Introduction to Six SigmaIn today’s competitive world – there is no room for any type of error, everyone wants quick and efficient access to information, products and services – so it has become very important and mandatory to bring some critical changes, in the ways by which a company conducts or carries its various business activities. The company should make it a point to delight their customers by fulfilling their expectations. To help this cause, six sigma plays a very critical role as it lays a lot of emphasis on “Quality must become a part of the culture”

Theory behind six sigmaSix sigma was pioneered by Bill Smith at Motorola in 1986 – in the beginning six sigma was just considered as “a metric for measuring defects and improving the quality”, but now six sigma has spread its wings in all the directions and has grown beyond just controlling the defects. Six sigma is now a registered service mark and a trademark of Motorola, Inc.

The word ‘sigma’ is a statistical term which helps us in knowing, how far a given process deviates from perfection. Six sigma helps in the control of process variations, which are responsible for causing defects.

Objectives of six sigma –1. To give good performance and reliability.2. To provide value to the end customer.3. Reducing or minimizing defects in any type of process (reducing defects to less than 3.4 million operations).4. To eliminate wasteful practices i.e. the practices which do not provide any value to the process, should be eliminated.5. Providing after sales service quality.6. Improving the quality of the product.7. Satisfying both internal and external customers.

Benefits of Six sigma – 1. Transaction involving six sigma provides services and products, free from defects.2. Lower production, inspection and warranty costs, with tension free conditions for working.3. Greater satisfaction of the customer, resulting in better place and better reputation in the market.4. Moving from % defect AQL PPM (parts per million) to PPB (parts per billion) to zero defect (Zero variation), which automatically results in achievement of excellence in the process.

Principles of six sigma – 1. The use of pro active thinking to achieve perfection.2. Top priority should always be service towards customer, stress towards understanding their needs and expectations and trying to fulfill them.3. Boundary less collaboration, supported by data and fact driven management.4. Failure is allowed but through risk management techniques.

Steps to calculate process sigma – 1. Defining one’s opportunities.2. Defining the possible defects.3. Measuring opportunities and defects, this step is very important as an opportunity tells the minimum defect that is noticeable by a customer.4. Calculating the yield.5. This is the last step which involves looking up one’s sigma on a sigma conversion table.

The main function of the six sigma methodology involves, following the measurement based strategy for checking process improvement and variation reduction. This is done by using six sigma sub methodologies: DMAIC (define, measure, analyze, improve, control) and DMADV (define, measure, analyze, design, verify).

Six sigma organizational architectureSix sigma, if worked out properly can result in producing good amount of profits and benefits to the business, as it acts as a great quality methodology. The roles and responsibilities for a successful six sigma quality program can be given a better understanding by knowing the roles and responsibilities of the following –

1. Quality leader or quality manager (QL/QM) – The main responsibilities of a quality manager/leader are :-• Representing the needs of the customers.• Aiming to improve the operational working of the organization.• Maintaining high quality standards.

2. Process Owner (PO) – As the name suggests, process owners are the individuals who are responsible for the working of a certain specific process.

3. Master Black Belt (MBB) – • Work with the owners of the process and are assigned to a specific area or a function of a business or an organization.• Responsible for setting up quality objectives and targets, determining plans, tracking progress and providing education.• In good six sigma organizations, process owners and the master black belts work in combination with each other, sharing information daily.

4. Black Belt (BB) – • Are referred to as the back – bone of a good six sigma organization.• Play a key role in six sigma quality initiative.• Lead quality projects.• Work full time until the project is completed.• Capable of completing about four to six projects per year.• Also coach green belts.

5. Green Belt (GB) – • Employees trained in six sigma, spend some time completing projects.• Can spend 10% to 15% of their time anywhere on their projects – depending on the work load.

Project management is the discipline of planning, organizing, motivating, and controlling resources to achieve specific goals. A project is a temporary endeavor with a defined beginning and end (usually time-constrained, and often constrained by funding or deliverables), undertaken to meet unique goals and objectives, typically to bring about beneficial change or added value. The temporary nature of projects stands in contrast with business as usual (or operations), which are repetitive, permanent, or semi-permanent functional activities to produce products or services. In practice, the management of these two systems is often quite different, and as such requires the development of distinct technical skills and management strategies.

The primary challenge of project management is to achieve all of the project goals and objectives while honoring the preconceived constraints. The primary constraints are scope, time, quality and budget. The secondary —and more ambitious— challenge is to optimize the allocation of necessary inputs and integrate them to meet pre-defined objectives.

There are a number of approaches to managing project activities including lean, iterative, incremental, and phased approaches.

Regardless of the methodology employed, careful consideration must be given to the overall project objectives, timeline, and cost, as well as the roles and responsibilities of all participants and stakeholders.

The traditional approach

A traditional phased approach identifies a sequence of steps to be completed. In the "traditional approach", five developmental components of a project can be distinguished (four stages plus control):

Typical development phases of an engineering project1. initiation2. planning and design3. execution and construction4. monitoring and controlling systems5. completion

Not all projects will have every stage, as projects can be terminated before they reach completion. Some projects do not follow a structured planning and/or monitoring process. And some projects will go through steps 2, 3 and 4 multiple times.

Initiating

Initiating process group processes

The initiating processes determine the nature and scope of the project. If this stage is not performed well, it is unlikely that the project will be successful in meeting the business’ needs. The key project controls needed here are an understanding of the business environment and making sure that all necessary controls are incorporated into the project. Any deficiencies should be reported and a recommendation should be made to fix them.

The initiating stage should include a plan that encompasses the following areas:

analyzing the business needs/requirements in measurable goals reviewing of the current operations financial analysis of the costs and benefits including a budget stakeholder analysis , including users, and support personnel for the project project charter including costs, tasks, deliverables, and schedule

Planning and design

After the initiation stage, the project is planned to an appropriate level of detail (see example of a flow-chart). The main purpose is to plan time, cost and resources adequately to estimate the work needed and to effectively manage risk during project execution. As with the Initiation process group, a failure to adequately plan greatly reduces the project's chances of successfully accomplishing its goals.

Project planning generally consists of

determining how to plan (e.g. by level of detail or rolling wave); developing the scope statement; selecting the planning team; identifying deliverables and creating the work breakdown structure; identifying the activities needed to complete those deliverables and

networking the activities in their logical sequence; estimating the resource requirements for the activities; estimating time and cost for activities; developing the schedule; developing the budget; risk planning; gaining formal approval to begin work.

Additional processes, such as planning for communications and for scope management, identifying roles and responsibilities, determining what to purchase for the project and holding a kick-off meeting are also generally advisable.

For new product development projects, conceptual design of the operation of the final product may be performed concurrent with the project planning activities, and may help to inform the planning team when identifying deliverables and planning activities.

[edit] Executing

Executing process group processes

Executing consists of the processes used to complete the work defined in the project plan to accomplish the project's requirements. Execution process involves coordinating people and resources, as well as integrating and performing the activities of the project in accordance with the project management plan. The deliverables are produced as outputs from the processes performed as defined in the project management plan and other frameworks that might be applicable to the type of project at hand.

Execution process group include:

Direct and Manage Project execution Quality Assurance of deliverables Acquire, Develop and Manage Project team Distribute Information Manage stakeholder expectations Conduct Procurement

Monitoring and controlling

Monitoring and controlling process group processes

Monitoring and controlling consists of those processes performed to observe project execution so that potential problems can be identified in a timely manner and corrective action can be taken, when necessary, to control the execution of the project. The key benefit is that project performance is observed and measured regularly to identify variances from the project management plan.

Monitoring and controlling includes:

Measuring the ongoing project activities ('where we are'); Monitoring the project variables (cost, effort, scope, etc.) against the project

management plan and the project performance baseline (where we should be); Identify corrective actions to address issues and risks properly (How can we

get on track again); Influencing the factors that could circumvent integrated change control so only

approved changes are implemented.

In multi-phase projects, the monitoring and control process also provides feedback between project phases, in order to implement corrective or preventive actions to bring the project into compliance with the project management plan.

Project maintenance is an ongoing process, and it includes:

Continuing support of end-users Correction of errors Updates of the software over time

Monitoring and controlling cycle

In this stage, auditors should pay attention to how effectively and quickly user problems are resolved.

Over the course of any construction project, the work scope may change. Change is a normal and expected part of the construction process. Changes can be the result of necessary design modifications, differing site conditions, material availability, contractor-requested changes, value engineering and impacts from third parties, to name a few. Beyond executing the change in the field, the change normally needs to be documented to show what was actually constructed. This is referred to as change management. Hence, the owner usually requires a final record to show all changes or, more specifically, any change that modifies the tangible portions of the finished work. The record is made on the contract documents – usually, but not necessarily limited to, the design drawings. The end product of this effort is what the industry terms as-built drawings, or more simply, “as built.” The requirement for providing them is a norm in construction contracts.

When changes are introduced to the project, the viability of the project has to be re-assessed. It is important not to lose sight of the initial goals and targets of the projects. When the changes accumulate, the forecasted result may not justify the original proposed investment in the project.

Closing

Closing process group processes.Closing includes the formal acceptance of the project and the ending thereof. Administrative activities include the archiving of the files and documenting lessons learned.

This phase consists of:

Project close: Finalize all activities across all of the process groups to formally close the project or a project phase

Contract closure: Complete and settle each contract (including the resolution of any open items) and close each contract applicable to the project or project phase.

[edit] Project controlling and project control systems

Project controlling should be established as an independent function in project management. It implements verification and controlling function during the processing of a project in order to reinforce the defined performance and formal goals.[28] The tasks of project controlling are also:

the creation of infrastructure for the supply of the right information and its update

the establishment of a way to communicate disparities of project parameters the development of project information technology based on an intranet or the

determination of a project key performance index system (KPI) divergence analyses and generation of proposals for potential project

regulations[29]

the establishment of methods to accomplish an appropriate the project structure, project workflow organization, project control and governance

creation of transparency among the project parameters[30]

Fulfillment and implementation of these tasks can be achieved by applying specific methods and instruments of project controlling. The following methods of project controlling can be applied:

investment analysis cost–benefit analyses value benefit Analysis expert surveys simulation calculations risk-profile analyses surcharge calculations milestone trend analysis cost trend analysis target/actual-comparison[31]

Project control is that element of a project that keeps it on-track, on-time and within budget.[27] Project control begins early in the project with planning and ends late in the project with post-implementation review, having a thorough involvement of each step in the process. Each project should be assessed for the appropriate level of control needed: too much control is too time consuming, too little control is very risky. If project control is not implemented correctly, the cost to the business should be clarified in terms of errors, fixes, and additional audit fees.

Control systems are needed for cost, risk, quality, communication, time, change, procurement, and human resources. In addition, auditors should consider how

important the projects are to the financial statements, how reliant the stakeholders are on controls, and how many controls exist. Auditors should review the development process and procedures for how they are implemented. The process of development and the quality of the final product may also be assessed if needed or requested. A business may want the auditing firm to be involved throughout the process to catch problems earlier on so that they can be fixed more easily. An auditor can serve as a controls consultant as part of the development team or as an independent auditor as part of an audit.

Businesses sometimes use formal systems development processes. These help assure that systems are developed successfully. A formal process is more effective in creating strong controls, and auditors should review this process to confirm that it is well designed and is followed in practice. A good formal systems development plan outlines:

A strategy to align development with the organization’s broader objectives Standards for new systems Project management policies for timing and budgeting Procedures describing the process Evaluation of quality of change

3rd ans

Description

What is process analysis? A process can be defined as "a logical series of related transactions that converts input to results or output" (Andersen 1999). The process we are considering is a "business process," which can be defined as "a chain of logical connected, repetitive activities that utilizes the organization's resources to refine an object for the purpose of achieving specified and measurable results or products for internal or external customers." Some UCF examples include the processing of an application, the development of class schedules, and the budgeting process.

Process analysis is an approach that helps managers improve the performance of their business activities. It can be a milestone in continuous improvement (Trischler 1996). At UCF, our analysis approach consists of the following steps: (1) definition of the scope and the objectives of the study, (2) documentation of the status quo and definition of performance measures, (3) assessment and performance evaluation, and (4) development of recommendations.

Analyze a job by looking at the processes involved.

This can be a top-down analysis, starting from higher-level processes and decomposing the hierarchy of tasks. It can also be a bottom-up approach, identifying actual tasks and building a structure from these (Post-it Notes are useful for this). A combination of top-down and bottom-up may also be effectively used.

For each process consider the outputs created and the inputs that are required. Inputs can fall into several general categories.

Transformed inputs are those which become a part of the output, and include raw materials and other processed parts.

Other consumables may be used in the process but not end up in the output. Tools are items used to help create the output, but which are not a part of the output. Controls are things which are used to shape and control the work, such as specifications and

plans.

People are also needed to make a process work, although in process analysis these are not covered in as much depth as some other methods.

Also look at other related processes and the flow of inputs and outputs between the target process and these other customer and supplier processes. Processes may be the source of the various types of input and hence may be classified as supplier, support or control processes.

The process may be visually mapped with methods such as flowcharts, dataflow, state-transition and other tools. Visual maps are particularly useful for seeing overall flow and for communicating detail.

Inputs and outputs are very useful for scoping the task, as inputs and outputs are at the boundaries of all activity.

Within the process, tasks are effectively like smaller processes with inputs and outputs. The process may be broken down as far as is appropriate. In some manufacturing tasks, for example, every small movement of the hand is examined.

Discussion

Process analysis largely takes people out of the process. This can be useful as it enables focus solely on what needs to be done and is a useful first stage. Following up with a human analysis is then usually essential, for example looking at skills needed.

A danger of process analysis is going into too much detail. As with other methods, knowing when to stop is quite important.

Manufacturing Process Selection and Design

KEY OUTLINE I. Process Selection

A. Types of Processes 1. Job Shop Defined 2. Batch Shop Defined 3. Assembly Line Defined 4. Continuous Flow Defined

B. Process Flow Structures C. Product-Process Matrix

1. Product-Process Matrix DefinedII. Break-Even Analysis

A. Specific Process Equipment SelectionIII. Manufacturing Process Flow Design

IV. Conclusion

Injection molding Thermoforming Structural foam Composites Machining Sheet metal Ceramics Coatings Fastening techniques Assembly

Test

V.

Case: Circuit Board Fabricators, Inc.

KEY POINTS

Process selection refers to the strategic decisions of selecting the kind of production process to have in a manufacturing plant. The process flow in an organization refers to how a factory organizes material flow using one or more of the process technologies including the job shop, batch shop, assembly line, and continuous flows. The process chosen depends on the customization of the product as well as the volume required in the market. The relationship between the process structures and volume requirements is depicted on a product-process matrix. As volume increases the product line narrows and specialized equipment and standardized material flows are come economically feasible. The evolution in the process structure is often related to the product's life cycle stage. Thus the matrix is useful in linking marketing and manufacturing strategies.

Break even analysis allows manufacturing managers to visually present alternative profits (and losses) based on the number of units produced or sold. Specific equipment selection follows the selection of the general type of process structure in an organization. The tools of break-even analysis help managers make equipment selection decisions.

Process flow designs focus on the specific processes that raw materials, parts, and subassemblies follow as they move through the plant. Charts and drawings aid in process flow design.

The theory of constraints (TOC) is a management paradigm that views any manageable system as being limited in achieving more of its goals by a very small number of constraints. There is always at least one constraint, and TOC uses a focusing process to identify the constraint and restructure the rest of the organization around it.

TOC adopts the common idiom "a chain is no stronger than its weakest link". This means that processes, organizations, etc., are vulnerable because the weakest person or part can always damage or break them or at least adversely affect the outcome.

The theory of constraints (TOC) is an overall management philosophy introduced by Eliyahu M. Goldratt in his 1984 book titled The Goal, that is geared to help organizations continually achieve their goals. Goldratt adopted the concept with his book Critical Chain, published 1997. The concept was extended to TOC with respectively titled publication in 1999.

An earlier propagator of the concept was Wolfgang Mewesin Germany with publications on power-oriented management theory (Machtorientierte Führungstheorie, 1963) and following with his Energo-Kybernetic System (EKS,

1971), later renamed Engpasskonzentrierte Strategie as a more advanced theory of bottlenecks. The publications of Wolfgang Mewes are marketed through the FAZ Verlag, publishing house of the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. However, the paradigm Theory of constraints was first used by Goldratt.

The five focusing steps

Theory of constraints is based on the premise that the rate of goal achievement by a goal-oriented system (i.e., the system's throughput) is limited by at least one constraint.

The argument by reductio ad absurdum is as follows: If there was nothing preventing a system from achieving higher throughput (i.e., more goal units in a unit of time), its throughput would be infinite — which is impossible in a real-life system.

Only by increasing flow through the constraint can overall throughput be increased. Assuming the goal of a system has been articulated and its measurements defined, the steps are:

1. Identify the system's constraint(s) (that which prevents the organization from obtaining more of the goal in a unit of time)

2. Decide how to exploit the system's constraint(s) (how to get the most out of the constraint)

3. Subordinate everything else to the above decision (align the whole system or organization to support the decision made above)

4. Elevate the system's constraint(s) (make other major changes needed to increase the constraint's capacity)

5. Warning! If in the previous steps a constraint has been broken, go back to step 1, but do not allow inertia to cause a system's constraint.

The goal of a commercial organization is: "Make money now and in the future", and its measurements are given by throughput accounting as: throughput, inventory, and operating expenses.

The five focusing steps aim to ensure ongoing improvement efforts are centered on the organization's constraint(s). In the TOC literature, this is referred to as the process of ongoing improvement (POOGI).

These focusing steps are the key steps to developing the specific applications mentioned below.

Constraints

A constraint is anything that prevents the system from achieving more of its goal. There are many ways that constraints can show up, but a core principle within TOC is that there are not tens or hundreds of constraints. There is at least one but at most only a few in any given system. Constraints can be internal or external to the system. An internal constraint is in evidence when the market demands more from the system than it can deliver. If this is the case, then the focus of the organization should be on discovering that constraint and following the five focusing steps to open it up (and

potentially remove it). An external constraint exists when the system can produce more than the market will bear. If this is the case, then the organization should focus on mechanisms to create more demand for its products or services.

Types of (internal) constraints

Equipment: The way equipment is currently used limits the ability of the system to produce more salable goods/services.

People: Lack of skilled people limits the system. Mental models held by people can cause behaviour that becomes a constraint.

Policy: A written or unwritten policy prevents the system from making more.

The concept of the constraint in Theory of Constraints is analogous to but differs from the constraint that shows up in mathematical optimization. In TOC, the constraint is used as a focusing mechanism for management of the system. In optimization, the constraint is written into the mathematical expressions to limit the scope of the solution (X can be no greater than 5).

Please note: organizations have many problems with equipment, people, policies, etc. (A breakdown is just that – a breakdown – and is not a constraint in the true sense of the TOC concept) The constraint is the thing that is preventing the organization from getting more throughput (typically, revenue through sales).

Breaking a constraint

If a constraint's throughput capacity is elevated to the point where it is no longer the system's limiting factor, this is said to "break" the constraint. The limiting factor is now some other part of the system, or may be external to the system (an external constraint). This is not to be confused with a breakdown.

Buffers

Buffers are used throughout the theory of constraints. They often result as part of the exploit and subordinate steps of the five focusing steps. Buffers are placed before the governing constraint, thus ensuring that the constraint is never starved. Buffers are also placed behind the constraint to prevent downstream failure from blocking the constraint's output. Buffers used in this way protect the constraint from variations in the rest of the system and should allow for normal variation of processing time and the occasional upset before and behind the constraint.

Buffers can be a bank of physical objects before a work center, waiting to be processed by that work center. Buffers ultimately buy you time, as in the time before work reaches the constraint and are often verbalized as time buffers. There should always be enough (but not excessive) work in the time queue before the constraint and adequate offloading space behind the constraint.

Buffers are not the small queue of work that sits before every work center in a Kanban system although it is similar if you regard the assembly line as the governing constraint. A prerequisite in the theory is that with one constraint in the system, all other parts of the system must have sufficient capacity to keep up with the work at the

constraint and to catch up if time was lost. In a balanced line, as espoused by Kanban, when one work center goes down for a period longer than the buffer allows, then the entire system must wait until that work center is restored. In a TOC system, the only situation where work is in danger is if the constraint is unable to process (either due to malfunction, sickness or a "hole" in the buffer – if something goes wrong that the time buffer can not protect).

Buffer management, therefore, represents a crucial attribute of the theory of constraints. There are many ways to apply buffers, but the most often used is a visual system of designating the buffer in three colours: green (okay), yellow (caution) and red (action required). Creating this kind of visibility enables the system as a whole to align and thus subordinate to the need of the constraint in a holistic manner. This can also be done daily in a central operations room that is accessible to everybody.

Plant types

There are four primary types of plants in the TOC lexicon. Draw the flow of material from the bottom of a page to the top, and you get the four types. They specify the general flow of materials through a system, and they provide some hints about where to look for typical problems. The four types can be combined in many ways in larger facilities.

I-plant: Material flows in a sequence, such as in an assembly line. The primary work is done in a straight sequence of events (one-to-one). The constraint is the slowest operation.

A-plant: The general flow of material is many-to-one, such as in a plant where many sub-assemblies converge for a final assembly. The primary problem in A-plants is in synchronizing the converging lines so that each supplies the final assembly point at the right time.

V-plant: The general flow of material is one-to-many, such as a plant that takes one raw material and can make many final products. Classic examples are meat rendering plants or a steel manufacturer. The primary problem in V-plants is "robbing" where one operation (A) immediately after a diverging point "steals" materials meant for the other operation (B). Once the material has been processed by A, it cannot come back and be run through B without significant rework.

T-plant: The general flow is that of an I-plant (or has multiple lines), which then splits into many assemblies (many-to-many). Most manufactured parts are used in multiple assemblies and nearly all assemblies use multiple parts. Customized devices, such as computers, are good examples. T-plants suffer from both synchronization problems of A-plants (parts aren't all available for an assembly) and the robbing problems of V-plants (one assembly steals parts that could have been used in another).

For non-material systems, one can draw the flow of work or the flow of processes and arrive at similar basic structures. A project, for example is an A-shaped sequence of work, culminating in a delivered project.

An inventory control system is a process for managing and locating objects or materials. In common usage, the term may also refer to just the software components.

Modern inventory control systems often rely upon barcodes and radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags to provide automatic identification of inventory objects. In an academic study performed at Wal-Mart, RFID reduced Out of Stocks by 30 percent for products selling between 0.1 and 15 units a day. Inventory objects could include any kind of physical asset: merchandise, consumables, fixed assets, circulating tools, library books, or capital equipment. To record an inventory transaction, the system uses a barcode scanner or RFID reader to automatically identify the inventory object, and then collects additional information from the operators via fixed terminals (workstations), or mobile computers.

[edit] Applications

An inventory control system may be used to automate a sales order fulfillment process. Such a system contains a list of orders to be filled, and then prompts workers to pick the necessary items, and provides them with packaging and shipping

An inventory system also manages in and outwards material of hardware.

Real-time inventory control systems may use wireless, mobile terminals to record inventory transactions at the moment they occur. A wireless LAN transmits the transaction information to a central database.

Physical inventory counting and cycle counting are features of many inventory control systems which can enhance the organization.

B

IntroductionIn the operations management or the production management, this technique of operations scheduling forms a very important part and acts as the back – bone for the performance of the manufacturing or the service organizations. With the help of the operations scheduling, two very important factors or the aspects of the resources within an organization that can be pertained are as follows –

1. Allocating the resources within an organization.2. Setting up the time – table.

In today’s competitive world, the orders that are placed either from the side of the customer or from the side of the assembly benches – are to be completed on or before the contracted or the promised date. For fulfilling this, operations scheduling plays a very critical and an essential role and completely ensures that these dates are met.

Operations scheduling helps in the confirmation or the revision of the tentative delivery date that has been promised in the original quotation. Sometimes during the operations scheduling of the work order, it may be discovered that the delivery date originally and tentatively promised cannot be met. All this may be due to the several problems like the materials that are required may not be available at that particular time or may not be available immediately. This problem can also occur due to the increased plant loading while the customer is deciding whether or not to award the quoted job to this company.

It has been observed that the operations scheduling has a direct affect on the effectiveness of the production function and this relation was actually explained by Vollman.

According to Vollman, “The priority planning and the shop floor control and the scheduling elements ultimately determine the performance of the production system.”

If the operations scheduling is carried out in an efficient manner, then there occurs a considerable improvement in the performance in the delivery. Also helps in the achievement of the goals that have been set by the company. Efficient operations scheduling playa a very critical part in the reduction of the production lead times.

6th ans

A Product design is the process of creating a new product to be sold by a business to its customers.[1] It is the efficient and effective generation and development of ideas through a process that leads to new products.[2]

In a systematic approach, product designers conceptualize and evaluate ideas, turning them into tangible inventions and products. The product designer's role is to combine art, science, and technology to create new products that other people can use. Their evolving role has been facilitated by digital tools that now allow designers to communicate, visualize, analyze and actually produce tangible ideas in a way that would have taken greater manpower in the past.

Product design is sometimes confused with industrial design, and has recently become a broad term inclusive of service, software, and physical product design. Industrial design is concerned with bringing artistic form and usability, usually associated with craft design and ergonomics, together to mass produce goods.

There are various product design processes and they are all focused on different aspects. The process shown below is "The Seven Universal Stages of Creative Problem-Solving," outlined by Don Koberg and Jim Bagnell. It helps designers formulate their product from ideas. This process is usually completed by a group of people, designers or field experts in the product they are creating, or specialists for a specific component of the product, such as engineers. The process focuses on figuring out what is required, brainstorming possible ideas, creating mock prototypes, and then generating the product. However, that is not the end of the process. At this point,

product designers would still need to execute the idea, making it into an actual product and then evaluate its success by seeing if any improvements are necessary.

The product design process has experienced huge leaps in evolution over the last few years with the rise and adoption of 3D printing. New consumer-friendly 3D printers can product dimensional objects and print upwards with a plastic like substance opposed to traditional printers that spread ink across a page.

The design process follows a guideline involving three main sections:

Analysis Concept Synthesis

B

Capacity planning is the process of determining the production capacity needed by an organization to meet changing demands for its products.[1] In the context of capacity planning, "design capacity" is the maximum amount of work that an organization is capable of completing in a given period, "effective capacity" is the maximum amount of work that an organization is capable of completing in a given period due to constraints such as quality problems, delays, material handling, etc. The phrase is also used in business computing as a synonym for Capacity Management.

A discrepancy between the capacity of an organization and the demands of its customers results in inefficiency, either in under-utilized resources or unfulfilled customers. The goal of capacity planning is to minimize this discrepancy. Demand for an organization's capacity varies based on changes in production output, such as increasing or decreasing the production quantity of an existing product, or producing new products. Better utilization of existing capacity can be accomplished through improvements in overall equipment effectiveness (OEE). Capacity can be increased through introducing new techniques, equipment and materials, increasing the number of workers or machines, increasing the number of shifts, or acquiring additional production facilities.

Capacity is calculated: (number of machines or workers) × (number of shifts) × (utilization) × (efficiency).

The broad classes of capacity planning are lead strategy, lag strategy, and match strategy.

Lead strategy is adding capacity in anticipation of an increase in demand. Lead strategy is an aggressive strategy with the goal of luring customers away from the company's competitors by improving the service level and reducing leadtime. It is also a strategy aimed at reducing stockout costs. A large capacity does not necessarily imply high inventory levels, but it can imply in higher cycle stock costs. Excess capacity can also be rented to other companies.

Lag strategy refers to adding capacity only after the organization is running at full capacity or beyond due to increase in demand (North Carolina State

University, 2006). This is a more conservative strategy. It decreases the risk of waste, but it may result in the loss of possible customers either by stockout or low service levels.

Match strategy is adding capacity in small amounts in response to changing demand in the market. This is a more moderate strategy.

In the context of systems engineering, capacity planning[2] is used during system design and system performance monitoring.

Capacity planning is long-term decision that establishes a firms' overall level of resources. It extends over time horizon long enough to obtain resources. Capacity decisions affect the production lead time, customer responsiveness, operating cost and company ability to compete. Inadequate capacity planning can lead to the loss of the customer and business. Excess capacity can drain the company's resources and prevent investments into more lucrative ventures. The question of when capacity should be increased and by how much are the critical decisions.

Material requirements planning (MRP) is a production planning and inventory control system used to manage manufacturing processes. Most MRP systems are software-based, while it is possible to conduct MRP by hand as well.

An MRP system is intended to simultaneously meet three objectives:

Ensure materials are available for production and products are available for delivery to customers.

Maintain the lowest possible material and product levels in store Plan manufacturing activities, delivery schedules and purchasing activities

The scope of MRP in manufacturing

The basic function of MRP system includes inventory control, bill of material processing and elementary scheduling. MRP helps organizations to maintain low inventory levels. It is used to plan manufacturing, purchasing and delivering activities.

"Manufacturing organizations, whatever their products, face the same daily practical problem - that customers want products to be available in a shorter time than it takes to make them. This means that some level of planning is required."

Companies need to control the types and quantities of materials they purchase, plan which products are to be produced and in what quantities and ensure that they are able to meet current and future customer demand, all at the lowest possible cost. Making a bad decision in any of these areas will make the company lose money. A few examples are given below:

If a company purchases insufficient quantities of an item used in manufacturing (or the wrong item) it may be unable to meet contract obligations to supply products on time.

If a company purchases excessive quantities of an item, money is wasted - the excess quantity ties up cash while it remains as stock and may never even be used at all.

Beginning production of an order at the wrong time can cause customer deadlines to be missed.

MRP is a tool to deal with these problems. It provides answers for several questions:

What items are required? How many are required? When are they required?

MRP can be applied both to items that are purchased from outside suppliers and to sub-assemblies, produced internally, that are components of more complex items.

The data that must be considered include:

The end item (or items) being created. This is sometimes called Independent Demand, or Level "0" on BOM (Bill of materials).

How much is required at a time. When the quantities are required to meet demand. Shelf life of stored materials. Inventory status records. Records of net materials available for use already in

stock (on hand) and materials on order from suppliers. Bills of materials. Details of the materials, components and sub-assemblies

required to make each product. Planning Data. This includes all the restraints and directions to produce the

end items. This includes such items as: Routings, Labor and Machine Standards, Quality and Testing Standards, Pull/Work Cell and Push commands, Lot sizing techniques (i.e. Fixed Lot Size, Lot-For-Lot, Economic Order Quantity), Scrap Percentages, and other inputs.

Outputs

There are two outputs and a variety of messages/reports:

Output 1 is the "Recommended Production Schedule" which lays out a detailed schedule of the required minimum start and completion dates, with quantities, for each step of the Routing and Bill Of Material required to satisfy the demand from the Master Production Schedule (MPS).

Output 2 is the "Recommended Purchasing Schedule". This lays out both the dates that the purchased items should be received into the facility AND the dates that the Purchase orders, or Blanket Order Release should occur to match the production schedules.

Messages and Reports:

Purchase orders . An order to a supplier to provide materials. Reschedule notices. These recommend cancelling, increasing, delaying or

speeding up existing orders.

Supply chain management (SCM) is the management of a network of interconnected businesses involved in the provision of product and service packages required by the end customers in a supply chain. Supply chain management spans all movement and storage of raw materials, work-in-process inventory, and finished goods from point of origin to point of consumption.

Another definition is provided by the APICS Dictionary when it defines SCM as the "design, planning, execution, control, and monitoring of supply chain activities with the objective of creating net value, building a competitive infrastructure, leveraging worldwide logistics, synchronizing supply with demand and measuring performance globally."

SCM draws heavily from the areas of operations management, logistics, procurement, information technology and strives for an integrated approach.

Common and accepted definitions of supply chain management are:

Managing upstream and down stream value added flow of materials, final goods and related information among suppliers; company; resellers; final consumers is supply chain management.

Supply chain management is the systematic, strategic coordination of the traditional business functions and the tactics across these business functions within a particular company and across businesses within the supply chain, for the purposes of improving the long-term performance of the individual companies and the supply chain as a whole .

A customer focused definition is given by Hines "Supply chain strategies require a total systems view of the linkages in the chain that work together efficiently to create customer satisfaction at the end point of delivery to the consumer. As a consequence costs must be lowered throughout the chain by driving out unnecessary costs and focusing attention on adding value. Throughput efficiency must be increased, bottlenecks removed and performance measurement must focus on total systems efficiency and equitable reward distribution to those in the supply chain adding value. The supply chain system must be responsive to customer requirements.

Supply chain management is a cross-function approach including in managing the movement of raw materials into an organization, certain aspects of the internal processing of materials into finished goods, and the movement of finished goods out of the organization and toward the end-consumer. As organizations strive to focus on core competencies and becoming more flexible, they reduce their ownership of raw materials sources and distribution channels. These functions are increasingly being outsourced to other entities that can perform the activities better or more cost effectively. The effect is to increase the number of organizations involved in satisfying customer demand, while reducing management control of daily logistics operations. Less control and more supply chain partners led to the creation of supply chain management concepts. The purpose of supply chain management is to

improve trust and collaboration among supply chain partners, thus improving inventory visibility and the velocity of inventory movement.

Several models have been proposed for understanding the activities required to manage material movements across organizational and functional boundaries. SCOR is a supply chain management model promoted by the Supply Chain Council. Another model is the SCM Model proposed by the Global Supply Chain Forum (GSCF). Supply chain activities can be grouped into strategic, tactical, and operational levels. The CSCMP has adopted The American Productivity & Quality Center (APQC) Process Classification Framework a high-level, industry-neutral enterprise process model that allows organizations to see their business processes from a cross-industry viewpoint.

Strategic

Strategic network optimization, including the number, location, and size of warehousing, distribution centers, and facilities.

Strategic partnerships with suppliers, distributors, and customers, creating communication channels for critical information and operational improvements such as cross docking, direct shipping, and third-party logistics.

Product life cycle management , so that new and existing products can be optimally integrated into the supply chain and capacity management activities.

Segmentation of products and customers to guide alignment of corporate objectives with manufacturing and distribution strategy.

Information technology chain operations. Where-to-make and make-buy decisions. Aligning overall organizational strategy with supply strategy. It is for long term and needs resource commitment.

Tactical level

Sourcing contracts and other purchasing decisions. Production decisions, including contracting, scheduling, and planning process

definition. Inventory decisions, including quantity, location, and quality of inventory. Transportation strategy, including frequency, routes, and contracting. Benchmarking of all operations against competitors and implementation of

best practices throughout the enterprise. Milestone payments. Focus on customer demand and Habits.

Operational level

Daily production and distribution planning, including all nodes in the supply chain.

Production scheduling for each manufacturing facility in the supply chain (minute by minute).

Demand planning and forecasting, coordinating the demand forecast of all customers and sharing the forecast with all suppliers.

Sourcing planning, including current inventory and forecast demand, in collaboration with all suppliers.

Inbound operations, including transportation from suppliers and receiving inventory.

Production operations, including the consumption of materials and flow of finished goods.

Outbound operations, including all fulfillment activities, warehousing and transportation to customers.

Order promising, accounting for all constraints in the supply chain, including all suppliers, manufacturing facilities, distribution centers, and other customers.

From production level to supply level accounting all transit damage cases & arrange to settlement at customer level by maintaining company loss through insurance company.

Managing non-moving, short-dated inventory and avoiding more products to go short-dated.