1.

Assembly Process Functions & Types:

Definition: assembly involves the joining together of two or more separate parts to
form a new entity (assembly or subassembly). The assembly line was one of the key
components of the Industrial Revolution. The main function of the assembly is to get
mechanical action between the two parts. The principles of the assembly line allowed
manufacturers to produce greatly increased amounts of products at lower cost and
indirectly made for easier maintenance of products after their assembly.

*The processes used to accomplish the assembly of the components can be divided into
three major categories,

1. Mechanical Fastening –Mechanical action to hold components together.

Threaded fasteners - screws, bolts, nuts etc. Rivets, crimping and other methods Press
fits Snap fits –temporary interface of the two parts C-ring. Sewing and stitching –for
soft, thin material.
2. Joining Methods –welding, brazing and soldering
3. Adhesive Bonding –thermoplastic, thermosetting (chemical reaction)

Assembly Systems
*There are various methods used in industry to accomplish the assembly processes.
Major methods can be classified:
1. Manual Single-Station Assembly
*Consist of a single workplace to accomplish the product or some major subassembly of
the product.
*Generally used on a product that is complex and produced in small quantities, one or
more workers depending on the size of the product and the production rate.
*Such as machine tools, industrial equipment, aircraft, ships and complex consumer
products (appliances, car,)
2. Manual Multi Station Assembly
*Consist of multiple workstations in which the assembly work is accomplished as the
product (subassembly) is passed from station to station along the line.
*At each workstation one or more human workers perform a portion of the total
assembly work on the product, by adding one or more components to the existing
subassembly.
3. Automated Assembly System
*Use of automated methods at the workstations rather than human beings.

Advantages of Assembly Line Manufacturing

- Assembly using relatively less skilled labor.

- Much lower cost in mass production

Disadvantages
- Disadvantages of assembly line production are based on the worker’s point of view.
Because little training is generally required, wages may not be very competitive. The
work itself can also be extremely repetitive and monotonous, offering little in the way of
mental stimulation and creative critical thinking.
- Large capital requirement
- long time to get set up
- not suited to custom parts or frequent design changes.
 2. The Line Balancing
*The line balancing is to arrange the individual processing and assembly tasks at the
workstations so that the total time required at each workstation is approximately the same.
*If the work elements can be grouped so that all the station times are exactly equal, we have
perfect balance on the line and we can expect the production to flow smoothly.
*In most practical situations it is very difficult to achieve perfect balance. When workstation
times are unequal, the slowest station determines the overall production rate of the line.

Terminology for Line Balancing

Minimum Rational Work Element
*Minimum rational work element is the smallest practical indivisible tasks into which the
job can be divided.

3. 5’S or 5C
5’S technique was first developed and followed in Japan by Toyota. 5 C is British Term.

5C Workplace Organization:

5C workplace organization for lean manufacturing is a method to ensure that your working
environment is organized into a safe, efficient, ergonomic working space with clear visual
management. 5C has been developed from the Japanese tool 5S (Part of Lean Manufacturing) and is
basically the same thing by a different name. The idea of implementing 5C is to eliminate or reduce
the impact of the seven wastes on your working environment.

The steps of Lean Manufacturing 5C Workplace Organization are;

C1 Clearing – S1 –Seiri - Sort out (eliminate that which is not needed)

C2 Configure – S2 – Seiton - Set in order (organize remaining items)
C3 Clean and Check – S3 – Seiso- Shine & Check (clean and inspect work area)
C4 Conformity – S4 – Seiketsu- Standardize (write standards for above)
C5 Consensus or Custom & Practice – S5 –Shitsuke- Sustain (regularly apply the standards)

4. Lean Manufacturing:
A systematic approach in manufacturing to identifying & eliminating Muda -
waste through continuous improvement. It aims to provide perfect value to customer
through a perfect value creation process with Zero waste.
Lean manufacturing includes a set of principles that lean thinkers use to achieve
improvements in productivity, quality, and lead-time by eliminating waste
through kaizen. Kaizen is a Japanese word that essentially means "change for the
better" or "good change."
There are many tools and concepts that lean companies employ to support the above
principles and eliminate waste. Here are 12 of the most critical ones for you to know:

A. Just-In-Time (JIT)

`Just-in-time' is a management philosophy and not a technique. It originally referred

to the production of goods to meet customer demand exactly, in time, quality and
quantity, whether the `customer' is the final purchaser of the product or another
process further along the production line.

JIT works in the three types of inventories:

a) Raw materials: inventories provide insurance in case suppliers are late with
deliveries.
b) Work in process: inventories are maintained in case a work station is unable to
operate due to a breakdown or other reason.
c) Finished goods: inventories are maintained to accommodate unanticipated
fluctuations in demand.
The three elements of JIT are:

1) Takt Time, 2) Flow (Single piece) Production, 3) Pull System

The main BENEFITS of JIT are the following:

1. Funds that were tied up in inventories can be used elsewhere.

2. Areas previously used to store inventories can be used for other more productive uses.
3. Throughput time is reduced, resulting in greater potential output and quicker response
to customers.
4. Defect rates are reduced, resulting in less waste and greater customer satisfaction.

B. Takt Time

 Takt time is the pace of production (E.g. in Manufacturing one piece every
minute) that aligns production with customer demand
 In plain English, it is how fast you need to manufacture product in order to fill
your customer demand

Takt Time is the pace or rhythm of work production needed to meet customer
demand. Takt time is the average rate at which a company must produce a product
based on the customer's requirements and available working time.
 Takt = T/D

TAKT Time = Net Available to work

Customer Demand

Where T is Time available for product/service.

D is a demand for the number of units
T gives information on production pace or units per hours
Example: If your customer requires 100 units a day, the Takt Time in minutes for one work day
(Using 7.5 actual work hours) will be - 7.5 hours/100 units = 450 minutes (7.5 hrs.X 60 mins.)/100 units =
4.5 minutes per unit

C. Value Stream Mapping

A visual representation of the material and information flows a product takes from sales
order to finished product using Standard icons.
It is diagnostic due to shows the linkage between the material and information flow of a product
or processes and shows the current and future state of processes in a way that highlights
opportunities for improvement and also shows the value add and Non-value add activities

Process Steps:
a. Select a product family, b. Document the current state, c. Understand the customer
demand, d. Map the Process flow, e. Map the material flow, f. Map the information flow,
g. Calculate the total product cycle time, h. Develop future state vision, i. Create an
implementation plan, j. Implement the plan, measure improvement.
Symbols/icons:

D. Single Piece Flow or Continuous Flow

Single-piece flow means that parts are moved through operations from step to step with no
work-in-process (WIP) in between either one piece at a time or a small batch at a time.This
concept emphasizes reducing the batch size in order to eliminate system constraints. In
this flow, either material can be move in sequence or man and material can be move in
sequence.

Benefits of Single Piece Flow:

i: Improves safety. Research shows that over exertion is one of the main
sources of injury in the workplace. When we transition to one piece flow we
limit the need to lift heavy pallets and containers of material.
ii: Builds in Quality. When we “make one, move one” defects are detected
immediately (usually the next work station) forcing immediate corrective
action.
 iii: Improves Flexibility. One piece flow is faster than batch and queue.
This speediness factor allows us to wait longer to schedule the order and
still deliver on time.
iv: Improves scalability. With one piece flow, equipment can be designed
smaller and at lower cost since the need to produce huge batches of
material at breakneck speed is no longer required.
v: Reduces inventory. With one piece flow, work in process (WIP) is
reduced in dramatic fashion. This frees us cash as we don’t have to move,
store, and manage piles of inventory. And make no mistake, if you are in a
for profit business, cash is king.
vi: Improves productivity. Many of the wastes so inherent with batch and
queue production (e.g. motion, transportation, and waiting) are greatly
reduced with one piece flow. As a result, productivity increases.
vii: Simplifies material replacement.
viii: Frees up floor space. As already discussed, one piece flow reduces the
amount of WIP stored on the floor. All this frees up valuable floor space
which allows the company to grow their business without additional brick
and mortar.
ix: Makes kaizen take root. One piece flow is hard since the buffers and
buffers of inventory are gone. We cannot hide behind them anymore.
Further, quality must constantly improve, machine reliability must
increase, changeovers must be shortened, etc. In short, kaizen must take
root.
x: Improves morale. Employees want to do good work. They want to see
progress. They want be involved.

E. Pull Systems and Kanban

Kanban (literally signboard or billboard) is a scheduling system for lean and just-in-time
(JIT) production. Kanban is a system to control the logistical chain from a production point of
view, and is not an inventory control system. Kanban was developed at Toyota, to find a system
to improve and maintain a high level of production. Through Kanban System a customer
process signals a supplying process to produce a product or deliver product when it is
needed. Kanban is one of the Lean tools designed to reduce the idle time in a production
process. Kanban is the also called as a pull system.

To ensure a proper setup of Kanban in the workplace, Toyota has provided us with
six rules for an effective Kanban system:

1. Customer (downstream) processes withdraw items specified by the Kanban.

2. Supplier (upstream) produces items specified by the Kanban.
3. No items are made or moved without a Kanban.
4. A Kanban should accompany each item, every time.
5. Defects and incorrect amounts are never sent to the next downstream process.
6. The number of Kanbans is reduced carefully to lower inventories and to reveal
problems.

F. Root Cause Analysis

Root cause analysis is a problem solving process for conducting an investigation into an
identified incident, problem, concern or non-conformity. Root cause analysis is a completely
separate process to incident management and immediate corrective action, although they are
often completed in close proximity.

Step -1 - Define the Non-Conformity - When and where did it occur? What is the
significance of the problem? The first step in the process is to define the problem.
Step -2 - Analysis the Root Cause - Once the problem is defined, it is important to
uncover the root causes of the problem and to understand how they interact with one another.
Collect a sample of data related to the problem and conduct a root cause analysis to identify the
reasons why the problem exists.

Methods of Root Cause Analysis

a) The ‘5 Whys’:

The ‘5 Whys’ is the simplest method for structured root cause analysis. It is a question
asking method used to explore the cause/effect relationships underlying the problem. The
investigator keeps asking the question ‘Why?’ until meaningful conclusions are reached.

It is generally suggested that a minimum of five questions need to be asked, although

sometimes additional questions are required or useful, as it is important to ensure that the
questions continue to be asked until the real cause is identified rather than a partial
conclusion.

b) Cause & Effect Diagram /Fishbone Diagram:

 A second commonly used method of root cause analysis, is the use of fishbone diagrams
(sometimes referred to a Ishikawa models or Herringbone diagrams). They are most useful when
the ‘5 whys’ is too basic, for example, where a complex issue needs to be considered in bite size
pieces or where there is a lot of data that needs to be trended.
In the diagram, the various causes are grouped into categories (such as equipment, materials
or processes) and the arrows in the image indicate how the causes cascade or flow toward the
non-conformity.

Step -3 - Create Proposed Action Plan & Define Time plan- Identify solutions based on
the results of the root cause analysis and perform a cost/benefit analysis and schedule the time
plan to implement the solution. Solutions are specific actions that control root causes of the
problem.
Step -4 - Implement Proposed Action- Implementing the right solutions with scheduled
time plan.
Step -6 - Verification & Monitoring of Effectiveness - Controlling or monitoring the
results will keep the problem from happening again. The best solutions are those that prevent
problems from recurring, are controllable and meet the needs of the customer.

G. Quick Changeover / Single Minute Exchange of Die(SMED)

Single-Minute Exchange of Die (SMED) is one of the many lean production methods for
reducing waste in a manufacturing process. It provides a rapid and efficient way of converting a
manufacturing process from running the current product to running the next product. This
rapid changeover is key to reducing production lot sizes and thereby improving flow (Mura).
Reduce setup (changeover) time to less than 10 minutes. Techniques include,
 Convert setup steps to be external (performed while the process is running)
 Simplify internal setup (e.g. replace bolts with knobs and levers)
 Eliminate non-essential operations
 Create standardized work instructions

A successful SMED program will have the following benefits:

 Lower manufacturing cost (faster changeovers mean less equipment down time)
 Smaller lot sizes (faster changeovers enable more frequent product changes)
 Improved responsiveness to customer demand (smaller lot sizes enable more flexible
scheduling)
 Lower inventory levels (smaller lot sizes result in lower inventory levels)
 Smoother startups (standardized changeover processes improve consistency and quality)

H. Mistake Proofing / Poka Yoke

Poka-yoke [poka yoke] is a Japanese term that means "mistake-proofing". A poka-

yoke is any mechanism in a lean manufacturing process that helps an equipment
operator avoids mistakes (poka). Its purpose is to eliminate product defects by
preventing, correcting, or drawing attention to human errors as they occur. The concept
was formalized, and the term adopted, by Shigeo Shingo as part of the Toyota
Production System. Poka Yoke is not specific to manufacturing at all. There are many
poka yokes in all of our daily lives that we take for granted or simply do not recognize as
poka yokes.
The idea of error proofing is not only applicable but necessary in every sector. To
prevent mistakes, delays, and unnecessary costs is to improve and secure ones position
for today and tomorrow.
Examples of Poka Yokes:
> Example is in our cars that have automatic transmissions. You cannot remove the car
key while the transmission is in an unsafe position and the wheels are unlocked. The
key interlock in this case is a Safety poka yoke.

I. Kaizen (Continuous Improvement)

Kaizen Japanese for "improvement" or "change for the best", refers to philosophy or
practices that focus upon continuous improvement of processes in manufacturing,
engineering, business management or any process. It has been applied in healthcare,
psychotherapy, life-coaching, government, banking, and other industries. When used in the
business sense and applied to the workplace, kaizen refers to activities that continually
improve all functions, and involves all employees from the CEO to the assembly line workers. It
also applies to processes, such as purchasing and logistics that cross organizational
boundaries into the supply chain.
 • These continual small improvements add up to major benefits. They result in
improved productivity, improved quality, better safety, faster delivery, lower costs,
and greater customer satisfaction.
• Kaizen provides immediate results. Instead of focusing on large scale
improvements, which involve capital intensive, Kaizen focuses on creative
investments that continually solve large numbers of small problems.
• Kaizen aims at below,

The three pillars

According to M. Imai, a guru in these management philosophies and practices , the
three pillars of kaizen are summarized as follows:
1. Housekeeping
2. Waste elimination
3. Standardization
And as he states, the management and employees must work together to fulfill the
requirements for each category. To be ensured success on activities on those three
pillars three factors have also to be taken account.

J. Total Productive Maintenance (TPM)

TPM (Total Productive Maintenance) is a holistic approach to equipment maintenance

getting operators involved in maintaining their own equipment and emphasizing proactive &
preventive maintenance will lay a foundation for improved production. TPM strives to achieve
perfect production:
 No Breakdowns
 No Small Stops or Slow Running
 No Defects
In addition it values a safe working environment:
 No Accidents
TPM emphasizes proactive and preventative maintenance to maximize the operational efficiency
of equipment. It blurs the distinction between the roles of production and maintenance by
placing a strong emphasis on empowering operators to help maintain their equipment.
The implementation of a TPM program creates a shared responsibility for equipment that
encourages greater involvement by plant floor workers. In the right environment this can be
very effective in improving productivity (increasing up time, reducing cycle times, and
eliminating defects).

TPM EIGHT PILLARS

Jishu Hozen: -Autonomous Maintenance

•Maintaining Basic Conditions on Shop floor and in Machines.
•All over participation through TPM Circles.

Kobetshu Kaizen: - Focused Improvement

•Improvement is everyone's activity.
•Improvement is to eliminate Production losses and reduce cost.

Planned Maintenance:

•Logical analysis "real causes for real counter measures".

•Focus on Prevention.
•Improvements in Reliability, Maintainability and cost.

Quality Maintenance:
•Developing Perfect Machine for Perfect Quality.
•Eliminating In-Process defects and customer complaints.

Education & Training:

•Skills Development for Uniformity of work practices on machines.
•Skills for zero defects, zero breakdowns and zero accidents.
•Multi-skilled employees in all departments.

Development Management:
•Developing machines for "high equipment effectiveness.
•Quick process for developing new products.

Safety, Health & Environment:

•To achieve zero accidents, zero health hazards at works.
•To maintain zero pollution Plant and Environment.

Office TPM:
•Offices oriented for Excellent support for manufacturing.
•Improving Offices Man-hour efficiency.

K. OEE ( Overall Equipment Efficiency )/OLE :

Overall Equipment efficiency is a rate of performance achieved through an Equipment

or Machine in a planned scheduled time. In other way, it is a capacity of the
machine/equipment at which it is not possible to produce anymore good products
without adding a change in the production resources.

It calculates as,

OEE = Availability of the machine x Performance x Quality rate

Where, Availability of the machine = Actual Available time after losses

Planned Scheduled Time/Day

Performance of the machine = Total Output (Ok+Rej Part) x Cycle time per part
Actual Available time after losses

Quality rate = Output of Good Parts

Total Output (Ok+Rej Part)

L. 5 S
5S is a five step methodology aimed at creating and maintaining an organized
visual workplace. This system aids in organizing, cleaning, developing, and sustaining a
productive work environment.

M. Problem Solving / PDCA / PDSA

The PDCA cycle is a graphical and logical representation of how most individuals have
already solved problems. It helps to think that every activity and job is part of a process,
that each stage has a customer and that the improvement cycle will send a superior
product or service to the final customer.

PLAN: establish a plan to achieve a goal

DO: enact the plan

CHECK: measure and analyze the results

ACT: implement necessary reforms if results are not as expected

A system for identifying and solving problems to their root cause and then
implementing counter measures with monitoring.

5. 7 Wastes
The Toyota Production System (TPS) identified three types of waste which should be
eliminated in their quest for Lean. Reducing waste is a good way to increase profitability. These
three types of waste – Japanese terms – are:

i. MURA: (inconsistency, unevenness or irregularity):

This type of waste can be reduced by keeping very little or no inventory. Inventory which is
produced and not sold, which then sits in a warehouse or on a shop floor merely taking up
space is wasteful. Rather, by introducing Just In Time (JIT) production strategies, little or no
inventory will need to be held because systems are in place to produce the right part at the right
time (i.e. only when needed) in the right quantities.

ii. MURI: (overburden, strain, unreasonableness or absurdity).

This type of waste can be reduced by ensuring standardization. To illustrate by example, let’s say for
instance that there are 3 separate groups of shift workers who do an identical work on Section A of the
assembly line. These 3 groups were trained separately, and were taught to do the same job in a slightly
different way. This inconsistency or non-standardized work could cause defects in the assembly line,
which could have a negative impact on the work done at Section B in a later part of the assembly line.
The defects are waste because they could cause rework at Section A and work stoppages at Section B
while Section B waits for Section A to complete the re-work. If these defective products make it onto the
shop floor, there is further waste as a result of customer returns.

iii. MUDA: (Non value-adding work or waste).

When a product or service is produced or rendered, a certain amount of resources are required
to do so. When more resources are used than are truly required to do the work, this is
considered as waste. To eliminate this type of waste, processes are critically reviewed and
divided into either value-adding work, or waste. These processes are then redesigned to
eliminate non-value-adding work.

TPS further identified 7 Muda:

Waste reduction is a major part of lean manufacturing; the benefits of lean manufacturing are huge,
it can help reduce your costs significantly adding to your profit. As well as these monetary gains it
also helps you to reduce your lead times and service your customer much better. Reducing the
seven wastes as part of a waste prevention program will add a huge percentage to your bottom line.

A useful way to remember the seven wastes of lean manufacturing is the useful mnemonic
TIMWOOD;
The wastes of;
 Transport,

 Inventory,

 Motion,

 Waiting,

 Overproduction,

 Over-processing,

 Defects.

6. OPP-Output per Person:

It is a rate or quantity of Good part produced by person in planned available time.

It calculates as,

OPP = Available time in min/day

Total Cycle time in min
 7. Total Quality Maintenance (TQM) :
TQM is a set of systematic activities carried out by the entire organization to effectively
and efficiently achieve company objectives so as to provide products and services with a
level of quality that satisfies customers, at the appropriate time and price.
“Systematic activities” mean organized activities to achieve the company’s mission
(objectives) that are lead by strong management leadership and guided by established
clear mid- and long-term vision and strategies as well as appropriate quality strategies
and policies

Quality Management Principles

1. Customer focused Organization

2. Leadership
3. Involvement of people
4. Process orientation
5. System approach to management
6. Continuous Improvement
7. Factual approach to decision making
8. Mutually beneficial supplier relationships

TQM Tools
The following are some of the most common TQM tools in use today. Each is used for,
and identifies, specific information in a specific manner. It should be noted that tools
should be used in conjunction with other tools to understand the full scope of the issue
being analyzed or illustrated. Simply using one tool may inhibit your understanding of
the data provided, or may close you off to further possibilities.

Pie Charts and Bar Graphs

· Used to identify and compare data units as they relate to one issue or the whole, such
as budgets, vault space available, extent of fonds, etc.

Histograms
· To illustrate and examine various data element in order to make decisions regarding
them.
· Effective when comparing statistical, survey, or questionnaire results.

Run Chart
· Follows a process over a specific period of time, such as accrual rates, to track high
and low points in its run, and ultimately identify trends, shifts and patterns.

2
Pareto Charts / Analysis (designed by Vilfredo Pareto)
· Rates issues according to importance and frequency by prioritizing specific problems
or causes in a manner that facilitates problem solving.
Identify groupings of qualitative data, such as most frequent complaint, most commonly
purchased preservation aid, etc. in order to measure which have priority.
· Can be scheduled over select periods of time to track changes. They can also be
created in retrospect, as a before and after analysis of a process change.

Force Field Analysis

· To identify driving and restraining forces occurring in a chosen process in order to
understand why that particular process functions as it does. For example, identifying
the driving and restraining forces of catering predominantly to genealogists.
· To identify restraining forces that need to be eradicated or driving forces that need to
be improved, in order to function at a higher level of efficiency.

Cause and Effect, Ishikawa or Fishbone Diagrams (designed by Kauro Ishikawa)

· Illustrates multiple levels of potential causes (inputs), and ultimate effects (outputs), of
problems or issues that may arise in the course of business.
· May be confusing if too many inputs and outputs are identified. An alternative would
be a tree diagram, which is much easier to follow.
Focus Groups
· Useful for marketing or advertising organizations to test products on the general
public.
· Consist of various people from the general public who use and discuss your product,
providing impartial feedback to help you determine whether your product needs
improvement or if it should be introduced onto the market.

Brainstorming and Affinity Diagrams

· Teams using creative thinking to identify various aspects surrounding an issue.
· An affinity diagram, which can be created using anything from enabling software to
post-it notes organized on a wall, is a tool to organize brainstorming ideas.

Tree Diagram
· To identify the various tasks involved in, and the full scope of, a project.
· To identify hierarchies, whether of personnel, business structure, or priorities.
· To identify inputs and outputs of a project, procedure, process, etc.

Flowcharts and Modeling Diagrams

· Assist in the definition and analysis of each step in a process by illustrating it in a
clear and comprehensive manner.
· Identify areas where workflow may be blocked, or diverted, and where workflow is
fluid.
· Identify where steps need to be added or removed to improve efficiency and create
standardized workflow.
Scatter Diagram
· To illustrate and validate hunches
· To discover cause and effect relationships, as well as bonds and correlations, between
two variables
· To chart the positive and negative direction of relationships

Relations Diagram
· To understand the relationships between various factors, issues, events, etc. so as to
understand their importance in the overall organizational view.

PDCA
· The Plan-Do-Check-Act style of management where each project or procedure is
planned according to needs and outcome, it is then tested, examined for efficiency and
effectiveness, and then acted upon if anything in the process needs to be altered.
· This is a cyclical style to be iterated until the process is perfected.
 8. Time Based or Condition Based Maintenance
(TBM/CBM):
Condition-based maintenance (CBM), shortly described, is maintenance when
need arises. This maintenance is performed after one or more indicators show that
equipment is going to fail or that equipment performance is deteriorating.
This concept is applicable to mission critical systems that incorporate active
redundancy and fault reporting. It is also applicable to non-mission critical systems
that lack redundancy and fault reporting.
Condition-based maintenance was introduced to try to maintain the correct equipment
at the right time. CBM is based on using real-time data to prioritize and optimize
maintenance resources. Observing the state of the system is known as condition
monitoring. Such a system will determine the equipment's health, and act only when
maintenance is actually necessary. Developments in recent years have allowed
extensive instrumentation of equipment, and together with better tools for analyzing
condition data, the maintenance personnel of today are more than ever able to decide
what is the right time to perform maintenance on some piece of equipment. Ideally
condition-based maintenance will allow the maintenance personnel to do only the right
things, minimizing spare parts cost, system downtime and time spent on maintenance.
The CM data collected is used in one of the following ways to determine the condition of
the equipment and to identify the precursors of failure:
o Trend Analysis. Reviewing data to see if a machine is on an obvious and
immediate “downward slide” toward failure. For trending purposes, a minimum of three
monitoring points before failure may reasonably be expected are recommended. Three
data points allow one to determine whether equipment condition depreciates linearly.
o Pattern Recognition. Looking at the data and realizing the causal relationship
between certain events and machine failure. For example, noticing that after machine x
is used in a certain production run, component ax fails due to stresses unique to that
run.
o Tests against Limits and Ranges. Setting alarm limits (based on professional
intuition) and seeing if they are exceeded.
o Statistical Process Analysis. If published failure data on a certain machine/
component exists, comparing failure data collected on site with the published data to
verify/disprove use that published data.

General Condition-monitoring (CM) Categories

i) Temperature Measurement
ii) Dynamic Monitoring
iii) Oil Analysis
iv) Corrosion Monitoring.
v) Nondestructive Testing
vi) Electrical Testing and Monitoring
vii) Observation and Surveillance.
viii) Performance Monitoring
 9. Measure Of Performance (MOP):
Performance measurement determines how well the manufacturing operation is
succeeding in meeting specified organizational requirements. There are two important
aspects of this definition. First, we must be able to measure the performance
characteristic of interest in a meaningful way. Second, there must be some desired
standard level of performance against which comparisons can be made.

 Improving Customer Experience & Responsiveness

1. On-Time Delivery to Commit – This metric is the percentage of time that

manufacturing delivers a completed product on the schedule that was committed to
customers.
2. Manufacturing Cycle Time – Measures the speed or time it takes for manufacturing
to produce a given product from the time the order is released to production, to finished
goods.
3. Time to Make Changeovers – Measures the speed or time it takes to switch a
manufacturing line or plant from making one product over to making a different
product.

 Improving Quality

4. Yield – Indicates a percentage of products that are manufactured correctly and to

specifications the first time through the manufacturing process without scrap or
rework.
5. Customer Rejects/Return Material Authorizations/Returns – A measure of how
many times customers reject products or request returns of products based on receipt
of a bad or out of specification product.
6. Supplier’s Quality Incoming – A measure of the percentage of good quality
materials coming into the manufacturing process from a given supplier.

 Improving Efficiency

7. Throughput – Measures how much product is being produced on a machine, line,

unit, or plant over a specified period of time.
8. Capacity Utilization – Indicates how much of the total manufacturing output
capacity is being utilized at a given point in time.
9. Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) – This multi-dimensional metric is a
multiplier of Availability x Performance x Quality, and it can be used to indicate the
overall effectiveness of a piece of production equipment, or an entire production line.
10. Schedule or Production Attainment – A measure of what percentage of time a
target level of production is attained within a specified schedule of time.
  Reducing Inventory

11. WIP Inventory/Turns – A commonly used ratio calculation to measure the efficient
use of inventory materials. It is calculated by dividing the cost of goods sold by the
average inventory used to produce those goods.

 Ensuring Compliance

12. Reportable Health and Safety Incidents – A measure of the number of health and
safety incidents that were either actual incidents or near misses that were recorded as
occurring over a period of time.
13. Reportable Environmental Incidents – A measure of the number of health and
safety incidents that were recorded as occurring over a period of time.
14. Number of Non-Compliance Events / Year – A measure of the number of times a
plant or facility operated outside the guidelines of normal regulatory compliance rules
over a one-year period. These non-compliances need to be fully documented as to the
specific non-compliance time, reasons, and resolutions.

 Reducing Maintenance

15. Percentage Planned vs. Emergency Maintenance Work Orders – This ratio
metric is an indicator of how often scheduled maintenance takes place, versus more
disruptive/un-planned maintenance.
16. Downtime in Proportion to Operating Time – This ratio of downtime to operating
time is a direct indicator of asset availability for production.

 Increasing Flexibility & Innovation

17. Rate of New Product Introduction – Indicates how rapidly new products can be
introduced to the marketplace and typically includes a combination of design,
development and manufacturing ramp up times.
18. Engineering Change Order Cycle Time – A measure of how rapidly design
changes or modifications to existing products can be implemented all the way through
documentation processes and volume production.

 Reducing Costs & Increasing Profitability

19. Total Manufacturing Cost per Unit Excluding Materials – This is a measure of all
potentially controllable manufacturing costs that go into the production of a given
manufactured unit, item or volume.
20. Manufacturing Cost as a Percentage of Revenue – A ratio of total manufacturing
costs to the overall revenues produced by a manufacturing plant or business unit.
21. Net Operating Profit – Measures the financial profitability for all
investors/shareholders/debt holders, either before or after taxes, for a manufacturing
plant or business unit.
22. Productivity in Revenue per Employee – This is a measure of how much revenue
is generated by a plant, business unit or company, divided by the number of employees.
23. Average Unit Contribution Margin – This metric is calculated as a ratio of the
profit margin that is generated by a manufacturing plant or business unit, divided into
a given unit or volume of production.
24. Return on Assets/Return on Net Assets - A measure of financial performance
calculated by dividing the net income from a manufacturing plant or business unit by
the value of fixed assets and working capital deployed.
25. Energy Cost per Unit – A measure of the cost of energy (electricity, steam, oil, gas,
etc.) required to produce a specific unit or volume of production.
26. Cash-to-Cash Cycle Time – This metric is the duration between the purchase of a
manufacturing plant or business unit’s inventory, and the collection of
payments/accounts receivable for the sale of products that utilize that inventory –
typically measured in days.
27. EBITDA – This metric acronym stands for Earnings before Interest, Taxes,
Depreciation, and Amortization. It is a calculation of a business unit or company's
earnings, prior to having any interest payments, tax, depreciation, and amortization
subtracted for any final accounting of income and expenses. EBITDA is typically used
as top-level indication of the current operational profitability of a business.
28. Customer Fill Rate/On-Time delivery/Perfect Order Percentage - This metric is
the percentage of times that customers receive the entirety of their ordered
manufactured goods, to the correct specifications, and delivered at the expected time.

10. First Time Quality (FTQ):

A lean metric that indicates to what extent parts are manufactured correctly the first
time without need for inspection, rework, or replacement.
Measure of number of pieces rejected in a manufacturing process versus Total number
of pieces produced.

FTQ in PPM = No of parts Rejected X 1000000

Total no of parts produced
It used to protect customer where the inspection control method followed to ensure
quality. Assist to meet customer requirement of Zero defects. Understand the defects
and prioritize the quality problem. Assign problem with CFT. Count and catch the
defects. Signal when process goes out of control.

11. Cycle Time:

The actual time it takes to perform a task and forward it to the next step. One of the
major goals of lean is to match cycle time to takt time.

Cycle time is commonly categorized into:

1) Manual Cycle Time: The time loading, unloading, flipping/turning parts, adding
components to parts while still in the same machine/process.
2) Machine Cycle Time: The processing time of the machine working on a part.

3) Auto Cycle Time: The time a machine runs un-aided (automatically) without manual
intervention.

4) Overall Cycle Time: The complete time it takes to produce a single unit. This term is
generally used when speaking of a single machine or process.

5) Total Cycle Time: This includes all machines, processes, and classes of cycle time
through which a product must pass to become a finished product. This is not Lead
Time, but it does help in determining it.

TOTAL CYCLE TIME

(TCT) = Machine Cycle Time (MCT) [Man time + Machine Auto time] +
Set-Up Time (SET) per piece.

12. Bottleneck
Within a set of dependent steps, there is generally one step that defines the speed
at which the entire operation can run. This step is called the bottleneck because, just
like liquid coming out of a bottle, it limits the speed of the entire operation. The
bottleneck is often an important area of focus for improving the capacity of an
operation, since if the bottleneck's capacity can be increased it will often increase
overall capacity, while increasing the output of a non-bottleneck step may have no
effect.

Two tools are useful in helping you identify bottlenecks:

1. Flow Charts
2. The Five Whys Technique
You have two basic options for unblocking your bottleneck:
o Increase the efficiency of the bottleneck step.
o Decrease input to the bottleneck step.
Ensure that whatever is being fed into the bottleneck is free of defects. By doing this,
you ensure that you're not wasting the valuable bottleneck resource by using it to
process material that will later be discarded.
Remove activities from the bottleneck process that could be done by other people or
machinery. Assign the most productive team members and technology to the bottleneck
process. Add capacity in the bottleneck process

13. Work in Process (WIP)

Work-in-process, or WIP, refers to inputs that are still in the operation. Work in
process, work in progress, (WIP) goods in process, or in-process inventory are a
company's partially finished goods waiting for completion and eventual sale or the value
of these items. These items are either just being fabricated or waiting for further
processing in a queue or a buffer storage. The term is used in production and supply
chain management.
Optimal production management aims to minimize work in process. Work in process
requires storage space, represents bound capital not available for investment and
carries an inherent risk of earlier expiration of shelf life of the products. A queue leading
to a production step shows that the step is well buffered for shortage in supplies from
preceding steps, but may also indicate insufficient capacity to process the output from
these preceding steps.
Just-in-time (acronym: JIT) production is a concept to reduce work in process with
respect to a continuous configuration of product. Just in sequence (JIS) is a similar
concept with respect to a scheduled variety in sequence of configurations for products.

14. Buffer
Interim storage where Work-in-process can be stored between steps in a process.
Sometimes an operation will have storage space where WIP from one step can
accumulate before being worked on by the next step. There can be a large number of
reasons for having a buffer. In larger operations, a buffer may be important in order to
make sure that the bottleneck is never starved for inputs. Since the bottleneck sets the
pace, loss of production there may imply lost production for the entire operation.

15. Manufacturing Lead Time (MLT)

Manufacturing lead-time, or MLT, is the average length of time it will take a new set of
inputs to move all the way through the operation, assuming no unusual measures are
taken.

Manufacturing Lead Time = Cycle Time * Work-in-Process

This simple rule makes sense if you imagine the path a new set of inputs must follow in
order to pass through the operation. As each unit of WIP moves forward, the new set of
inputs takes its place. Each move occurs once per cycle, so multiplying cycle time times
WIP will give us our total lead-time.
Lead Time terminology has been defined in greater detail. The Supply
Chain from customer order received to the moment the order is delivered is
divided into five lead times.
 Order Lead Time - Time from customer order received to customer
order delivered.
 Order Handling Time - Time from customer order received to sales order
created.
 Manufacturing Lead Time - Time from sales order created to production
finished (ready for delivery).
 Production Lead Time - Time from start of physical production of first
sub module/part to production finished (ready for delivery).
 Delivery Lead Time - Time from production finished to customer order
delivered.
 Lead times are then calculated based on the bills of material and routing.
Step 1
Create a bill of materials (BOM) for the end product and calculate the number of units required of each
component in the BOM. This list may refer to materials, assemblies and components required to produce
the end product.
Step 2
Calculate the time period between the material order date and the delivery date for each item in the bill of
material. This time period should be determined in light of the vendor's raw material requisition,
manufacture and transportation times as well as the calendar work weeks of both your organization and
that of your vendor or sub-contractor. This time period is referred to as a materials lead time.
Step 3
Identify the material or component in the bill of material with the greatest lead time. Review the lead
times for each material in the bill of material as determined in Step 2 to identify the item with the greatest
materials lead time.
Step 4
Review the production schedule to determine specific dates and times between which the product
quantities will be produced. This time period will yield the number of days and hours that are required to
produce a product. This number of days, which should be adapted to your organization's work week to
accommodate weekends and holidays, is the production operations lead time.
Step 5
Calculate the administrative lead time. This is the time required to process paperwork and to complete
any requirements of the materials purchase. Estimate the time required to select a supplier, prepare
purchase orders, obtain purchase authorization, and transmit the order to the supplier.
Step 6
Calculate the Inter-operations lead time. This is the time required for a manufacturing job to move from
one work center to another during the production process. Calculate and sum together the individual
elements of inter-operations lead time including queue time, preparation time, post-operations time, wait
time and transmit time.
Step 7
Determine the total lead time for the manufacturing production schedule. Add the greatest material
acquisition lead time for any material or component in a bill of materials to the final product's
manufacturing lead time, administrative lead time and inter-operations lead time to determine the total
lead time for the product to be manufactured.

Things Needed
 Routing sheets
 Bills of material

16. Capacity:
The maximum rate of output of a process, measured in units of output per unit of
time. The unit of time may be of any length, a day, a shift, or a minute

Capacity Strategies
There are three basic capacity strategies used by different organizations when they consider
increased demand; lead capacity strategy, lag capacity strategy and the match capacity
strategy.

Lead Capacity Strategy

As the name suggests, the lead capacity strategy adds capacity before the demand actually
occurs. Companies often use this capacity strategy as it allows company to ramp up production
at a time when the demands on the manufacturing plant is not so great. If any issues occur
during the ramp up process, these can be dealt with so that when the demand occurs the
manufacturing plant will be ready. Companies like this approach as it minimizes risk. As
customer satisfaction becomes an increasingly important, businesses do not want to fail to meet
delivery dates due to lack of capacity. Another advantage of the lead capacity strategy is that it
gives companies a competitive advantage. For example, if a toy manufacturer believes a certain
item will be a popular seller for the Christmas period, it will increase capacity prior to the
anticipated demand so that it has product in stock while other manufacturers would be playing
“catch up”.
However, the lead capacity strategy does have some risk. If the demand does not materialize
then the company could quickly find themselves with unwanted inventory as well as the
expenditure of ramping up capacity unnecessarily.

Lag Capacity Strategy

This is the opposite of the lead capacity strategy. With the lag capacity strategy the company
will ramp up capacity only after the demand has occurred. Although many companies follow
this strategy success is not allows guaranteed. However, there are some advantages of this
method. Initially it reduces a company’s risk. By not investing at a time of lesser demand and
delaying any significant capital expenditure, the company will enjoy a more stable relationship
with their bank and investors. Secondly the company will continue to be more profitable than
companies who have made the investment with increased capacity. Of course the downside is
that the company would have a period where product was unavailable until the capacity was
finally increased.

Match Capacity Strategy

The match capacity strategy is one where a company tries to increase capacity in smaller
increments to coincide with the increases in volume. Although this method tries to minimize the
over and under capacity of the other two methods, companies also get the worst of the two, were
they can find themselves over capacity and under capacity at different periods.

17. Throughput Time

Throughput time is a measure of the time required for a material, part or sub-
assembly to pass through a manufacturing process following the release of an order
to the manufacturing floor. Throughput time or manufacturing cycle time consists of
process time, inspection time, move time and queue time. Process time is the time
period during which work is performed on the product itself. Inspection time is the
time during which the quality of the product is confirmed. Move time is the time
during which materials or works-in-process are moved from one workstation to
another. Queue time is the period of time during which the product awaits transfer to
a workstation, undergoes further inspection and subsequent manufacturing
processes.

18. Relationship for Cycle time, Throughput time &

Lead time:
Lead time is the commitment to deliver final product to your customer. Through
put time is the sum of your entire product individual process times accounting for
value added and non-value added activities. For example a company may have a lead
time of 7 days to deliver a product to the customer and a through put time of only 8
hrs.
Through put time is the metric you should use for continuous improvement focusing in
reducing/eliminating the non value add activities of your process.
 WIP = Throughput x Average Lead Time

Average Lead Time = WIP x Average Cycle Time

The formulas used on both solutions are equivalent:

WIP = Throughput x Lead time
<=>
Lead Time = WIP x Cycle Time

Here are the definitions for these equations’ parameters:

 Lead time is the time between the initiation and delivery of a work item.
 Cycle time is the time between two successive deliveries
 Throughput is the rate at which items are passing through the system.

19. Difference between lead time and cycle time

Lead time is typically used to specify how long the delivery of a piece of equipment
will take from purchase order to delivery. Cycle time is the amount of time measured in
seconds or minutes a piece of equipment operates at. This is measured from the start of
one cycle to the start of the next cycle.
Let’s consider a simple process doing laundry.

There are 3 steps: wash, dry, fold. If we assume the time to do each load is 30, 45 and 30
minutes, respectively, what are the Lead Time and Cycle Time of the process?
You may notice that this link is not on Lean or Six Sigma but general business (operations)
management. These terms and concepts are not developed by, or limited to, Lean or Six Sigma.
In summary, here are what I use to help understand the difference and their relationship.
1. Lead Time and Cycle Time don’t have the same unit although their names are both “Time.”
Lead Time is measured by elapsed time (minutes, hours, etc.), whereas Cycle Time is measured
by the amount of time per unit (minutes/customer, hours/part, etc.). It does not make any
sense to add one to, or subtract one from, another.
2. Cycle Time is actually a measure of Throughput (units per period of time), which is the
reciprocal of Cycle Time. This relationship is analogous to Takt Time (amount of time per unit),
which is the reciprocal of customer demand rate (units per period of time). Note that by
definition, Cycle Time (or Takt Time) is an average value.
3. Lead Time and Cycle Time are related by Work-in-progress (WIP) in the entire process, in a
relationship described by the Little’s Law:
 Lead Time = Cycle Time * WIP
Or,
Lead Time = WIP/Throughput

5. The Cycle Time above must be the process cycle time, which is determined by the
bottleneck. Cycle Times of individual steps cannot be used alone to calculate the process
Lead Time without knowing the WIP.

20. 3C in Manufacturing
The 3C's Model is a business model, which offers a strategic look at the factors
needed for success. It was developed by business and corporate strategist Kenichi
Ohmae.
The 3C’s model points out that a strategist should focus on three key factors for
success. In the construction of a business strategy, three main players must be taken
into account:

1. The Customer
2. The Competitors
3. The Corporation

Only by integrating these three, a sustained competitive advantage can exist. Ohmae
refers to these key factors as the three C’s or strategic triangle.
There are certain needs that arise from the customer end. They include core benefit or
service and expected product. Recognizing this need the corporation or company offers
a basic product. To cater to their expectations and also to differentiate from competitors
who tend to morph their products, corporations offer augmented products. Also, both
the corporation and the competitors eventually tap the existence of potential products.
There is also a new 3 C's model emerging which centers on sustainability. This model is:

1. Capability
2. Consistency
3. Cultivation

The idea behind the new 3 C's model revolves around the concept of shared value to the
firm, the environment, and the community.
3C is a business method which uses process control techniques to measure, manage
and improve customer performance and customer focus.
The customer performance factors are:
• Customer Value
• Customer Behavior
• Customer Satisfaction.
3C may consist of Contain, Control, and Correct in Autonomous Maintenance.
 21. Daily Routine Management (DRM)
Daily Routine activities needs to do by production lead for achieving Production
targets, Quality rate, reducing cost involved and meeting the on time delivery in a
manufacturing line.

1. Responsible for managing & improving all manufacturing 4 M’s for meeting the
required Line Efficiency.
 Following Material from previous stage, Stores and even supplier end.
 Managing Manpower attendance & performance for meeting require OPP.
Improving their Skill & Knowledge by involving them in various Kaizen &
Small Group Activities.
 Verifying Machines First Line Maintenance, Poka-Yoke functions,
Preventive or Time Based Maintenance, Machine Tools & wear part
changing frequency for reducing Breakdown hours and improving its
Overall Efficiency.
 Improving method of doing a process to reduce cycle time & for operator
easiness.
2. Monitoring Daily Routine Activities with Planned & actual data. And doing Gap
Analysis for Planned & Actual Data. Analyzing the real route cause of the problem
and taking temporary remedial action & counter measure for preventing the
problem with CFT members.

22. Skill Matrix / Competency Mapping

 Skill matrix
It is a tool to assess training needs. It is a table that shows skills of individuals in
a team and any gaps between the skills of employees and the job roles they have. It is
also known as a competency framework.
Skill matrix is a tool to assess training needs. It is a table that shows skills of
individuals in a team and any gaps between the skills of employees and the job roles
they have.
The Skill matrix is a grid where you can place people (for example a team of workers)
in a 3x3 grid depending on their skill set and their attitude to work.
1) Skill Matrix is usually done for the operator’s level.
2) It is done by comparing the machine utility and then the operator's capabilities
3) If there is a multi machine operation, the capabilities of the two machines are combines and
then matched with the capabilities of the operator....
4) But in order to match the competencies of the operator with the machines, we have to first
take out the competencies of the operator. Then we have to list down the cycle time for each and
every machine and then the above activity takes place by the above procedure.
  Competency Mapping

1) Competency Mapping is actually done for Management Staff.

2) Competency Mapping is based on KSAs (Knowledge, Skills and Attitudes)
3) the other factors for which Competencies Mapping is based on are:

- Work Ethics
- Values
- Communication ability

4) Competency Mapping is done by defining the JDs and the skills required for those JDs.

5) When the rating of the superior does not match with the actual rating, that employee (whose
competencies are mapped) goes for the training....

 Implementing skill matrix on an employee

This includes five steps:

a) Identify all the attributes and skill required in the job of that person.
b) Quantify the level of achievements.
c) Train the person on the given skill and attributes.
d) Evaluate and judge the status.
e) If behind the maximum level, retrain and evaluate.

 How do you implement skill matrix?

Skill Matrix is implemented in terms of four quadrants. Consider a circle with four
quadrants. 1st quadrant (90 degree) refers to person "Under training". 2 quadrants (180
degrees - 1st and 2nd both) refer to person who is trained but he needs supervision. 3rd
Quadrant (270 degree - 1st, 2nd & 3rd all three) refers to person who can do his work
independently. 4th Quadrant (360 degree - all quadrant including) refers to person who
can trained other person.

23. 7 QC Tools
The Seven Basic Tools of Quality is a designation given to a fixed set of graphical
techniques identified as being most helpful in troubleshooting issues related to quality.
They are called basic because they are suitable for people with little formal training in
statistics and because they can be used to solve the vast majority of quality-related
issues.
The seven tools are:
 Cause-and-effect diagram (also known as the "fishbone" or Ishikawa diagram)
 Check sheet
 Control chart
 Histogram
 Pareto chart
 Scatter diagram
 Stratification (alternately, flow chart or run chart)
 Quality Control Tools for Problem solving

Sl.No QC Tool Type Purpose Output

1 Check Sheet
2 Stratification
3 Pareto Diagram
To collect data quickly and efficiently in
Quantitative Table
a structured manner.
To group the data according to various
Quantitative sources such as machine, the source of Table
material, shift, men and so on
Quantitative To priorities the problem to be solved Graph

To enumerate the suspected causes Fish-Bone

4 Cost-Effect Diagram Brainstorming
related to a problem diagram

To monitor the process continuously to

5 Control Sheet
6 Scatter diagram
7 Histogram
Quantitative find out any special cause variation is Graph
influencing the process
To examine the existence of the
Quantitative relationship between two measured Graph
characteristics.
To understand the variation pattern in
a process output in terms of location
Quantitative Graph
and spread where the process output is
a measured characteristics

24. New Seven Q.C. Tools

 Affinity Diagrams
 Relations Diagrams
 Tree Diagrams
 Matrix Diagrams
 Arrow Diagrams
 Process Decision Program Charts
 Matrix Data Analysis
Benefits of Incorporating New Seven Q.C. Tools
 Organize verbal data

 Generate ideas

 Improve planning

 Eliminate errors and omissions

  Explain problems intelligibly

 Secure full cooperation

 Persuade powerfully

Relations between Basic Tools & New QC Tools

25. 7 QC Story
A 7- Quality storyboard is a visual method for displaying a Quality Control story
(QC story). Some enterprises have developed a storyboard format for telling the QC
story, for example at Yokogawa-Hewlett-Packard in Japan, the story is told using a flip
chart which is 6 feet by 6 feet (2 x 2 meters). The project team uses colored markers to
show the PDSA cycle (Shewhart cycle) plus the SDSA cycle (SDSA = Standardize, Do,
Study, Act).
A QC story is an element of Policy Deployment (Hoshin Kanri). After each manager
writes an interpretation of the policy statement, the interpretation is discussed with the
next manager above to reconcile differences in understanding and direction. In this way
they play "catchball" with the policy and develop a consensus.

Worker participation in managerial diagnosis

When the management attempts to make a managerial diagnosis, it is important that

the people whose work is being diagnosed be properly prepared to enter the discussion.
For this purpose, it is very helpful if everyone knows how to tell the QC story. Telling
the story properly requires seven steps.
1. Problem Selection:
This step includes an explanation of why the problem is important (which will tie it to
the priority statements of the top management or to a problem that is essential as seen
at the lower levels). Normally this step includes a discussion of the losses that occur
because of the problem, the team that will work on it, and an estimate of what might be
done. A target is often specified though it is understood that reaching such a target
cannot be guaranteed. A schedule is proposed.

2. Problem Observation
This step involves observing the time, place, type and symptoms of the problem. It
involves data gathering and display in an attempt to understand the important aspects
of the problem.

3. Problem Analysis
In this step the various tools of quality analysis are used, such as Control charts,
Pareto charts, cause-and-effect diagrams, scatter diagrams, histograms, etc.

4. Corrective Action
Based on the analysis, an action is taken.

5. Check
The results are studied to see if they conform to what was expected and to learn from
what was not expected. Data are taken to confirm the action.

6. Standardization
Appropriate steps are taken to see that the gains are secured. New standard procedures
are introduced.

7. Plans for the future:

As a result of solving this problem, other problems will have been identified and other
opportunities recognized.
These seven steps DO NOT describe how a problem is solved. Problem solving requires a
great deal of iteration and it is often necessary to go back to a previous step as new data
are found and better analyses are made. However, when it comes time to report on what
was done, the above format provides the basis for telling the story in a way that makes
it comprehensible to the upper levels of management.

26. Productivity
Productivity is the ratio of output to inputs in production; it is an average measure
of the efficiency of production. Efficiency of production means production’s capability to
create incomes which is measured by the formula real output value minus real input
value.
Increasing national productivity can raise living standards because more real income
improves people's ability to purchase goods and services, enjoy leisure, improve housing
and education and contribute to social and environmental programs. Productivity
growth also helps businesses to be more profitable.
 27. Work Study
Work study is a means of enhancing the production efficiency (productivity) of the
firm by elimination of waste and unnecessary operations. It is a technique to identify
non-value adding operations by investigation of all the factors affecting the job. It is the
only accurate and systematic procedure oriented technique to establish time standards.
It is going to contribute to the profit as the savings will start immediately and continue
throughout the life of the product.
Method study and work measurement is part of work study. Part of method study is
motion study; work measurement is also called by the name ‘Time study’.

Advantages of Work Study

1. It helps to achieve the smooth production flow with minimum interruptions.

2. It helps to reduce the cost of the product by eliminating waste and unnecessary
operations.
3. Better worker-management relations.
4. Meets the delivery commitment.
5. Reduction in rejections and scrap and higher utilization of resources of the
organization.
6. Helps to achieve better working conditions.
7. Better workplace layout.
8. Improves upon the existing process or methods and helps in standardization and
Simplification.
9. Helps to establish the standard time for an operation or job which has got application
in manpower planning, production planning.

28. Process flow diagram (PFD)

A process flow diagram (PFD) is a diagram commonly used in chemical and
process engineering to indicate the general flow of plant processes and equipment. The
PFD displays the relationship between major equipment of a plant facility and does not
show minor details such as piping details and designations.
Another commonly used term for a PFD is a flow sheet. It is a flow chart linking
individual process steps to form a manufacturing system.
It is used to identify every possible path through a part take the anticipated
manufacturing process. PFD developed at new product development stage and update
during product/process change and improvements.
It shows, job changeovers, Quality Audits, Rework Processes, Part labeling, Alternative
processes, Scrap, Gauge Station, and Tool changes, Rejection handling, Part buffers,
Part movement. It helps in developing Equipment specification. It is foundation for PCP
& PFMEA. It identify significant product & process characteristics

29. Process Control Plan (PCP)

A control plan lists all product and process characteristic and requirement to deliver a
defect-free product, and is essential for maintaining process control over the long run. It
aims minimizing variation. It identifies what have to do when problems occur.

30. Process Failure Mode Effects Analysis(PFMEA)

31. Production Part Approval Process(PPAP)