Any process that accepts inputs and uses resources to change those inputs in useful ways

Operations management transforms inputs (labor, capital, equipment, land, buildings, materials, and information) into outputs (goods and services) that provide added value to customers. All organizations must strive to maximize the quality of their transformation processes to meet customer needs.

WHAT IS THE TRANSFORMATION PROCESS?

A transformation process is any activity or group of activities that takes one or more inputs, transforms and adds value to them, and provides outputs for customers or clients. ... Changes in the physical characteristics of materials or customers.

HOW OPERATIONS CAN BE VIEWED AS A TRANSFORMATION PROCESS?

Briefly describe how operations can be viewed as a transformation process. Operations is often defined as a transformation process. Inputs such as raw materials, labor, equipment, and capital are transformed into outputs (goods and services). Customer feedback is used to adjust the transformation process.

WHAT IS PROCESS IN OPERATION MANAGEMENT?

Operations management is an area of management concerned with designing and controlling the process of production and redesigning business operations in the production of goods or services. ... Operations produce products, manage quality and creates service.

 EXAMPLE OF AN OUTPUT AND INPUT OF THE TRANSFORMATION PROCESS

Information and materials are two examples of inputs to the transformation process. ... Inputs to the transformation process are tangible, but the outputs may be tangible or intangible.  In general, operations management activities are not information and decision intensive.

WHAT IS THE MAIN OPERATION PROCESS OF THE ORGANIZATION?

Operations management (OM) is the business function responsible for managing the process of creation of goods and services. It involves planning, organizing, coordinating, and controlling all the resources needed to produce a company's goods and services.

FOUR PROCESS STRATEGIES

A process or transformation strategy is an organization's approach to transforming resources into goods and services. These goods or services are organized around a specific activity or process.

Every organization will have one of the four process strategies:

a.    Process focus in a factory; these processes might be departments devoted to welding, grinding, and painting. In an office the processes might be accounts payable, sales, and payroll. In a restaurant, they might be bar, grill, and bakery. The process focuses on low volume, high variety products are also called job shop. These facilities are process focus in terms of equipment, layout, and supervision.

b.    Repetitive focus; falls between the product and process focus. The repetitive process is a product-oriented production process that uses modules. Modules are parts or components of a product previously manufactured or prepared, often in a continuous process. Fast-food firms are an example of repetitive process using modules.

c.     Product focus, are high volume, low variety processes; also called continuous processes. Products such as light bulbs, rolls of paper, beer, and bolts are examples of product process. This type of facility requires a high fixed cost, but low costs. The reward is high facility utilization.

d.    Mass customizations focus; is rapid, low-cost production that caters to constantly changing unique customer desires. This process is not only about variety; it is about making precisely what the customer wants when the customer wants it economically. Achieving mass customization is a challenge that requires sophisticated operational capabilities.

Article from QD

Chapter 10 – MANAGING PRODUCTION AND SERVICE OPERATIONS

Manufacturing processes are those that refer to the making of products by hand or with machinery.

WHAT OPERATIONS IS

Job Shop. A job shop is one whose production is "based on sales orders for a variety of small lots."

Operations refers to "any process that accepts inputs and uses resources to change those inputs in useful ways.” The transformation process converts the inputs into final goods or services. Examples of final goods and services are as follows: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Industrial chemicals like methylene chloride, borax powder, phosphoric acid, etc., which are produced by chemical manufacturing firms; Services like those for the construction of ports, highrise buildings, roads, bridges, etc., which are produced by constructions firms; Electrical products like transformers, circuit breakers, switch gears, power capacitors, etc., which are produced by electrical manufacturing firms; Electronic products like oscilloscope, microwave tests systems, transistors, cable testers, etc., which are produced by electronics manufacturing firms; Mechanical devices like forklifts, trucks, loaders, etc., which are produced by manufacturing firms; Engineering Consultancy services like those for construction management and supervision, project management services, etc., which are produced by engineering consultancy firms.

WHAT OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT IS Operations is an activity that needs to be managed by competent persons. Aldag and Stearns accurately defined operations management as "the process of planning, organizing, and controlling operations to reach objectives efficiently and effectively.” Efficiency is related to "the cost of doing something, or the resource utilization involved.” Effectiveness refers to goal accomplishment. OPERATIONS AND THE ENGINEER MANAGER The engineer manager is expected to produce some output at whatever management level be is. If he is assigned as the manufacturing engineer, his function is "to determine and define the equipment, tools, and processes required to convert the design of the desired product into reality in an efficient manner.” The engineer, as operations manager, must find ways to contribute to the production of quality goods or services and the reduction of costs in his department. The typical operations manager is one with several years of experience in the operations division and possesses an academic background in engineering. TYPES OF TRANSFORMATION PROCESS 1.

2.

Manufacturing processes a) job shop b) batch flow c) worker-paced line flow d) machine-paced tine flow e) batch/continuous flow hybrid f) continuous flow Service processes a) service factory b) service shop c) mass service d) professional service

MANUFACTURING PROCESSES

Job shops produce custom products, in general. Products may be manufactured within a short notice. The equipment used are of the general purpose type. The type of layout used by job shops is the process layout, where similar machines are grouped together. The typical size of operation is generally small. Job shops are labor intensive and machines are frequently idle. Batch Flow. The batch flow process is where lots of generally own designed products are manufactured. It is further characterized by the following: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

There is flexibility to produce either low or high volumes. Not all procedures are performed on all products. The type of equipment used are mostly for general purpose. The process layout is used. The operation is labor intensive, although there is less machine idleness. The size of operation is generally medium-sized.

Examples of factories using the large batch flow are wineries, scrap-metal reduction plants, and road-repair contractors. Worker-Paced Assembly Line. An assembly line refers to a production layout arranged in a sequence to accommodate processing of large volumes of standardized products or services. The quality and quantity of output in a worker-paced assembly line depends to a great extent to the skill of the labor utilized. Examples of worker-paced assembly lines are food marts like McDonalds and Shakeys. The worker-paced assembly line is characterized by the following: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

The products manufactured are mostly standardized. There is a clear process pattern. Specialized equipment is used The size of operation is variable. The process is worker-paced. The type of layout used is the line flow. Labor is still a big cost item.

Machine-Paced Assembly Line. This type of production process produces mostly standard products with machines playing a significant role. Among its other features are as follows: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

The process is of clear, rigid pattern. Specialized type of equipment is used. The line flow layout is used. Capital equipment is a bigger cost item than labor. Operation is large. The process is machine-paced.

Example of machine-paced assembly line are automobile manufacturers like General Motors and Ford Motors. Continuous Flow. The continuous flow processing is characterized by “the rapid rate at which items move through the system." This processing method is very appropriate for producing highly standardized products like calculators, typewriters, automobiles, televisions, cellular phones, etc. Its other characteristics are as follows: 1.

There is economy of scale in production, resulting to low per unit cost of production.

2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

The process is clear and very rigid. Specialized equipment are used. The line flow layout is used. Operations are highly capital intensive. The size of operations is very large. Processing is fast.

5. 6.

Using multiskilled floating staff. Installing customer self-service.

IMPORTANT PARTS OF PRODUCTIVE SYSTEMS 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

product design production planning and scheduling purchasing and materials management inventory control work flow layout quality control

Batch/ Continuous Flew Hybrid. This method of processing is a combination of the batch and the continuous flow. Two distinct layouts are used, one for batch and one for the continuous flow. The typical size of operation is also very large giving opportunities for economies of scale.

Product Design

Examples of companies using the batch/continuous flow hybrid are breweries, gelatin producers, and tobacco manufacturers.

Product design refers to “the process of creating a set of product specifications appropriate to the demands of the situation.”

Service Processes

Production Planning and Scheduling

Service processes are those that refer to the provision of services to persons by hand or with machinery.

Production planning may be defined as "forecasting the future sales of a given product, translating this forecast into the demand it generates for various production facilities, and arranging for the procurement of these facilities."

Service Factory. A service factory offers a limited mix of services which results to some economies of scale in operations. This also affords the company to compete in terms of price and speed of producing the service. The process layout preferred by the service factory is the rigid pattern of line flow processing. McDonalds and Shakeys are also examples of service factories. Service Shop. A service shop provides a diverse mix of services. The layout used are those for job shops or fixed position and are adaptable to various requirements. Service shops abound throughout the Philippines. Examples are Servitek and Megashell. Among the services provided by these shops are car engine tune-up, wheel balancing, wheel alignment, change oil, etc. Mass Service. A mass service company provides services to a large number of people simultaneously. A unique processing method is, therefore, necessary to satisfy this requirement. To be able to serve many people, mass service companies offer limited mix of services.

Scheduling is the "phase of production control involved in developing timetables that specify how long each operation in the production process takes." Purchasing and Materials Management The management of purchasing and materials must be undertaken with a high degree of efficiency and effectiveness specially in firms engaged in high volume production. Materials management refers to "the approach that seeks efficiency of operation through integration of all material acquisition, movement, and storage activities in the firm." Inventory Control Inventory control is the process of establishing and maintaining appropriate levels of reserve stocks of goods. There are ways of achieving proper inventory control. They are as follows:

The process layout used is typically fixed position where customers move through the layout.

1. 2. 3.

Professional Services. These are companies that provide specialized services to other firms or individuals. Examples of such firms are as follows.

4.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

Engineering or management consulting services Design services Advertising agencies Accounting services Legal services Data processing services Health services

Professional service firms offer a diverse mix of services. There is a lower utilization of capital equipment compared to the service factory and the service shop. The process pattern used is very loose. The process layout used is identical to the job shop. Professional service firms are, oftentimes, faced with delivery problems brought about by nonuniform demand. Strategies that may be used ·depending on the situation are as follows: 1. 2. 3. 4.

The use of staggered work-shift schedules. The hiring of part-time staff. Providing the customer with opportunity to select the level of service. Installing auxiliary capacity or hiring subcontractors.

determining reorder point and reorder quantity determining economic order quantity the use of just-in-time (JIT) method of inventory control the use of the material requirement planning (MRP) method of planning and controlling inventories.

Work-Flow Layout Work-flow layout is the process of determining the physical arrangement of the production system. 1.

A good workflow layout will have the following benefits: 2. Minimize investment in equipment. 3. Minimize overall production time. 4. Use existing space most effectively. 5. Provide for employee convenience, safety, and comfort. 6. Maintain flexibility of arrangement and operation. 7. Minimize material handling cost. 8. Minimize variation in types of material-handling equipment. 9. Facilitate the manufacturing (or service) process. 10. Facilitate the organizational structure. Quality Control Quality control refers to the measurement of products or services against standards set by the company.

What are inputs used by organizations?

Which function of the business consists of those activities that transform inputs into goods and services?

Is one whose production is based on sales orders for a variety of small lots?