UNIT 1II

INTRODUCTION TO PRODUCTION PLANNING AND

CONTROL

Introduction

Production function is that part of an organization, which is concerned with the transformation of a
range of inputs into the required outputs (products) having the requisite quality level. Production
may be understood as ―the step-by-step conversion of one form of material into another form
through chemical or mechanical process to create or enhance the utility of the product to the user.
Thus production is a value addition process.

In any manufacturing enterprise, the main objective of production department is to produce the
things in desired quantity at desired time so that they may be made available to end users when they
demand it. Production, being a very complex process is very difficult to manage for the people. This
includes a large number of activities and operations which need to be planned appropriately and in
turn controlled for the effective production of the output. The main purpose of production planning
and control (PPC) is to establish routes and schedules for the work that will ensure the optimum
utilization of materials, workers, and machines and to provide the means for ensuring the operation
of the plant in accordance with these plans.

There are different types of production systems. The choice of production system depends upon the
nature of products, variety of products and volume of products. These production systems have been
discussed in this chapter in detail. Entrepreneurs, after finalizing the production system to be used
are required to go for the production planning and control (PPC) which essentially depends upon the
type of production system.

Production planning and control is necessarily concerned with implementing the plans, i.e. the
detailed scheduling of jobs, assigning of workloads to machines (and people), the actual flow of
work through the system. Production is an organized activity of converting row materials into
useful products. Production system requires the optimal utilization of natural resources like men,
money, machine, materials and time. Production planning and control coordinate with different
departments: such as production,

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marketing, logistics, warehouse and other departments depending upon the nature of organization.
Production planning and control receives data related to orders from marketing departments.
Production plan based on marketing and production data is prepared in production planning and
control. This production plan provides clear idea about utilization of manufacturing resources for
production. Prepared production plan is delivered to production department. Production department
manufacture products according to that plan.

The ultimate objective of production planning and control, like that of all other manufacturing
controls, is to contribute to the profits of the enterprise. As with inventory management and control,
this is accomplished by keeping the customers satisfied through the meeting of delivery schedules.

The main objectives of PPC may be summarized as followings:-

a) It is used to establish target and check the deviations by comparing on some

performance measures.
b) Decides the nature and magnitude of different input factors to produce the output.
c) Coordinates different resources of production system in the most effective and
economic manner and to coordinate among different departments.
d) Elimination of bottleneck
e) Utilization of inventory in the optimal way
f) Smooth flow of material
g) To produce in right quantity and quality at right time
h) Scheduling production activities to meet delivery schedule
i) Expediting the system under production
j) To ensure flexibility in production system to accommodate changes and uncertainty
k) Optimizes the use of resources for minimum overall production cost
l) To ensure the production of right product at right time in right quantity with
specification rightly suited to customers
m) Stable production system, with least chaos, confusion and undue hurry.

This chapter deals in detail with the concept of production planning and control. This will help the
students to understand the PPC to be used for the different types of production
 systems along with their merits and demerits. This will also make them familiar with various
constraints in PPC.

Meaning of Production
As discussed earlier, production refers to the transformation of inputs into finished goods/ or
creation of services in order to satisfy the customer needs. This uses different inputs mainly
including 6M‘s namely, man, material, machine, money, method and management. Production
involves application of processes by which the inputs can be transformed into desired product
(output) of potential utility while improving properties and adding economic values through the best
method without compromising on quality.

Different forms of production based on the processes used:

1. Production by extraction or separation: like petrol, kerosene, sugar etc

2. Production by assembly: car, television, furniture

Edwood Buffa defines production as ―a process by which goods and services are created‖ Some
examples of production are: manufacturing custom-made products like, boilers with a specific
capacity, constructing flats, some structural fabrication works for selected customers etc. At each
stage of processing, there will be value addition. It is easy to understand a production system from
the figure 1.1. There are various inputs which essentially pass through a transformation/ conversion
process and finally converted into some outputs which have a value for the end users.

The outputs may be in the form of tangible products or services. In nutshell, production system of an
organization is that part, which produces products of an organization. It is that activity whereby
resources, flowing within a defined system, are combined and transformed in a controlled manner to
add value in accordance with the policies communicated by management. A simplified production
system is shown above.
Production management involves the managerial decisions regarding design of the product and
design of the production system i.e. determination of production processes and production planning
and control.

Blueprint of Production system

An enterprise in the beginning needs to define its production system that is considered as the
framework within which all production related activities and operations take place. Manufacturing
process is the transformation process through which inputs are converted into outputs. An
appropriate designing of production system ensures the coordination of various production activities
and operations. There is no single pattern of production system which is universally applicable in all
kinds of enterprises. This varies from one enterprise to another depending upon many parameters.

Types of Production systems

There are mainly three types of production systems mentioned as below:

(1) Continuous/Mass production

(2) Job or unit production
(3) Intermittent/Batch production
(1) Continuous/Mass production: It is used when we need to produce standardized products with
a standard set of process and operation sequence in anticipation of demand. This ensures
continuous production of output. It is also termed as mass flow production or assembly line
production. This system results in less work in process (wip) inventory and high product quality
but involves high capital investment in machinery and equipment. This ensures very high rate of
production as we need not to intervene once the production has begun. The system is
appropriate in plants where large volume of small variety of output is produced. e.g. oil
refineries, cement manufacturing and sugar factory etc.

Characteristics of Continuous/Mass production:

a) As same product is manufactured for sufficiently long time, machines can be laid down
in order of processing sequence.
b) Standard methods and machines are used during part manufacture.
c) Most of the equipment‘s are semi automatic or automatic in nature.
d) Material handling is also automatic (such as conveyors).
e) Semi-skilled workers are normally employed as most of the facilities are automatic.
f) As product flows along a pre-defined line, planning and control of the system is much
easier.
g) Cost of production per unit is very low owing to the high rate of production.
h) In process inventories are low as production scheduling is simple and can be
implemented with ease.

(2) Job or Unit production: It involves production as per customer's specifications. This ensures
the simultaneous production of large number of batches/orders. Each batch or order comprises
of a small lot of identical products and is different from other batches. It requires comparatively
smaller investment in machines and equipment. It is flexible and can be adapted to changes in
product design and order size without much inconvenience. This system is most suitable where
heterogeneous products are produced against specific orders. In this system products are made
to satisfy a specific order.
 However that order may be produced- only once or at irregular time intervals as and when
new order arrives or at regular time intervals to satisfy a continuous demand.

Characteristics of Job or Unit Production:

a) Machines and methods employed should be general purpose as product changes are
quite frequent.
b) Man power should be skilled enough to deal with changing work conditions.
c) Schedules are actually nonexistent in this system as no definite data is available on the
product. In process inventory will usually be high as accurate plans and schedules do not
exist.
d) Product cost is normally high because of high material and labor costs.
e) Grouping of machines is done on functional basis (i.e. as lathe section, milling section etc.)
This system is very flexible as management has to manufacture varying product types.
Material handling systems are also flexible to meet changing product requirements.

(3) Intermittent/Batch Production: This is concerned with the production of different types of
products in small quantities usually termed as batches. A batch contains the similar products but
in small quantity. This is used to meet a specific order or to meet a continuous demand. Batch
can be manufactured either- only once or repeatedly at irregular time intervals as and when
demand arise or repeatedly at regular time intervals to satisfy a continuous demand. Under this
system the goods may be produced partly for inventory and partly for customer's orders. For
example, components are made for inventory but they are combined differently for different
customers. e.g. automobile plants, printing presses, electrical goods plant are examples of this
type of manufacturing.

Characteristics of Intermittent/ Batch Production:

a) As final product is somewhat standard and manufactured in batches, economy of scale

can be availed to some extent.
b) Machines are grouped on functional basis similar to the job shop manufacturing.
 c) Semi-automatic, special purpose automatic machines are generally used to take
advantage of the similarity among the products.
d) Labor should be skilled enough to work upon different product batches.
e) In process inventory is usually high owing to the type of layout and material
handling policies adopted.
f) Semi-automatic material handling systems are most appropriate in conjunction with the
semi-automatic machines.

In addition to the above, a large number of manufacturing plants include both intermittent and
continuous processes and are classified as composite or combination operations .Such a plant may
have sub assembly departments making parts in a continuous operation, while the final assembly
department works on an intermittent basis.(as in the furniture and custom packaging industries)

Types of Manufacturing Processes

The above mentioned production systems require different types of manufacturing process and
require different conditions for their working. Selection of manufacturing process is a strategic
decision as any change in the same is very costly and time consuming affair. Therefore the
manufacturing process is selected at the stage of planning a business venture. This must be selected
keeping in view two important parameters (1) meeting the specification of the final product and (2)
to be cost effective.

The manufacturing process is classified into four types.

(i) Jobbing manufacturing process

(ii) Batch manufacturing process
(iii) Mass or flow manufacturing process
(iv) Process type manufacturing process

(i) Jobbing manufacturing process: This is used to produce one or few units of the products
as per the requirement and specification of the customer. Production is to meet the delivery
schedule and costs are fixed prior to the contract made with the customer.
 (ii) Batch manufacturing process: This is used to produce limited quantities of each of the
different types of products in the form of batches. These batches of different products are
manufactured on same set of machines. Different batches/products are produced separately
one after the other.
(iii) Mass or flow manufacturing process: This is used to produce a large quantity of same
product at a time that is stocked for sale. All machines and required equipments are
arranged according to the sequence of operations; termed as line arrangement/flow. This
ensures very high rate of production. One line arrangement can produce only one type of
product, therefore, a different line arrangement is needed for a different product.
(iv) Process type manufacturing process: This is used to produce the products which need a
particular process/definite sequence of operations. E.g. petroleum. In this, production run is
conducted for an indefinite period.

Factors affecting the Choice of Manufacturing Process

Following factors need to be considered before making a choice of manufacturing process.

a) Effect of volume/variety: This is one of the major considerations in selection of manufacturing

process. When the volume is low and variety is high, intermittent process is most suitable and with
increase in volume and reduction in variety continuous process become suitable. The following
figure indicates the choice of manufacturing process as a function of volume and variety.
b) Capacity of the plant: Predicted sales volume is the key factor to make a choice between batch
and line process. In case of line process, fixed costs are substantially higher than variable costs. The
reverse is true for batch process thus at low volume it would be cheaper to install and maintain a
batch process and line process becomes economical at higher volumes.
c) Lead time: The continuous process normally results faster deliveries as compared to batch
process. Therefore lead-time and level of competition certainly influence the choice of production
process.
d) Flexibility and Efficiency: The manufacturing process needs to be flexible enough to adapt
contemplated changes and volume of production should be large enough to lower costs.

Hence it is very important for entrepreneur to consider all above mentioned factors before taking a
decision pertaining to the type of manufacturing process to be adopted. As far as Small Scale
Enterprises are concerned, they usually adopt batch processes due to less volume of production and
low investment.

Once the entrepreneur has made a final choice pertaining to the product design, production system
and process, his next critical decision is the production and planning control (PPC) decision.

Meaning of Production Planning and Control:

PPC is a very critical decision which is necessarily required to ensure an efficient and
economical production. Planned production is an important feature of any manufacturing
industry. Production planning and control (PPC) is a tool to coordinate and integrate the entire
manufacturing activities in a production system. This essentially comprises of planning
production before actual production activities start and then exercising control over those
activities sto ensure that the planned production is realized in terms of quantity, quality, delivery
schedule and cost of production.

According to Gorden and Carson, PPC usually involve the organization and planning of
manufacturing process. Principally, it includes entire organization. The various activities
involved in production planning are designing the product, determining the equipment
and capacity requirement, designing the layout of physical facilities and material and material
handling system, determining the sequence of operations and the nature of the operations to be
performed along with time requirements and specifying certain production and quantity and
quality levels.

Production planning also includes the plans of routing, scheduling, dispatching inspection, and
coordination, control of materials, methods machines, tools and operating times. Its ultimate
objective is the to plan and control the supply and movement of materials and labour, machines
utilization and related activities, in order to bring about the desired manufacturing results in
terms of quality, quantity, time and place. This provides a physical system together with a set of
operating guidelines for efficient conversion of raw materials, human skills and other inputs to
finished product.

Procedure of Production Planning and Control

The PPC is entirely based on the pre-design format. It attempts to execute and implement all
activities/operations according to the set plan. All operations should be executed in a proper
manner with a close vigil on all facts ensuring that the time period and the stipulated costs should
not go beyond the reach and it should be done under the excepted/agreed policies. These costs
are including the cost of assets, capital cost of the facility, and labour. The PPC consists of the
following steps.

a) Forecasting the demands of the customers for the products and services.
b) In advance preparing the production budget.
c) Design the facility layout.
d) Specify the types of machines and equipment.
e) Appropriate production requirements of the raw materials, labour, and machinery.
f) Drawing the apt schedule of the production.
g) Confirming the shortage or any excess of the end product.
h) Future plans are drawn for any sudden surge in the demand for the product.
i) The rate and scale of production is setup. Which needs to be broken into realistic time
periods and scheduling. The specified job needs to be done in the amount of time provided so
that the production can move to next step.
PPC essentially consists of three Stages:

a) Planning stage
b) Action stage
c) Monitoring stage

All these three stages are very important from the point of view to production because without
planning no production work can take off at all. The foremost thing which is required for any
production is a proper planning.

Elements of Production Planning and Control

This is important to note that production plan is the first and the foremost element of PPC.
Planning refers to deciding in advance what is to be done in future. A separate planning
department is established in the organization which is responsible for the preparation of policies
and plans with regard to production to be undertaken in due course. The planning department
prepares various charts, manuals production budgets etc., on the basis of information received
from management. These plans and charts or production budgets are given practical shape by
carrying various elements under production control. If production planning is defective,
production control is bound to be
adversely affected. For achieving the production targets, production planning provides sound
basis for production control.

One needs to remember that production plans are prepared in advance at top level whereas,
production control is exercised at machine shop floor (bottom level) where actual production is
taking place. Some important elements of PPC have been depicted in the figure as below:

The important elements may be listed as following:

1. Materials: planning for procurement of raw material, component and spare parts in the
right quantities and specifications at the right time from the right source at the right
place. Purchasing, storage, inventory control, standardization, variety reduction, value
analysis and inspection are the other activities associated with material.
2. Method: choosing the best method of processing form several alternatives. It also includes
determining the best sequence of operations (process plan) and planning for tooling, jigs and
fixtures etc.
3. Machines and equipment: manufacturing methods are related to production facilities
available in production systems. It involves facilities planning, capacity planning,
allocations, and utilization of plant and equipment, machines etc.
4. Manpower: planning for manpower (labour and managerial levels) having
appropriate skills and expertise.
5. Routing; determining the flow of work material handling in the plant, and sequence of
operations or processing steps. This is related to consideration of appropriate shop layout
plant layout, temporary storage location for raw materials, component and semi-finished
goods, and of materials handling system.

Route Sheet: a route sheet is a document providing information and instructions for
converting the raw material in finished part or product. It defines each step of the production
operations and lay down the precise path or route through which the product will flow during
the conversion process. Route sheet contains following information:

a) The operation required at their desired sequence

b) Machines or equipment to be used for each operations
c) Estimated set-up time and operation time per piece
d) Tools, jigs, and fixtures required for operations
e) Detailed drawings of the part, sub-assemblies and final assemblies
f) Specification, dimensions, tolerances, surface finishes and quality standard to be
achieved
g) Specification of raw material to be used
h) Speed, feed etc. to be used in machines tools for operations to be carried on.
i) Inspection procedure and metrology tools required for inspection
j) Packing and handling instructions during movement of parts and subassemblies
through the operation stages.
6. Estimating: Establishing operation times leading to fixations of performance standards both
for worker and machines. Estimating involves deciding the quantity of the product which
needs to be produced and cost involved in it on the basis of sale forecast.
Estimating manpower, machine capacity and material required meeting the
planned production targets are like the key activities before budgeting for resources.
7. Loading: machine loading is the process of converting operation schedule into practices in
conjunctions with routing. Machine loading is the process assigning specific jobs to
machines, men, or work centers based on relative priorities and capacity utilization. Loading
ensures maximum possible utilization of productive facilities and avoid bottleneck in
production. It‘s important to either overloading or under loading the facilities, work centers
or machines to ensure maximum utilization of resources.
8. Scheduling: scheduling ensure that parts and sub-assemblies and finished goods are
completed as per required delivery dates. It provides a timetable for manufacturing
activities.

Purpose of scheduling:

a) To prevent unbalance use of time among work and centers and department.
b) To utilize labour such a way that output is produced within established lead time or
cycle time so as to deliver the products on time and complete production in
minimum total cost.

9. Dispatching: This is concerned with the execution of the planning functions. It gives
necessary authority to start a particular work which has already planned under routing and
scheduling functions. Dispatching is release of orders and instructions for starting of
production in accordance with routing sheet and scheduling charts.
10. Inspection: This function is related to maintenance of quality in production and of
evaluating the efficiency of the processes, methods and labours so that improvement can be
made to achieve the quality standard set by product design.
11. Evaluating: The objective of evaluating is to improve performance. Performance of
machines, processes and labour is evaluated to improve the same.
12. Cost control: Manufacturing cost is controlled by wastage reduction, value analysis,
inventory control and efficient utilization of all resources.
Requirements for an effective Production Planning and Control

In an organization, PPC system can be effective only if the following aspects are given due
considerations before implementation:

a) Appropriate organization structure with sufficient delegation of authority and

responsibility at various levels of manpower.
b) Right person should be deputed at right place for right job.
c) Maximum level of standardization of inventory, tooling, manpower, job, workmanship,
equipment, etc.
d) Appropriate management decision for production schedule, materials controls,
inventory and manpower turnover and product mix.
e) Flexible production system to adjust any changes in demand, any problem in
production or availability of materials maintenance requirements, etc
f) Estimation of accurate leads times for both manufacturing and purchase.
g) Management information system should be reliable, efficient and supporting.
h) Capacity to produce should be sufficient to meet the demand.
i) The facility should be responsive enough to produce new products change of products mix
and be able to change the production rates.

The above elements are very important and necessary to make the production planning system
effective and efficient.

Utility of PPC Productions

The implementation of PPC based production system yields various advantages to any organization for
various functional activities, which include the following:

a) Last hour rush is avoided: Production is well planned and controlled as per the given time
schedules. Therefore, production control reduces the number of emergency order and
overtime works on plant and thus reduces the overheads.
b) Problems areas of bottleneck get reduced: The incomplete work or work-in-transit does
not get piled up because production control balances the line and flow of work.
c) Cost reduction: An appropriate production control increases the men-machines utilization,
which maintains in process inventories at a satisfactory level, leads to a handling, helps in
maintaining quality and limits rejections and thus ultimately reduces the unit cost of
production.
d) Optimum utilization of resources: It reduces the time loss of the workers waiting for
materials and makes most effectives use of equipment.
e) Better coordination of plants activities: PPC coordinates the activities of the plant that
leads to control concerted effort by workforce.
f) Benefits to workers: PPC results into better efficiency and productivity, which leads to
adequate wages stable employment, job security, improved working conditions increased job
satisfaction and ultimately high morale.
g) Improved services to customers: PPC leads to better services to the customers as it ensures
production in accordance with the time schedules and therefore, deliveries are made as per
the committed schedules.

Scope of Production Planning and Control

a) Nature of Inputs

To manufacture a product, different types of inputs are used. The quality of the product
depends upon the nature of the inputs are used. Hence the planning is done to determine the
nature of various types of inputs which is a complicated process.

b) Quantity of Inputs

To achieve a level of production, determination of quantity of the inputs and their composition
is very important. A product can be prepared only when there is an estimate of the required
composition of inputs.

c) Proper Coordination

It ensures the proper coordination among the workforce, machines and equipment. This leads
to avoidance of wastages and smooth flow of production.

d) Better Control

Production planning is the method of control. For a better control, planning is a precondition.
Only then, one can compare the performance and calculate the deviations which lead control of
the production.
e) Ensure Uninterrupted Production

The planning of materials ensures the regular supply of raw materials and other
components. The regular flow of materials and supplies are helpful in the uninterrupted
production.

f) Capacity Utilization

There is a need to use the available resources effectively. It is helpful in bringing down
various costs of production.

g) Timely Delivered

If there is good production planning and control, there will be timely production and the
finished product will be rushed to the market in time. This also ensures the better
relationship with the customers.

Factors affecting Production Planning and control

a) Use of Computers: Modern factories are using office automation equipment like PC,
punch cards etc. It helps accurate computation of required of men and machine.
b) Seasonal Variations: Demand of certain products is affected by seasons, for instance
umbrellas and raincoats during the monsoons and outputs. Production planning and
control must take such changes into consideration while planning and control activities of
inputs and outputs.
c) Test Marketing: In an aggressive marketing strategy new products are to be test marketed
in order to know the trends. This is a short- cycle operation, intermittent in nature and
often upsets regular production.
d) After Sales Service: This has become an important parameter for success. In after sales
services, many items are returned for repair. These are unscheduled Work and also
overload the production line.

e) Losses due to Unpredictable Factors: Losses occur due to accidents, fire and theft of
production inputs, mainly materials and Components. These are unpredictable. Shortage of
input due to such factors upset the planned production schedule in time and quantity.
f) Losses due to Predictable Factors: There are losses of inputs, due to natural engineering
 phenomena like production losses and changes in consumption of materials and occurrence
of defectives.

Assembly Line balancing

Assembly Line Balancing may be defined as assigning number of work elements to various workstations
so as to maximize Balancing Efficiency or to minimize Number of workstations or to accomplish any
other given Objective function for a given volume of output without violating the precedence relationship.
Another way of defining ALB is assigning the tasks to a minimum number of workstations for a given
cycle time and / or to reduce the probability of linestop page in a production line.
Assembly line balancing (ALB) relates to a finite set of work elements or tasks, each having an operation
processing time and a set of precedence relations, which specify the permissible orderings of the tasks.
One of the problems in organizing mass production is how to group work tasks to be performed on
workstations so as to achieve the desired level of performance.
The aim of assembly line balancing problems (ALBPs) is to assign activities to stations with respect to
the precedence relationships and other constraints while some measurements of performance are
optimized.
Two main types of measurements have been used in the ALBPs. The first one is technical measurements
such as cycle time, balance delay or total idle time, and minimizing the number of workstations. The
second one is economic measurements like profit maximization and cost minimization.
BENEFITS OF ASSEMBLY LINE BALANCING:
• Minimizing the number of workstations for a given cycles.
• Minimizing the cycle time for a given number of numbers of workstations.
• Minimizing the balance delay (or) maximizing the balancing efficiency.
• Minimizing the total idle time.
• Minimizing the overall facility or line length.
PRODUCTION SYSTEM - PRODUCTION AND OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT

Production System in Production and Operation Management

The production system of an organization is that part, which produces products of an organization. It is
that activity whereby resources, flowing within a defined system, are combined and transformed in a
controlled manner to add value in accordance with the policies communicated by management. A
simplified production system is shown above.The production system has the following characteristics:
1. Production is an organized activity, so every production system has an objective.
2. The system transforms the various inputs to useful outputs.
3. It does not operate in isolation from the other organization system.
4. There exists a feedback about the activities, which is essential to control and improve system
performance.
Classification of Production System
 Production systems can be classified as Job Shop, Batch, Mass and Continuous Production systems.

Classification of production systems

JOB SHOP PRODUCTION

Job shop production are characterized by manufacturing of one or few quantity of products designed and
produced as per the specification of customers within prefixed time and cost. The distinguishing feature
of this is low volume and high variety of products.
A job shop comprises of general purpose machines arranged into different departments. Each job
demands unique technological requirements, demands processing on machines in a certain sequence.

Characteristics
The Job-shop production system is followed when there is:
1. High variety of products and low volume.
2. Use of general purpose machines and facilities.
3. Highly skilled operators who can take up each job as a challenge because of uniqueness.
4. Large inventory of materials, tools, parts.
5. Detailed planning is essential for sequencing the requirements of each product, capacities for
each work centre and order priorities.
Advantages
Following are the advantages of job shop production:
1. Because of general purpose machines and facilities variety of products can be produced.
2. Operators will become more skilled and competent, as each job gives them learning
opportunities.
3. Full potential of operators can be utilized.
4. Opportunity exists for creative methods and innovative ideas.
Limitations
Following are the limitations of job shop production:
1. Higher cost due to frequent set up changes.
2. Higher level of inventory at all levels and hence higher inventory cost.
3. Production planning is complicated.
4. Larger space requirements.
 BATCH PRODUCTION
Batch production is defined by American Production and Inventory Control Society (APICS) “as a form
of manufacturing in which the job passes through the functional departments in lots or batches and each
lot may have a different routing.”It is characterized by the manufacture of limited number of products
produced at regular intervals and stocked awaiting sales.
Characteristics
Batch production system is used under the following circumstances:
1. When there is shorter production runs.
2. When plant and machinery are flexible.
3. When plant and machinery set up is used for the production of item in a batch and change of set
up is required for processing the next batch.
4. When manufacturing lead time and cost are lower as compared to job order production.
Advantages
Following are the advantages of batch production:
1. Better utilization of plant and machinery.
2. Promotes functional specialization.
3. Cost per unit is lower as compared to job order production.
4. Lower investment in plant and machinery.
5. Flexibility to accommodate and process number of products.
6. Job satisfaction exists for operators.
Limitations
Following are the limitations of batch production:
1. Material handling is complex because of irregular and longer flows.
2. Production planning and control is complex.
3. Work in process inventory is higher compared to continuous production.
4. Higher set up costs due to frequent changes in set up.
MASS PRODUCTION
Manufacture of discrete parts or assemblies using a continuous process are called mass production. This
production system is justified by very large volume of production. The machines are arranged in a line or
product layout. Product and process standardization exists and all outputs follow the same path.
Characteristics
Mass production is used under the following circumstances:
1. Standardization of product and process sequence.
2. Dedicated special purpose machines having higher production capacities and output rates.
3. Large volume of products.
4. Shorter cycle time of production.
5. Lower in process inventory.
6. Perfectly balanced production lines.
7. Flow of materials, components and parts is continuous and without any back tracking.
8. Production planning and control is easy.
9. Material handling can be completely automatic.
 Advantages
Following are the advantages of mass production:
1. Higher rate of production with reduced cycle time.
2. Higher capacity utilization due to line balancing.
3. Less skilled operators are required.
4. Low process inventory.
5. Manufacturing cost per unit is low.
Limitations
Following are the limitations of mass production:
1. Breakdown of one machine will stop an entire production line.
2. Line layout needs major change with the changes in the product design.
3. High investment in production facilities.
4. The cycle time is determined by the slowest operation.
CONTINUOUS PRODUCTION
Production facilities are arranged as per the sequence of production operations from the first operations to
the finished product. The items are made to flow through the sequence of operations through material
handling devices such as conveyors, transfer devices, etc.
Characteristics
Continuous production is used under the following circumstances:
1. Dedicated plant and equipment with zero flexibility.
2. Material handling is fully automated.
3. Process follows a predetermined sequence of operations.
4. Component materials cannot be readily identified with final product.
5. Planning and scheduling is a routine action.
Advantages
Following are the advantages of continuous production:
1. Standardization of product and process sequence.
2. Higher rate of production with reduced cycle time.
3. Higher capacity utilization due to line balancing.
4. Manpower is not required for material handling as it is completely automatic.
5. Person with limited skills can be used on the production line.
6. Unit cost is lower due to high volume of production.
Limitations
Following are the limitations of continuous production:
1. Flexibility to accommodate and process number of products does not exist.
2. Very high investment for setting flow lines.
3. Product differentiation is limited.
Maintenance Management: Importance, Objectives and Functions

Maintenance activities are related with repair, replacement and service of components or some
identifiable group of components in a manufacturing plant so that it may continue to operate at a specified
‘availability’ for a specified period.
Thus maintenance management is associated with the direction and organisation of various resources so
as to control the availability and performance of the industrial unit to some specified level.

Thus maintenance management may be treated as a restorative function of production management which
is entrusted with the task of keeping equipment/machines and plant services ever available in proper
operating condition.

The minimization of machine breakdowns and down time has been the main objective of maintenance but
the strategies adopted by maintenance management to achieve this aim have undergone great changes in
the past.

Maintenance has been considered just to repair the faulty equipment and put them back in order in
minimum possible time.

In view of the utilization of mostly general purpose/conventional machines with low production output,
the demands on maintenance function were not very high. But with fast developments in the design,
development and mechanisms of control such as electronic, NC and CNC in machine tools the
manufacturing scenario has changed a lot.

The stringent control of dimensional tolerances and surface finish of the product have increased the
tendency to adopt standardization and interchange-ability of parts/components of machines.

In the current production setups even a minor down time leads to serious production problems both
technological as well as economical. All this is due to tough competition in the industrial market. Under
the present circumstances effective and objectively designed efforts to update maintenance management
has become a necessity.

Importance of Maintenance Management:

Maintenance management is responsible for the smooth and efficient working of the industrial plant and
helps in improving the productivity.

It also helps to keep the machines/equipment in their optimum operating conditions. Thus plant
maintenance is an important and inevitable service function of an efficient production system.
It also helps in maintaining and improving the operational efficiency of the plant facilities and hence
contributes towards revenue by decreasing the operating cost and improving the quality and quantity of
the product being manufactured.

As a service function it is related with the incurrence of certain costs. The important component of such
costs are — employment of maintenance staff, other minor administrative expenses, investment in
maintenance equipment and inventory of repair components/ parts and maintenance materials.
Absence of plant maintenance may lead to frequent machine breakdown and failure of certain productive
centres/services which in turn would result in stoppages of production activities, idle man and machine
time, dislocation of the subsequent operations, poor quality of production, failure to meet delivery dates
of product supply, industrial accidents endangering the life of workers/ operators and allied costs etc.

However, the importance of plant maintenance varies with the type of plant and its production but
it plays a prominent role in production management because plant breakdown creates problems
such as:
(i) Loss of production.

(ii) Rescheduling of production.

(iii) Materials wastage (due to sudden stoppage of process damages in process materials).

(iv) Need for overtimes,

(v) Need for work subcontracting.

(vi) For maximum manpower utilization workers may need alternative work due to temporary work
shortages.

Hence, the absence of planned maintenance service proves costlier. So it should be provided in the light
of cost benefit analysis. Since plant maintenance is a service function, it should be provided at the least
possible cost but it is very important as discussed above.

Objectives of Maintenance Management:

The purpose of maintenance management is to optimize the performance of productive facilities of an
organization by ensuring that these facilities function regularly and efficiently. This can be achieved by
preventing the failures or breakdowns if any, as far as possible and by minimizing the production loss due
to failures.

The main objectives of maintenance management are as follows:

(1) Minimizing the loss of productive time because of equipment failure to maximize the availability of
plant, equipment and machinery for productive utilization through planned maintenance.

(2) To extend the useful life of the plant, machinery and other facilities by minimizing their wear and tear.

(3) Minimizing the loss due to production stoppages.

(4) To ensure operational readiness of all equipment’s needed for emergency purposes at all times such as
fire-fighting equipment.

(5) Efficient use of maintenance equipment’s and personnel.

(6) To ensure safety of personnel through regular inspection and maintenance of facilities such as boilers,
compressors and material handling equipment etc.

(7) To maximize efficiency and economy in production through optimum utilization of available
facilities.

(8) To improve the quality of products and to improve the productivity of the plant.

(9) To minimize the total maintenance cost which may consist of cost of repairs, cost of preventive
maintenance and inventory costs associated with spare parts/materials required for maintenance.

(10) To improve reliability, availability and maintainability.

Functions of Maintenance Management:

The important functions of maintenance can be summarized as follows:
(1) To develop maintenance policies, procedures and standards for the plant maintenance system.
(2) To schedule the maintenance work after due consultation with the concerned production departments.
(3) To carry out repairs and rectify or overhaul planned equipment/facilities for achieving the required
level of availability and optimum operational efficiency.
(4) To ensure scheduled inspection, lubrication oil checking, and adjustment of plant machinery and
equipment.
(5) To document and maintain record of each maintenance activity (i.e., repairs, replacement, overhauls,
modifications and lubrication etc.).
(6) To maintain and carry out repairs of buildings, utilities, material handling equipment’s and other
service facilities such as electrical installations, sewers, central stores and roadways etc.
(7) To carry out and facilitate periodic inspections of equipment and facilities to know their conditions
related to their failure and stoppage of production.
(8) To prepare inventory list of spare parts and materials required for maintenance.
(9) To ensure cost effective maintenance.
(10) To forecast the maintenance expenditure and prepare a budget and to ensure that maintenance
expenditure is as per planned budget.
(11) To recruit and train personnel to prepare the maintenance workforce for effective and efficient plant
maintenance.
(12) To implement safety standards as required for the use of specific equipment or certain categories of
equipment such as boilers, overhead cranes and chemical plants etc.
(13) To develop management information systems, to provide information to top management regarding
the maintenance activities.
(14) To monitor the equipment condition at regular intervals.
(15) To ensure proper inventory control of spare parts and other materials required.
In terms of plants operations the functions of maintenance are:
(a) The plant must be available as and when required.
(b) The plant must not breakdown during actual operation state.
(c) The plant must operate in an efficient manner at required level of plant operation.
(d) The down time must not interfere with production runs.
(e) The down time due to breakdown should be a minimum.

To accomplish these conditions there must be complete cooperation and mutual understanding between
maintenance and production departments. There must be an effective maintenance policy for planning,
controlling and directing all maintenance activities.
The plant maintenance department must be well organized, adequately staffed sufficiently experienced
and adequate in number to carry out corrective and timely maintenance with the efforts in minimizing
breakdowns.

Work Study: Meaning, Concept and Techniques

Meaning of Work Study:
Work study is the investigation, by means of a consistent system of the work done in an organization in
order to attain the best utilisation of resources i.e. Materials, Machines, Men and Money. All the
technologies and management systems are related with productivity.

Work study is one of the basic techniques of improving productivity. In order to resolve this aspect,
work study aims:
(i) To analyse the work in order to achieve work simplification and thereby improving productivity of the
system.
(ii) To have optimum utilization of resources i.e., 4 Ms.

(iii) To evaluate the work content through work measurement.

(iv) To set time standards for various jobs.

In nutshell work study is mainly concerned with the examination of human work. In fact planning is not
possible unless one knows how long it will take to do a particular job. Thus time is very important to the
manufacturer who must keep to promise, to estimate quantities and to other industrial and business
arrangements or organizations.

Work study is not a theoretical concept but essentially a practical one and deals with human beings who
have their own attitude and style of working. So the success of work study is dependent upon the relations
between the labour/employees and the management.

Work study involves lot of changes in various working methods. Since the manpower in general does not
like changes but prefers to continue as already doing, so there will always be a tendency to resist any
modification or new method suggested by work study people (officers/workers) and the manpower and
the workers have confidence in the ability, integrity and fair-mindedness of work study man, there is a
good chance that sound proposals will be accepted willingly by the manpower.

Definition and Concept of Work Study:

Generally work study is used to describe a complete set of techniques with the help of which work can be
simplified, standardized and measured.

When it is possible to simplify the existing work or new methods are designed and introduced such
that the task/activity becomes simpler than following advantages are possible:
(i) More production with less effort so goods/products are available at cheaper rates.

(ii) Better equipment utilization shall lead to marked increase in the total production without addition of
new resources, thus productivity may improve.

These advantages are possible through the willing cooperation of the people engaged in production work.
In view of these far reaching benefits, work study has become an important tool of management.

In industries work study is considered as a tool of improving productivity by way of:

(i) Resource utilization to a satisfactory level.

(ii) Capital investment to introduce latest technology.

(iii) Better management of the system.

Need For Work Study:

Principles of work study have been used since long to identify the improvements to be incorporated, when
industrial set up was simple and involved lesser problems. The industries of today with increased
complexities and modernisation naturally demand a more systematic approach like work study in its
present form for solution of various problems.
Work study is most valuable tool of management because:
(i) It is a direct means of improving productivity of the system involving very less or no cost.

(ii) The approach is simple, systematic, consistent and based on handling of facts. Thus the part played by
opinions in taking decisions is minimized.

(iii) No factor affecting the efficiency of operation is overlooked in this approach.

(iv) It provides most accurate means of setting standards of performance which are helpful in the process
of production planning and control.

(v) Application of work study result in immediate savings.

(vi) It is a universal tool for management.

(vii) It is a most penetrating tool of investigation available to the management of the industrial unit.

Techniques of Work Study:

Basically there are two techniques:

Method study and work measurement as shown in Fig. 17.1.

Thus work study is the term used to embrace the techniques of Method Study and Work Measurement
which are used to ensure the best utilization of manpower and material resources in carrying out specified
activity.

The sequential order of the correct procedure to be adopted for having effective or purpose
oriented results of method study include the following:
(i) Select the work/procedure to be analysed.

(ii) Record all the relevant information related with the existing work system with the help of various
recording devices or techniques.

(iii) Make critical examination of collected data/facts.

(iv) Develop and improve the method which is economical and practical after giving due consideration to
the alternative method possible.

(v) Install the new selected method with proper instructions.

(vi) Maintain the latest standards of methods through periodic verification etc.

Similarly, the logical order of correct procedure to be adopted for having effective results of work
measurement includes the followings:
(i) Divide the selected procedure into small work elements.
(ii) By direct observations record the relevant information regarding the various work elements.
(iii) In the light of relevant information examine the work critically.
(iv) Measure the work content in the terms of time of the work elements involved in method being
adopted.
(v) Define and design the new selected method.
(vi) Finally convert the work content time in standard time.

Objectives of Method Study:

Some important objectives of method study are:
(1) Better design of plant equipment and buildings.

(2) Less fatigue or workers by avoiding unnecessary movements of manpower.

(3) Better working conditions and environment for workers/employees.

(4) To have more effective utilisation of materials, machines and manpower and money.

(5) Better Product quality.

(6) Efficient and fast material handling equipment.

(7) Leads to standardisation, rationalisation, simplification and specialisation.

(8) Efficient planning of the section.

(9) Streamlined working procedures.

Objectives of Work Measurement:

Effective planning and control of production, distribution and administration can not be achieved unless
these are based on facts. One of the most important of these facts is the time required for job completion
which can be obtained by motion study or work measurement.
Other objectives of work measurement are as follows:
(1) When two alternative methods which seem equally advantageous, one which requires less time for
completion of the job (i.e. faster) can be established.
(2) The man power required for a job or new plant can be determined on the basis of accurate knowledge
of the amount of work that has to be done so it helps in manpower economy.
(3) Work measurement data provides reliable basis to decide equipment.
(4) Provides requisite information for effective production planning and improving efficiency of the
system.
(5) Provides basis for fair and reliable incentive schemes.
(6) Decides realistic labour budgeting and provides a basis for standard costing system.

Advantages of Work Study:

(1) It is direct means of improving productivity.
(2) It results in uniform and improved production flow.
(3) It reduces the manufacturing cost.
(4) With its help fast and accurate delivery dates are possible.
(5) It provides better service and consumer satisfaction.

(6) It improves employee-employer relations.

(7) It provides job satisfaction and job security to workers.
(8) Better working conditions are possible for workers.
(9) It is most important tool of analysis and can help in providing better wages to workers on scientific
basis.
(10) Most accurate method and yet provides a sound basis for production planning, control and incentives
for man power.

(11) Everyone concerned with industries is benefited from it such as worker, consumer and management
of the unit.