the design
stage.
Various aspects in product design cont….
 Design for selling: A product that functions well and is
easy to make, but is wanted by no one in the market is
of no avail.
 It makes no differences whether the product is a per or
aero plane, it has to sell itself to the customers.
 The features like, appearance and convenience,
depending on the customers needs, are to be
considered.
So, engineers, designers, psychologist and workers need
to work together to design a better product and deliver
it to the market.
The Product Design Process
Following are the phase of product design.
1. Concept development
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Product architecture
Conceptual design
Target market
Product planning
2.
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Market building
Small scale testing
Investment / finance
Product /process engineering
3.
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Detail design of product and tools/ equipments
Building prototypes
Pilot production /Ramp up
4.
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Volume production prove out
Factory start up
Volume increases to commercial targets
Process Planning
& Design
Process Design
 Process is that part of an I-P-O System, with a
sequence of activities that is intended to achieve
some result (output) and/or to add value for the
output in tune with customers requirements. A
process converts inputs into output in a
production system.
 To enable a better product design we necessarily
require a suitable process planning cum design to
make the design aspects reflect in the product.
 It is a known fact that process based design
changes in a production system are long lasting
than the product based design changes.
Process Planning… for process Design &
Operations Design…
 Basically processes are classified as 1. Conversion
Processes (RM to FG by metallurgical, chemical process
etc), 2. Manufacturing Processes ( Fabricating, assembly ,
machining etc) and Testing Processes ( Inspection and
testing for quality, reliability etc)
 Process planning is concerned with planning for the most
suitable conversion process/es required to convert the RM
in to FG. Process planning normally consists of Process
Design & Operations Design.
 Process Design: Involves with overall sequences of
Operations required to achieve the required product
specifications. The sequence is determined by Product
Nature, RM used, Q &Q of Output required.
Process Planning… Operations Design…
 Operations Design: It is concerned with the design of
the individual manufacturing operations. It examines
man-machine relationships, labour requirements,
machine time requirements etc.
 Thus the framework of Process design involves with:
 Expected volume of output & Quality level / standards
 Product characteristics as per customer need
 Kind of labour skill available
 Cost of PME &Tools, present availability status of
machinery and tools
 Make or Buy decisions
 Economical handling of materials required.
Process Selection
 Process Selection: It refers to the way, in which the
production of goods and services are organized. It
make the vital decisions such as
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Capacity Planning
Facilities layout
Equipments and design of work systems
 The primary questions to be addressed here are:
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How much variety of Products / Services will the
system requires to handle ?
What degree of equipment flexibility is required?
What is the Quality & Quantity level expected in the
Output etc.
Whether it is a New product or already established
Product etc.
Process Strategy:
 Process Strategy: It is a Firm‟s approach to process
selection for the purpose of transforming „resource inputs‟
into Goods & Services (Outputs)
 The objective is to meet the specification as well the
customer requirements. Since process strategy is having a
long term effect on Cost, Product Quality, Flexibility etc they
are important aspects of production.
 A sound process strategy shall contain the following:
 Make or Buy decisions (In-house or outsourcing or both
for RM, Process, Technology etc. )
 Capital Intensity (a mix of equipment and labor used by the
firm that bears a cost to the firm)
 Process Flexibility ( the degree to which the process
system can adjust to changes in processing needs)
“Make or Buy” Decision:
 Make or Buy decision is the first step in Process
planning. It involves considering whether to Make or
Buy (outsource) some or all of a Product or Service.
 Firm may purchase a few parts / components of a
Product from others. Buy decisions reduce the need for
process selection.
 The Factors considered in Make or Buy decisions are:
 Available capacity / Resources, suppliers availability.
 Quality considerations & desired level
 Expertise (of R&D) and competency
 Nature of demand (if high better to make rather than
buy)
 Cost (of production) and Economic analysis.
Process Strategies
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In general P/S are made, using variations of 3 following
process strategies :
 Process Focus : It is based on ‘Low volume – high variety’
strategy mostly used by Job Shop firms. They are process
focused & designed to perform variety of intermittent
processes done by skilled operators. (E.g. Job Shops,
Painting / Printing shops)
 Repetitive Focus: It uses modules or Modular type of
strategy where parts or components are prepared often in a
continuous or mass production process.
(E.g. Assembly
lines used for automobile industry, Motor cycles etc)
 Product Focus: It is based on ‘High Volume – Low Variety’
strategy. Also called ‘continuous process’ , it has very long
continuous production run . (E.g. Steel, Glass, Paper,
Pharma products etc)
Comparison of the 3 Types of Process Startegies:
Process Focus
(Low volume – High
Variety)
Repetitive Focus
(Modular type )
Product Focus
(High Volume – Low
variety)
• Small Quantity & large
Variety . Requires
General M/C, tools,
Skilled operators
• High WIP compared to
output & slow work flow
• FG made to order and
usually not stored.
•Low fixed costs and
variable control costs
• High RM inventory is
maintained.
• Prodn. scheduling is
complicated (Customer
service Vs Capacity)
• Special tools &
trained operators
required for
assembly
• JIT production
and procurement
technique used
• Slow work flow
• Repetitive
operations
reduce job
training
• FG are made to
frequent
forecasts
• Large Quantity &
small variety of
products
• special machinery
used by skilled
people
• fast work flow
• Simple Prodn.
Scheduling
• FG are usually
stored
• Fixed cost is tend
to be high and
variable costs low.
Process Management & Major Process Decisions
 Process Mgt & Process decisions are concerned with
Input selection, Operations, work flows and process
methods for conversion of RM to FG.
 These decisions are made when
o New products are offered & Quality need to be
improved.
o Demand is increasing for the product
o Competitors are better equipped with new technology
 The five Major decisions commonly considered by
Operations Managers are:
1.
Process Choice: Prodn. Managers to choose from five basic
processes say Job Shop, Batch
process, Repetitive, Continuous process or Projects.
Major Process Decisions
2. Vertical Integration: Vertical Integration is the process by which
Firms aims at owning sizable amount of Production & Distribution
chain. The 2 types are: Backward Integration where Firms move
upstream for owning sources of RM and parts (making its own RM
and sub-parts). Forward Integration is when Firms acquires the
channel of distribution downwards say such as building its own
Warehouse, Retail outlets etc.
3. Resource Flexibility: It means flexibility in machines, equipments,
facilities, and employees. The Manager shall decide the flexibility
limit and decide accordingly. For e.g. when a firm‟s product has a
shorter life cycle & high degree of customization with a “low
production volume” then the firm need to select flexible general
purpose M/C and equipments to cope up.
Major Process Decisions
4. Customer Involvement: Some times the process is
selected in such a way that the customer‟s Product
specifications & requirements are met suitably.
Firms allow customers to come up with their
specification requirements and consider them for
process selection.
5. Capital Intensity: Process change means change in
M/C, tools, people etc. When advanced technology
is opted cost factor is to be considered. Increasing
capital locking means more capital intensity. The
advantage is that it increases productivity &
Quality but it is a high investment on the other side.
Service Operations
(Types, Strategies,
Scheduling)
SERVICES & Operations….
 The services domain also have competitive priorities
to achieve low product costs, timely delivery, service
quality and visible /direct customer service.
 Types of service operations are:
Quasi-Manufacturing: Physical goods are more
dominant here than the services. Here the focus is
more on Production costs, Technology, RM, Product
quality, delivery etc. There is little customer contact
here. E.g. Air craft maintenance & Industrial Heat
treatment services.
Customer-as-participants: Involves, high degree of
customer involvement in service operations.
Physical goods may or may not be important here.
For E.g. Retail trade.
SERVICES & Operations…. The strategies
 Types of service operations (contd):
Customer-as-product: Here the service is actually performed on
the customer. Physical goods may or may not be an important
part of the service. For E.g. Clinics, Hospitals & Tailoring
services.
 Strategies for Service Operations:
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Scheduling for Peak Demand
Scheduling for chase demand
Customer participation strategy
Reservation Strategy
Adjustable Capacity Strategy
Cross Training strategy
Sharing capacity strategy
SERVICE Operations strategies
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Scheduling for Peak Demand: Building sufficient capacity to
handle any kind of larger demand. This affects efficiency.
Scheduling for chase demand: Workforce can be varied
based on demand. More demand lead to more employees
and lesser demand means lesser employees.
Customer participation strategy: Here customers are made
to involve in service delivery.(E.g. self-service in Hotels)
Reservation Strategy: Airlines, Hotels adopt this strategy
where early bookings means lesser cost and late booking
means costlier services. It allows service firms to determine
the advance demand while limiting access to that service.
Adjustable Capacity Strategy: This focus on using the
available facilities for a particular time period only. Few
Hotels close their services for a few hours in a day (3 to 5
PM) and use their workforce for other activities.
SERVICE Operations strategies
Cross Training strategy: It allows employees to be trained in all
business aspects & job profiles, to use them according to the
demand. Hotels may use their workers for food preparation &
room services etc if trained.
 Sharing capacity strategy: Here different Firms/ departments
with different demand patterns, use the same facility. Many
private Industries hire the services of state owned bus services
to transport their employees.
Scheduling for Service Operations:
1.
Scheduling Multiple resources: In some firms like Hospitals and
Educational Institutions it is necessary to co-ordinate the use
of > one resource. The complexity of scheduling increases with
that of the number of resources to be scheduled. For example,
Hospitals must schedule Drs, Nurses, Theatre staff, equipment
etc. To tackle this, Hospitals use First come first served system
and Banks give cross training to their staff to utilize the
resources to the maximum.. Say ERP / EDP systems.
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Scheduling for Service Operations …
2. Cyclical scheduling: Rotating or cyclical scheduling rotates
employees thru a series of workdays / hours over a period of
time. Here each person has the same chance to have
weekend Offs but has to work morning & evening on week
days. Also as per the fixed schedule, employee calls are
made on the same days & hours each week. The steps in
cyclical scheduling are:
1.Plan a schedule (in weeks) as per the employee strength
2.Determine how many Off-shifts can be covered each week
3.Begin the schedule for one employee by scheduling the
„days off‟ during the planning cycle.
4.Assign Off-shifts for the first employee as per step 2.
5. Repeat this pattern for each of the other employees
6.Allow each employee his / her share of slot / line in the
order of seniority. Any alterations to be adjusted among
employees themselves.