In 

industrial engineering, process layout is the floor plan of a plant, which is installed by industrial

engineers to improve the efficiency by arranging equipment according to their functions[1]. In
thislayout[disambiguation needed], the main idea is to arrange or gather machines or equipments of the same
function into one group or department.

Important facts:

1. It is a flexible layout
2. It is excellent for low to medium production quantity
3. It is excellent for medium to high production variation
4. The workers should be skilled and qualified
5. It has a high work in process
6. Its main disadvantage is the low production rate.

Process layout is also called as functional layout. Similar machines or similar operations are
located at one place as per the functions. For example, all milling operations are carried out at
one place while all lathes are kept at a separate location. Grinding or finishing operation is kept
at a separate location. This functional grouping of facilities is useful for job production and non-
repetitive manufacturing environment.

PROCESS LAYOUT

Process layouts are found primarily in job shops, or firms that produce customized, low-
volume products that may require different processing requirements and sequences of
operations. Process layouts are facility configurations in which operations of a similar
nature or function are grouped together. As such, they occasionally are referred to as
functional layouts. Their purpose is to process goods or provide services that involve a
variety of processing requirements. A manufacturing example would be a machine shop.
A machine shop generally has separate departments where general-purpose machines
are grouped together by function (e.g., milling, grinding, drilling, hydraulic presses, and
lathes). Therefore, facilities that are configured according to individual functions or
processes have a process layout. This type of layout gives the firm the flexibility needed
to handle a variety of routes and process requirements. Services that utilize process
layouts include hospitals, banks, auto repair, libraries, and universities.
Improving process layouts involves the minimization of transportation cost, distance, or
time. To accomplish this some firms use what is known as a Muther grid, where
subjective information is summarized on a grid displaying various combinations of
department, work group, or machine pairs. Each combination (pair), represented by an
intersection on the grid, is assigned a letter indicating the importance of the closeness of
the two (A = absolutely necessary; E = very important; I = important; O = ordinary
importance; U = unimportant; X = undesirable). Importance generally is based on the
shared use of facilities, equipment, workers or records, work flow, communication
requirements, or safety requirements. The departments and other elements are then
assigned to clusters in order of importance

total productive maintainance

What is Total Productive Maintenance ( TPM ) ?

It can be considered as the medical science of machines. Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) is a
maintenance program which involves a newly defined concept for maintaining plants and equipment. The
goal of the TPM program is to markedly increase production while, at the same time, increasing employee
morale and job satisfaction.
TPM brings maintenance into focus as a necessary and vitally important part of the business. It is no
longer regarded as a non-profit activity. Down time for maintenance is scheduled as a part of the
manufacturing day and, in some cases, as an integral part of the manufacturing process. The goal is to
hold emergency and unscheduled maintenance to a minimum.
Why TPM ?
TPM was introduced to achieve the following objectives. The important ones are listed below.

 Avoid wastage in a quickly changing economic environment.

 Producing goods without reducing product quality.

 Reduce cost.

 Produce a low batch quantity at the earliest possible time.

 Goods send to the customers must be non defective.

 Total Productive Maintenance is often presented as a series of pillars supporting Lean

Manufacturing and resting on a foundation of education and training. Below this is the
attitude of environmental responsibility and safety. Figure 5 illustrates. This representation is
adequate as a starting point. However, TPM, like Lean itself, is a dynamical system and cannot
be fully understood with a static model.
 Supporting Lean
 Maintenance enables and supports Lean efforts in at least three major ways: Quality, Setup
Reduction (SMED) and predictability. In turn, other Lean elements support TPM through
Workcells, Teamwork and Problem-solving.
  The Foundations
 Education & Training-- Education, training and investments in people characterize all aspects of
Lean. In the maintenance area, they are even more important because of the specialized
knowledge required on typical manufacturing equipment. This is one of the foundation stones of
TPM. Without it, the pillars of TPM will have limited impact.
 Safety/Environment-- Underlying even the training and education piece are the more
fundamental values of responsibility to the environment and safety for employees. One important
reason is simple: it is the right thing to do.
 A more pragmatic reason involves motivation. Most people want to be a part of something
larger than themselves; appeals to higher motivation bring involvement and commitment. It is
difficult to argue against safety and a common commitment to safety can be a bond that brings
people together on other issues.

Autonomous maintenance is the concept that the people who operate a machine should maintain the
machine. The degree of autonomous maintenance depends on the level of training and the abilities of
operators. It often starts with basic lubrication, cleaning and inspection and then graduates to minor or
even major repairs.
For example, in the foundry where this author worked, machinists repaired and overhauled their own
machine tools. A trained and competent machinist is certainly capable of overhauling a gearbox. And, as
the users, they tended to know the equipment intimately. In the military, everyone cleans their own
weapon. When their life depends on proper functioning, people take more care.
Autonomous maintenance frees resources in the maintenance department for the other
activities such as equipment improvement or major overhauls. It amplifies the maintenance efforts and
involves the operators who then take better care of the equipment.

Planned Maintenance
Figure 6 Planned Maintenance    
Planned maintenance is the deliberate planning and
scheduling of maintenance activities as opposed to
reacting to breakdowns and emergencies. A maintenance
department that uses TPM
effectively generally
devotes less than 10% of
its labor hours to such
unplanned activities.
Without TPM it is not
unusual for 80%-90% of
the labor to be unplanned.
Unplanned maintenance is a strong indicator that prevention and
improvement programs are non-existent or ineffective. In addition,
high percentages of unplanned maintenance creates problems.
For eaxample:

 Huge inefficiencies in maintenance labor.

 Confusion and disturbance in scheduling, production and other areas.
 Morale problems.
Automated flow lines : When several automated machines are linked by a transfer system which
moves the parts by using handling machines which are also automated, we have an automated flow
line. After completing an operation on a machine, the semifinished parts aremoved to the next
machine in the sequence determined by the process requirements a flow line is established. The
parts at various stages from raw material to ready for fitment or assembly are processed
continuously to attain the required shapes or acquire special properties to enable them to perform
desired functions. The materials need to be moved, held, rotated, lifted, positioned etc. for
completing different operations.
Sometimes, a few of the operations can be done on a single machine with a number of attachments.
They are moved further to other machines for performing further operations. Human intervention
may be needed to verify that the operations are taking place according to standards. When these
can be achieved with the help of automation and the processes are conducted with self regulation,
we will have automated flow lines established. One important consideration is to balance times that
different machines take to complete the operations assigned to them. It is necessary to design the
machines in such a way that the operation times are the same throughout the sequence in the
flow of the martial. In fixed automation or hard automation, where one component is manufactured
using several operations and machines it is possible to achieve this condition – or very nearly. We
assume that product life cycles are sufficiently stable to invest heavily on the automated flow lines to
achieve reduced cost per unit. The global trends are favouring flexibility in the manufacturing
systems. The costs involved in changing the set up of automated flow lines are high. So, automated
flow lines are considered only when the product is required to be made in high volumes over
a relatively long period. Designers now incorporate flexibility in the machines which will take care of
small changes in dimensions by making adjustments or minor changes in the existing machine or
layout. The change in movements needed can be achieved by programming the machines.
Provision for extra pallets or tool holders or conveyors are made in the original design to
accommodate anticipated changes. The logic to be followed is to find out whether the reduction in
cost per piece justifies the costs of designing, manufacturing and setting up automated flow lines.
Group Technology, Cellular Manufacturing along with conventional Product and Process Layouts are
still resorted to as they allow flexibility for the production system. With methodologies of JIT and
Lean Manufacturing finding importance and relevance in the competitive field of manufacturing,
many companies have found that well designed flow lines suit their purpose well. Flow lines compel
engineers to put in place equipments that balancetheir production rates. It is not possible to think of
inventories (Work
In Process) in a flow line. Bottlenecks cannot be permitted. By necessity, every bottleneck gets
focused upon and solutions found to ease them. Production managers see every bottleneck as an
opportunity to hasten the flow and reduce inventories. However, it is important to note that setting up
automated flow lines will not be suitable for many industries
Automated Assembly Lines : All equipments needed to make a finished product are laid out in such
a way as to follow the sequence in which the parts or subassemblies are put together and fitted.
Usually, a frame, body, base will be the starting point of an assembly. The frame itself consists of
a construction made up of several components and would have been ‘assembled’ or ‘fabricated’ in a
separate bay or plant and brought to the assembly line. All parts or subassemblies are fitted to
enable the product to be in readiness to perform the function it was designed to. This process is
called assembly.
Methodologies of achieving the final result may vary, but the basic principle is to fit all partstogether
and ensure linkages so that their functions are integrated and give out the desired output. Product
Layouts are designed so that the assembly tasks are performed in the sequence they are designed.
You will note that the same task gets repeated at each stationcontinuously. The finished item comes
out at the end of the line
The material goes from station 1 to 5 sequentially. Operation 2 takes longer time, say twice as long.
To see that the flow is kept at the same pace we provide two locations 2a and 2b so that operations
3, 4 an 5 need not wait. At 5, we may provide more personnel to complete operations. The time
taken at any of the locations should be the same. Otherwise the flow is interrupted. In automated
assembly lines the moving pallets move the materials from station tostation and moving arms pick
up parts, place them at specified places and fasten them by pressing, riveting, screwing or even
welding. Sensors will keep track of these activities and move the assemblies to the next stage. An
operator will oversee that the assemblies are happening and there are no stoppages. The main
consideration for using automated assembly lines is that the volumes justify the huge expenses
involved in setting up the system.

Rapid Prototyping : Prototyping is a process by which a new product is developed in small numbers
so as to determine the suitability of the materials, study the various methods of manufacture, type of
machinery required and to develop techniques to overcome problems that my be encountered when
full scale manufacture is undertaken. Prototypes do meet thespecifications of the components that
enter a product and performance can be measured on those. It helps in confirming the design and
any shortcomings can be rectified at low cost. If serious defects or problems arise during the
manufacture, a thorough change in design or even its replacement may be considered. To arrive at
decisions to make use of the advantages stated above, it is important that the prototypes are made
within the shortest possible time. Rapid prototyping facilitates this. It uses virtual designs from
Computer Aided Design – CAD or animation modeling which transforms dimensional data to
3dimensional views. The physical space of the product is amenable to have cross sections made.
Cross sections taken at very close positions gives thin layers which enable the generation of a solid
model of the designed product. The data that is thus created helps build a solid model exactly as per
the drawings. Any shape can be generated in this method. Advanced technologies like – SLS
( Selective Laser Sintering), FDM (Fused Deposition Modeling), LOM (Laminated Object
Manufacture), EBM (Electronic Beam Melting) are some of Rapid Prototype Modeling Processes.
Since the basis data about the product is already available in CAD, the above processes can
produce models in a matter of a few days. Conventional machines like lathes, milling
 machines,grinding machines, EDM (Electro Discharge Machining) also help in the production of
prototypes. Because of their advantages Rapid Prototyping is being increasingly used. A bimonthly
magazine TCT Magazine – calling the Rapid Prototyping as Time Compressing Techniques – is
dedicated to the publication of latest developments in this field as researched and developed by
practitioners around the world

Bullwhip effect:

The bullwhip effect is phenomenon observed in supply chains whereby unpredictable elements
introduced by human behavior in the lower part of the chain become more pronounced the higher up
the chain they move. The effect is important because it is frequently the cause of serious
inefficiencies that result from ordering too much or too little of a given product as links in the chain
overreact to changes further downstream.

1. Problems
o The bullwhip effect is created by several factors. One is the fact that managers
perceive demand differently at different points in the chain and order based on those perceptions.
Other difficulties that play a role include ordering processes, price instability due to promotions and
other factors, and problems related to intentional exaggeration of demand by customers due to
shortages and the resulting cancellations when supply normalizes.

Beer Distribution
o One example of the bullwhip effect is the beer distribution game, a hypothetical
model set up for four human players that tests the manner in which participants in a supply chain
behave. The 2002 Supply Chain World Europe Conference and Exposition found that when
the computer substituted for all the roles, it achieved a result of 228 Euro of costs. However, the
average for human players in the simulation ran 500 to 600 Euro. In one case, the costs exceeded
1,500 Euro.
Proctor & Gamble
o The bullwhip effect is seen in real life as well. It originally takes its name from
executives at Proctor & Gamble who began to see disturbing and often inexplicable variations in
supply and ordering figures on diapers, despite a relatively stable demand from consumers. Oddly,
the company even saw that variability increased further when examining its own orders to its
suppliers.

Hewlett Packard
o Hewlett Packard observed a similar effect to the one Proctor & Gamble found. Upon
investigating sales of a given HP printer by a retailer, the company found that orders from the
merchant exhibited far bigger movements that what was seen by changes in actual sales of the item.
Further, the same could be said of orders from HP's printer unit to another division of the company
supplying it with materials.

Solutions
o Better cooperation and communication are seen as key elements in preventing---or
at least mitigating--the consequences of the bullwhip effect. Reductions in lead time also help, as do
a variety of new shipping, ordering and pricing methodologies that can introduce a greater degree of
stability and prevent small fluctuations in demand from breeding excessive changes on the suppliers
end of the chain.

work break down structure

Introduction

Company owners and project managers use the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) to
make complex projects more manageable. The WBS is designed to help break down a
project into manageable chunks that can be effectively estimated and supervised.

Some widely used reasons for creating a WBS include:

 Assists with accurate project organization

 Helps with assigning responsibilities
 Shows the control points and project milestones
 Allows for more accurate estimation of cost, risk and time
 Helps explain the project scope to stakeholders

A work breakdown structure is just one of many project management forms and

templates.

Constructing a Work Breakdown Structure

To start out, the project manager and subject matter experts determine the main
deliverables for the project. Once this is completed, they start decomposing the
deliverables they have identified, breaking them down to successively smaller chunks of
work.

"How small?" you may ask. That varies with project type and management style, but
some sort of predetermined “rule” should govern the size and scope of the smallest
chunks of work. There could be a two weeks rule, where nothing is broken down any
smaller than it would take two weeks to complete. You can also use the 8/80 rule,
where no chunk would take less than 8 hours or longer than 80 hours to complete.
Determining the chunk size “rules” can take a little practice, but in the end these rules
make the WBS easier to use.

Regarding the format for WBS design, some people create tables or lists for their work
breakdown structures, but most use graphics to display the project components as a
hierarchical tree structure or diagram. In the article Five Phases of Project
Management, author Deanna Reynolds describes one of many methods for developing
a standard WBS.

What is a Work Breakdown Structure Diagram?

A WBS diagram expresses the project scope in simple graphic terms. The diagram
starts with a single box or other graphic at the top to represent the entire project. The
project is then divided into main, or disparate, components, with related activities (or
elements) listed under them. Generally, the upper components are the deliverables and
the lower level elements are the activities that create the deliverables.

Information technology projects translate well into WBS diagrams, whether the project is
hardware or software based. That is, the project could involve designing and building
desktop computers or creating an animated computer game. Both of these examples
have tasks that can be completed independently of other project tasks. When tasks in a
project don’t need to be completed in a linear fashion, separating the project into
individual hierarchical components that can be allotted to different people usually gets
the job done quicker.

One common view is a Gantt chart. In a recent article, Joe Taylor, Jr. discusses the Top
Ten Benefits of a Gantt Chart.

Simple WBS Examples

Building a Desktop Computer - Say your company plans to start building desktop
computers. To make the work go faster, you could assign teams to the different aspects
of computer building, as shown in the diagram E-1 shown below. This way, one team
could work on the chassis configuration while another team secured the components.

Creating an Animated Computer Game – Now we switch to software project

managment, where you startup a computer animation company. To be the first to get
your computer game on the market, you could assign teams to the different aspects of
writing, drawing and building animated computer games, as shown in diagram E-2
below. Perhaps your key programmer is also a pretty good artist. Rather than have him
divide his time and energy by trying to do both tasks, you will realize faster results if the
programmer concentrates on programming while his cousin Jenny draws the scenery.

Conclusion

At the risk of sounding melodramatic, the efficacy of a project’s Work Breakdown

Structure can determine that project’s success. The WBS provides the foundation for
project planning, cost estimation, scheduling and resource allocation, not to mention risk
management.

Example

The WBS Construction Technique employing the 100% Rule during WBS construction.

The figure on the right shows a Work Breakdown Structure construction

technique that demonstrates the 100% Rule and the "progressive
elaboration" technique. At WBS Level 1 it shows 100 units of work as the
total scope of a project to design and build a custom bicycle. At WBS
Level 2, the 100 units are divided into seven elements. The number of
units allocated to each element of work can be based on effort or cost; it
is not an estimate of task duration.
The three largest elements of WBS Level 2 are further subdivided at
Level 3. The two largest elements at Level 3 each represent only 17% of
the total scope of the project. These larger elements could be further
subdivided using the progressive elaboration technique described
above.
WBS design can be supported by software (e.g. a spreadsheet) to allow
automatic rolling up of point values. Estimates of effort or cost can be
developed through discussions among project team members. This
collaborative technique builds greater insight into scope definitions,
underlying assumptions, and consensus regarding the level of
granularity required to manage the project.
Key success factor example:

Examples of Key Success Factors

In the real estate development industry, acquiring land and maintaining liquidity are the two key success
factors. If every other factor concerning the business of the development company is just average, but the
land is well located and the firm maintains adequate liquidity, the company will do well. Not that the
developer shouldn't attempt to deliver a well-constructed product with good financing. He should. But
nothing is a greater determinant of success than having, or not having, the right piece of land, and
remaining in a liquid position.

Knowing the importance of land acquisition to his company's success, the Chairman of one of our real
estate development clients instructed his managers, "Before you commit to the purchase of any piece of
land, I want to walk on it."

In the computer software market, the key success factors are establishing efficient channels of distribution
and providing after-sales support. Too much concern about writing "efficient code" may be a technical
nicety, but from a competitive point of view, it's a waste of resources.

In the strategy consulting business, the key success factors are communicating with executive decision
makers and helping managers think more deeply about their enterprise than they ever have before. Time
spent on controlling expenses should be kept to a minimum.

Be sure you're aware of the key success factors in your business. Then make sure you're very good at
those specific activities. And don't spend a bunch of resources getting too good at a lot of things that
aren't as important.

Product lifecycle management

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about the term that refers to managing product design and production details. For the marketing
term, see  Product life cycle management (marketing).
A generic lifecycle of products

In industry, product lifecycle management (PLM) is the process of managing the entire lifecycle of

a product from its conception, through design and manufacture, to service and disposal.[1] PLM integrates
people, data, processes and business systems and provides a product information backbone for companies
and their extended enterprise.[2]

'Product lifecycle management' (PLM) should be distinguished from 'Product life cycle management
(marketing)' (PLCM). PLM describes the engineering aspect of a product, from managing descriptions and
properties of a product through its development and useful life; whereas, PLCM refers to the commercial
management of life of a product in the business market with respect to costs and sales measures.

Product lifecycle management is one of the four cornerstones of a corporation's information

technology structure.[3] All companies need to manage communications and information with their customers
(CRM-Customer Relationship Management), their suppliers (SCM-Supply Chain Management), their resources
within the enterprise (ERP-Enterprise Resource Planning) and their planning (SDLC-Systems Development
Life Cycle). In addition, manufacturing engineering companies must also develop, describe, manage and
communicate information about their products.

One form of PLM is called people-centric PLM. While traditional PLM tools have been deployed only on release
or during the release phase, people-centric PLM targets the design phase.

Recent (as of 2009) ICT development (EU funded PROMISE project 2004-2008) has allowed PLM to extend
beyond traditional PLM and integrate sensor data and real time 'lifecycle event data' into PLM, as well as
allowing this information to be made available to different players in the total lifecycle of an individual product
(closing the information loop). This has resulted in the extension of PLM into Closed Loop Lifecycle
Management (CL2M).

Proliance – Infrastructure Lifecycle Management

Proliance® software from Meridian is the Infrastructure Lifecycle Management (ILM) solution

that allows infrastructure-intensive organizations to optimize the Plan-Build-Operate project
lifecycle for complex capital projects, construction and real estate programs, and extensive
portfolios.
Proliance was designed for large building owner/operators, real estate developers and
engineering-driven organizations managing $250M or more annually in new project
construction or facility renovations. 

Improve Visibility and Efficiency Across The Entire Project Lifecycle

As an ILM application, Proliance is the only enterprise-class software solution designed to
manage all capital projects and programs in one system of record, providing several key
benefits:

 Improved alignment between corporate objectives and real estate and facility groups
 Increased visibility into the entire portfolio of projects
 Increased revenues by reducing cycle time for new and remodeled facilities
 Decreased capital costs to deliver new facilities
 Decreased operating costs to manage existing facilities and assets
 Eliminate multiple point solutions and reduce IT administration costs
 Improved time to market for new products and services
 Automate and enforce best practices for governance and compliance
Another key usability enhancement to Proliance 4.0 is Section 508 Compliance. This is a
government driven requirement to provide user interface access to persons with
disabilities. Users have access to helpful features such as keyword navigation (hotkeys,
tabbing), image tooltips (alternative text), enhanced navigation links, electronic forms,
alternative color coding, and an enhanced help system.