1. Define the production process (called Operations Assessment in Stage 2 of Stagegate model for product design) Determine how completed the input materials should be. These are make-or-buy decisions. Set production process objectives:
− Capacity (or production speed), flexibility
− Type of process (job shop, batch, assembly, continuous)
− Cost (fixed, variable), process quality capability
− Technology/extent of automation, production start date Determine the nature of process in general.
2. Production process development (in Stage 3 of Stage-gate model)
2.1 Conceptualize the design
This answers the question: How do you get from inputs (materials) to output? That is, what is the sequence of major operations (activities) needed? * Develop a few alternative process concepts (sketches). Two approaches can be used:
− Incremental: do one step at a time from start to end.
− Hierarchical (top down): break the whole job into two operations, then divide each into sub-operations, etc., until the desired level of detail is reached. * Usually a process flow diagram is used to show the operations and the movement of materials through the operations. * Evaluate each alternative process concept.
2.2 Make an embodiment of the design * Choose one process concept and complete the design. * Build a prototype process (can use computer modelling) and test it.
− Determine the resources (machines, equipment, and labour) needed, in general.
− Estimate the costs, quality, etc., and compare with the objectives. * Refine the process and re-evaluate it.
2.3 Create a detailed design * Finalize the process specifications
− Determine the specific machines, equipment (their capacities and make), and labour.
− Design the plant layout.
− Design the work centres.
3. Buy the machines and equipment, recruit workers, and start trial runs (in Stage 4 of Stage-gate model)

The usual phases (stages) for product design, and a brief description for each, are:
1. Idea generation and preliminary assessment (or scoping): ideas can come from customers’ feedback, research and development staff, suppliers, and competitors. Preliminary assessment involves market, technical, and financial evaluation.
2. Building a business case: Determine what customers want (“voice of the customer”), determine the nature of product and assess its technical feasibility, establish product goals and objectives (performance, price, quality, quantity, launch date, etc.), plan the nature of the production process (determine the inputs, process objectives, and production process in general), and perform a complete financial analysis.
3. Development of product and process: Translate the “voice of the customer” into technical (physical) product specifications, such as product size, features, and so on. As part of this, several concepts (sketch of product) are developed. Each concept represents a slightly different product form and/or function, and its components. Choose one concept and complete the design. Build product prototypes, test, and revise the design if necessary. Design the production/service delivery process: develop a few process concepts (sketches), evaluate them and choose one concept and complete the design, build a prototype of the process and evaluate it, and revise the process if necessary. Determine the machines and equipment, plant layout, and work centre designs.
4. Testing and validation: perform external testing, finalize the product and process specifications, and buy the machines and equipment and start trial runs.
5. Launch.
Manufacturability is a key concern for manufactured goods: ease of fabrication and/or assembly is important for cost, productivity, and quality.
The term design for manufacturing (DFM) is used to indicate the designing of products that are compatible with manufacturing capabilities. A related concept is design for assembly (DFA). Design for assembly focuses on reducing the number of parts in an assembly, as well as on the assembly methods and sequence that will be employed. Cadillac
Competitiveness Ability and performance of an organization in the marketplace compared to other organizations that offer similar goods or services. Order Qual/Winners
Key purchasing: Price, Quality, Variety, timeliness
Competitive: Cost, Quality, Flexibility, Delivery
Strategy The long-term plans that determine the direction organization takes to become (or remain) competitive.
9 Strat: Facility, Capacity, Vert. Integration, Vendor Relations, Product mix & new products, Process types & tech, HR, Quality, Operations infras. & systems
Strategic planning the managerial process that determines a strategy for the organization.

Formulation of an Operations Strategy.
1. Link the organization goals to the operations strategy: determine operations requirements of the organization goals.
2. Categorize the customers into types: for example, major customers (with whom closer relationship is desirable) and others (with whom transactional relationship is adequate).
For each category, determine which of the four competitive priorities (cost, quality, delivery, and flexibility) should be emphasized.
3. Group product lines into types: for example, classify the product lines into low volume and high volume.
4. Conduct an operations audit to determine the strengths/weaknesses of the current operations strategy in each of the nine strategic decision categories. Also, for each customer category, assess the relative standing of products (relative to desired competitive priorities) against those of most relevant competitors.
5. Assess the degree of focus at each plant: note that a focused plant is more efficient.
We can use the product-process matrix (described in Chapter 6) to detect the degree of congruence between a product line and its “natural” process. For example, a low volume–high variety product line should be produced using a job shop process.
6. Develop an operations strategy and re-allocate product lines to plants if necessary. For each of the nine strategic decision categories, state the objectives, policies, and action plans. Deploy these policies and action plans.

Product Design Process
4 elements to rapidly create new goods and services: 1. Product approval committee- consists of top management, oversees and directs the design/development activities
Authorizes new products, reviewing progress at phase review points, allocating resources across projects and ensuring consistency between company strategy and design 2. Core teams- cross functional teams empowered to plan and lead the design/development projects from idea to commercialization
Involves resolving issues and conflicts making trade-off decisions and directing other support staff 3. Phase reviews (stage-gates)- milestones during a new product design/development project when the progress of the core team is reviewed by the product approval committee
Cost of changes tend to multiply with each phase- ex. changing sketch is a lot easier then changing prototype 4. Structured development process- use of project management techniques
Involves breaking each phase into steps and each step into activities and determining relationships, scheduling and execution and control * Steps are most critical and are planned and managed by the core team
Difference in Designing Services * Differences between good and services that warrant special consideration for services: 1. Goods are tangible, service intangible- service includes secondary factors such as peace of mind, ambiance, and convenience
Hard to sketch a service- relies on faith and trust of customers- image is important 2. Services are created and delivered at the same time- quality is measured through customer satisfaction 3. Services involve some degree of customization (variety)- variability in length of service 4. Have lower barriers to entry and exit
Companies cannot easily measure the cost of introducing the service because of the shared resource 5. Location is important to service design, with convenience as a major factor 1. Job shop- a process type used when a low quantity of high-variety customized goods or services is needed a. Process is intermittent b. High flexibility of equipment and skilled workers c. Ex. tool- and-die shop, hospitals 2. Batch process- a type of process used when a moderate volume and variety of goods or services is desired
Process is intermittent but does not need to be flexible Ex. small bakeries, airlines, beer, paint, icecream, etc. 3. Repetitive process- a type of process used when higher quantities of more standardized good or services needed
Only slight flexibility of equipment is needed, skill workers are low
Production lines- a sequence of machines/workstations that perform operations on a part/product
Assembly lines- a production line where parts are added to a product sequentially * Line can be machine-paced (same speed) or worker-paced (variable speed) 4. Continuous Process- used when high volume of highly standardized output is required
Almost no variety in output, therefore no need for equipment flexibility
Worker are generally low skilled and product is continuous (cannot be counted) Ex. sugar, flour, salt, paper
Because of fast speed, greater care is required for automated control of the flow- star and stop of production are more challenging

1. Product (line) layout- arranges production resources linearly according to the progressive steps by which a product is made
Used to achieve a smooth and rapid flow of large quantities of goods or customers through a system
Preventive maintenance- periodic inspection and replacement of work parts or those with high failure rates, reduces the probability of breakdowns during the operations
Low cost production and simplified accounting, purchasing, and inventory control
Higher equipment cost, dull/repetitive jobs, repetitive stress injuries, inflexibility in response to changes in the quantity of output or in product mix 2. Process (Functional) Layout- arranges production resources together according to similarity of function * Quite common in services * Variety of jobs causes frequent adjustments to equipment, which causes discontinuous work flow (intermittent processing) * General-purpose equipment- provides flexibility necessary to handle a wide range of production requirements * Workers who operate the equipment are usually skilled * Because equipment in a process layout is arranged by type rather than by production sequence, the system is much less vulnerable to shutdown caused by mechanical failure or absenteeism * Maintenance costs tend to be lower because equipment is less specialized than that of product layouts * Machine similarity reduces the necessary investment in spare parts * Routing and scheduling must be done on a continual basis to accommodate the variety of production requirements typically imposed on these systems 3. Cellular layout- layout in which different machines are arranged in a cell that can process items that have similar processing requirements (called part families) * Benefits include faster processing time, increased capacity, less material handling, less work-in-process inventory, and reduced set up times * Group technology- grouping items with similar design or manufacturing characteristics into part families