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DPManufacturingProcessess.docxRUNNING HEAD: MANUFACTURING PROCESSES 1
MANUFACTURING PROCESSES 8
Manufacturing Processes
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Introduction
Every day, in our day-to-day activities, either at home, on the road, and even in our jobs, we use and interact with goods and products that have gone through refinery and processing to become the final useful good that we use. From the house in which we stay and the office rooms, the coffee we drink, the vehicles we use to work, the remote controls to open our garage doors, and to the paper on which we make notes, all are made from manufacturing processes.
By definition, manufacturing processes can be termed as those processes involved in the making of goods typically, from raw materials (McDermott, 2019). The whole process requires sourcing for the raw materials, making the product, and selling it to the target customers. The processes involved may range from very archaic steps like handicraft to computer developed manufacturing processes that are high tech in nature.
Manufacturing processes refer to the actual steps that are involved in the transformation of raw materials into the actual product that is useful and sold to consumers. This manufacturing process can be looked at as a value addition kind of a system. This is because raw materials which would be of little or no use to the consumers are through these processes added some value to them such that they find use within the consumer base.
There are five types of manufacturing processes that are used by companies nowadays in their manufacturing processes. These include project layout, work center, manufacturing cell, assembly line, and continuous operation (Jacobs et al., 2018). There is a new process that is in its infancy stage but is anticipated to be of essential use in the future called 3-dimensional printing. In the subsequent paragraphs, I will explain each of these processes, giving examples of companies that have succeeded in using these processes.
Project Layout
The project layout is also referred to as a fixed-position layout. As the name suggests, in this kind of manufacturing process, the machines, or the component being built remains in a fixed location (Stevenson, 2005). The manufacturing parts and manual laborers are the ones who move to this location. This type of manufacturing process is usually employed when the part being built is heavy or consists of heavy main components. It is mostly used with assembly of big equipment and mostly machines like airplanes and ships.
Here, the main components of the airplane say the fuselage is kept in a stationary position. Thereafter, the airfoil wings are brought in, and the engine, the rivets, the seats, and other components. In the assembly of the largest aircraft, Airbus A 350, the parts were from different regions as far as Germany and France. This is an excellent example of a project layout kind of manufacturing process.
There are advantages of using this method of the manufacturing process. The main advantage of this is that it allows for greater flexibility while producing the final product (Stevenson, 2005). The capital investment that goes into this kind of layout is relatively lower than other manufacturing processes. Because the type of manufacturing process brings about different specialists altogether, it allows for job enlargement and upgrading of skills among the workers.
It acts as a small community of practice where the experts from different parts of the component being assembled come together to brainstorm to ensure the completion of the product without any flaws. This also allows for workers' motivation because they take pride in the job they did by identifying themselves with the final product.
The disadvantage of this type of operation process is that there is a limited space resulting in the overcrowding of the work area. This may be hazardous in the sense that tools handling may be a problem while working in a crowded place (McDermott, 2019). Another disadvantage is the administration. Because there are many people working together, there may be a loss of control, making it difficult for the relevant authorities to administer their administrative duties. The administrative burden becomes higher with the increased number of people.
Hyundai Heavy Industries has succeeded in the use of a Fixed position or project layout manufacturing process. The company is among the largest companies in the world that specialize in the building of cargo ships. Hyundai Heavy Industries incorporates the use of high technology software and handicraft to develop these ships. The different components are supplied to the company by its various supplies from all over the world.
After that, the company has different locations where they have their fixed positions for the building process. After this, it either uses cranes that are controlled by people, or robots to assemble these parts independently at these fixed locations. Prototypes are built using software that imitates the real-world simulations. This allows the company to come up with the best products.
Rolls Royce is a company that specialized both in the building and assembly of automobiles and aircraft engines. The company receives most of its components also from different suppliers. While building aircraft engines, the turbines, the crankshafts, the pistons are all brought from separate locations. The engine is suspended in a fixed position.
The engineers bring the components using robots and cranes and get them fixed at the aircraft engine. Depending on the size of the engine, the size of this location is varied. After that, the whole engine is taken to the aircraft company, which is building the aircraft. This is also used to build an aircraft that has been immobilized.
Samsung Heavy Industries, just like Hyundai Heavy Industries, is another company that builds ships. This company gets its different parts from suppliers from different geographical locations. In their warehouses, the company has a site of the instance of building a cargo ship. Once these parts arrive, they are stored in different parts. The heavy parts are brought in and pout into the fixed location where the vessel will be built.
After that, different parts are brought in at a time, depending on how we want to build the ship. These parts are installed by robots controlled by design engineers. After that, they will perform tests to ensure that the company has produced the best product to serve the needs of its customers.
Toyota company failed in trying to use this type of manufacturing process. The company is one of the leading automobile companies in Asia. Toyotas produced a range of vehicle types. The company initially was involved in the use of fixed position layout of the manufacturing process. However, after some time, this proved not to be efficient. It resolved to use a new technology known as Just in time technologies to optimize their production.
Work center Layout
The work center layout is just the complete opposite of the fixed position or project layout. This layout is also known as the process layout. Instead of the specialized engineers coming to the product, the process goes through different work stations where a specialized type of operation is performed on the product (Jacobs et al., 2018).
This type of layout can also be termed as a Job shop because, in a particular workstation, the same kind of operation is performed over and over again (Jacobs et al., 2018). For example, in a company with this kind of layout, the whole company is divided into distinct work centers, which may also be termed as departments. In each department, there is similar equipment kept together. These equipment are used to perform a specialized kind of operation.
For example, a piece of raw material A is to be transformed into a finished product B. it has to go through 6 departments to ensure its complete transformation. So, it goes from department one where a specific conversion is done to it, then to department 2, all the way to department 6. This type of layout can be used to produce a variety of non-standard products.
The advantage of this type of manufacturing process is that it can produce a large volume of products. Because a particular quantity passes through a specialized department at a time before being processed, the company will be able to produce a larger volume of its products over a particular period relative to the other manufacturing processes.
Considering the production rate per cycle, we find that there is a higher rate of output in this type of manufacturing process with a low cycle time. There is also increased capacity utilization. This is because each department allows for continuous production and production line balancing. The output rates of these kinds of manufacturing processes are also increased.
A significant disadvantage of this manufacturing process is that in the case that one department has a fault, say in their machine, and it will lead to the stalling of the entire process. This is a highly risking process. Because certain n specific modifications have to be done to the product being produced to ensure its quality, this step cannot be skipped.
Also, these steps are mostly interdependent such that one process depends on the previous one, and the subsequent one is dependent on the current stage. This means that in the case that one step stalls, the entire line of products has to stall. Another disadvantage is that, with this type of production, there is a higher cost of investment. There needs to be an investment in the machines and skilled labor to perform all of the specific types of operations and modifications that will be done to a product to ensure its value is added for the consumers.
Rhodes International Bake 'N Serv is an excellent example of a company that uses the process or work center type of manufacturing process. The company is the leading producer of frozen dough in the northern part of America. In the company, there are employee workstations. In these workstations, each employee has a specific task which they will repeatedly execute every time.
To begin with, the first process is mixing. The company has a mixing work station. Here, the employees who have been stationed here will load the dough and ensure that they operate the machines that mix this dough. After that, the next step is molding. The employees in this work station will take the fresh dough from the previous process and put them into cold bread pans that will move to the coolers.
There will be a quick deep freeze, and after that, it goes into the packing. Here, employees ensure the packing of the products into boxes and seal them off. In as much as most of these processes are automated, each step in the computerized process carries out a specific task to ensure value addition to the product.
To begin with, there will be a fur cutting work station. Here, the fur of the teddy bear will be cut according to your preferred color, brown. Employees in this work station have the duty to do this, and this is also their specialty, and they perform this task repeatedly. Then, your fur will be taken to the next step, the stuffing and sewing station.
The teddy bear will be stuffed and stitched together. Then it will move to the next work center where it will be dressed according to the preferences of the consumer. Finally, it will be packed and shipped in a station where employees have this sole responsibility. This process ensures that the customer gets exactly what they ordered.
A hospital setup, for instance, is also an example of this type of industry. In this case, no product but service is being offered. One begins at the reception. The employees here have specialized in customer relations management, and they listen keenly and direct you to the consultation room. Here, the general practitioner doctor or the specialist doctor will listen to your case and make SOAP notes before referring you to the laboratory.
Laboratory technicians take samples and make diagnoses. This is returned to the doctor who prescribes medication, and finally, you go to the pharmacy where you are handed your dosage and pay off at the cashier on your way out. This is an example of a work station kind of process because, through each of the steps, there is a particular type of operation being carried out.
Manufacturing cell layout
Cellular manufacturing is a type of manufacturing process where all the products that have a similar processing requirement are produced. This type of manufacturing process requires the use of multiple cells in the whole process. A particular cell consists of machines and skilled labor that provide all of the requirements for a group of products. The product that is ultimately produced, like the process layout, will move from one cell to another, and a particular special operation is performed to add to its quality value.
In this kind of manufacturing process, there are specialized cells made that consist of teams that produce a family of components (Hosseinabad et al., 2020). Take an instance of a metal production company. If scrap metal is received, it can be taken from the store, polished, joined together, then painted. In the cellular manufacturing type of manufacturing process, all of these can be done in a single step. A single cell can perform all of these operations and then come up with a well-furnished component.
This gives the first advantage of this type of manufacturing process, and it saves time (Hosseinabad et al., 2020). In this case, the time that would have been taken in the manufacturing line from the removal from storage then taken to polishing, then painting, all have been done in a single step. This is important in ensuring that time and costs have been saved.
To ensure that there is further saving of the time and costs, the operations are attained in a U shape or an L shape. This ensures that there is smooth communication between members of cells. The supervisor also has an easy time moving around and monitoring these activities.
Another advantage of this type of manufacturing process is that there is improved quality of jobs and improved morale. Because all of the teams work together to ensure that they produce a component, teamwork will result in quality output. Further, there will be reduced inventory levels with this kind of manufacturing process.
Boeing company is a company that specializes in the building of aircraft. In as much as the company employs the use of project type of manufacturing process because the machines involved are heavy, it also uses the cellular manufacturing layout. In this type of company, the airplane components like doors, fuselages, the flaps, among other parts, have to be presented to the assembly in their already furnished form.
For example, in the making of an aircraft door at this company, the employees in this particular cell will be responsible for the receiving of the metal for the door, cutting it into shape, welding it, paining it, and ensuring that the plywood is fixed accordingly.
The final product from this cell doesn't have to go through other processes because it is a complete object. It will, therefore, just be assembled into the plain. This has improved the company’s performance in terms of the time taken to complete an airplane and the number of planes they produce per month.
Raytheon is another company that also builds aircraft. Raytheon receives different components from different suppliers. While building airplanes, these parts must be customized to ensure that they all fit into each other according to designer specifications. Using the manufacturing process of cellular manufacturing, the company is in a position to have cells comprised of specialized teammates that will work round the clock to ensure that there is reduced time of completion of the manufacturing process.
This time saving also works to reduce the operational costs (Hosseinabad et al., 2020). The resulting is operational excellence with increased quality of products being achieved from each of the teammates. This has enabled Raytheon to be among the leading companies in aircraft manufacture worldwide.
This manufacturing process layout is not only used by large companies but small ones also. Little Inc. is an example of a company that uses cellular manufacturing to produce robotic parts in their products. The company invests in the production of robotic components. Each of the components is made from a cellular manufacturing layout. A specific team is in a position to come up with an element that is well furnished and is not required to undergo any other process apart from the assembly. This optimizes operations while reducing the overall cost of operation.
Ford company was at one time invested in cellular manufacturing. This worked to increase their productivity while reducing operational costs. However, this did not quite work well because some of the products were not according to the preferences of their consumers.
The automobile giant company decided to employ other operational techniques to ensure that their cars were tailored according to the desires and preferences of the consumers. Using other means of lean production, they were able to optimize their processes and thus resulting in improved products.
Assembly line Layout
Assembly line layout is a kind of manufacturing process that involves the arrangement of procedures discretely according to progressive steps that the product undergoes to its completion (Botti et al., 2017). This is a type of manufacturing where there are fixed steps that the product must undergo for value addition. Usually, it achieved a specific production rate.
In this kind of manufacturing, the products undergo steps where each step has a specific type of operation. The difference is, each of these operations is preceded by another one, which is meant to add a value not presently added by the previous step. This type of layout can also be defined as a product layout. In the assembly line, each of the products has already been made, and now, it has to be assembled in a particular order.
The significant advantage of this kind of manufacturing process is that there is a possibility of producing a large number of products by volume/. This is so because the products only go through one process in which there is the addition of partially completed products being either added or modified to the process. There is no time wastage in between waiting for batches to be completed.
The disadvantage of this kind of manufacturing process is that, in the case of the breakdown of one machine, the entire production process will stop (Botti et al., 2017). As initially stated, the previous process allows for the operation of the current one, and the next one is also dependent on the current step. Therefore, in the case, for instance, that the present step stalls, it means that the following process cannot continue and thus a disadvantage to the whole production process.
Heineken is a company that makes beer. Beer manufacturing, or rather a production, is an example of a product layout. In the Heineken company, there is a malting stage. Here, the barley is made to germinate, which is known as malting. Thereafter the next stage is called the milling stage. In this process, the malt is milled into flour, which then proceeds to the next step.
In the step, the milled malt is mashed. It is mixed with hot water. The next process is called lautering. In this step, the crushed malt produces a sugary extract called wort. The wort is separated from grains in this step. Thereafter the wort is boiled in another process.
The next process in the line involves fermentation of the wort. The following is a conditioning, then filtering, and the final step is the packaging. All of the steps included here are arranged progressively, and each stage involves value addition. This means that in the case of one level, say boiling stops; it means the whole process will stop.
Just Born is a company that makes candy in Pennsylvania. One of the products made by the company is Marshmallow peeps. The company employs the same process in the manufacture of this product. To begin with, all of the ingredients are put together and mixed entirely in big kettles. Thereafter, they are transferred to the next step, where they are added sugar to ensure that they have color.
The product then goes to the next step, where they add the mixture to the molds that will shape the product according to the desired shape. In the next level, the employees add details to the candy-like eyes and smile. Finally, they are wrapped and shipped for selling to consumers. This is also an example of an assembly line kind of production.
The perhaps most obvious example of this is in the manufacture of cars by automobile company Toyota. Toyota makes a number of vehicles for both Asian, American, African, and other European countries. The company will receive the body of the car; it will be polished and painted according to the colors available.
Next, it will be introduced into an engine, then the seats, the glasses, the wiring, and the completion, each of these components are added in a progressive manner, which will be completed with the addition of tires and rims for the car. This is an assembly line kind of production system employed by car manufacturing company Toyota.
Continuous flow layout
As the name suggests, this kind of manufacturing process allows the product to undergo a processing step without any interruptions through its journey in the manufacturing process (May 2017). Mostly, chemicals and liquids are processed ting this kind of manufacturing process. In this manufacturing process, the products will flow continuously through the system in a linear process. The operation of such companies is on 24 hours seven times a week basis with shutdowns either annually or semiannually for maintenance.
The advantage of this kind of manufacturing process is that there is a high level of capacity utilization than the other types of manufacturing processes because of the production, which is continuous and the line balancing (May 2017). The consistent production results in lower costs of operation and high volume. The materials being processed are highly refined as compared to the others.
The disadvantage of this kind of production is that there is little or no flexibility towards changes or updates in the product (May 2017). There is also a high investment required to start this kind of production facility. Finally, the main disadvantage is, a single malfunction in the system may have a very intense impact on the whole production line.
In the water treatment, the process being involved here is a continuous production process. The water to be treated is continuously fed into the system. Once in the order, it will be filtered to get rid of the mud and other particulate matter. Next, the water is treated with chemicals that remove the hardness of the water and the bad smell, among other dangerous components.
The water is then treated with chlorine and other chemicals that will kill harmful microorganisms. It will then be tested before being packed and distributed for consumption. This process is continuous throughout, and, in the case that one system stalls, the whole process will stop.
Other companies that are involved here include waste treatment and management, oil refinery stations, and companies that are engaged in the continuous blast and steel casting (May 2017). These companies are regularly involved in the production of component products and produce very high-quality products.
Conclusion
Manufacturing refers to the use of machinery or high-tech equipment to process raw materials into different products that are useful to consumers. The manufacturing process refers to the actual processes that are involved in the transformation of these raw materials into the finished product. There are a number of layout processes that may be included in the making of the raw material into the finished product.
The project layout is a type of design where there are stationary products, and the component products are brought into the product. The work center, the product moves through different work centers and is performed a series of specialized operations. The manufacturing cell consists of stations that have teams that process products with similar processing requirements. The assembly line type of manufacturing process, on the other hand, had processes arranged in progressive order and adds on partially processed parts to a product and, in the process, adds onto the value of the product.
Finally, the Continuous-flow manufacturing process makes use of the flow of components in the system without disruption to become the final useful product. All of these are chosen according to the volume of product companies want to produce and the nature of the product being manufactured.
References
Botti, L., Mora, C., & Regattieri, A. (2017). Integrating ergonomics and lean manufacturing principles in a hybrid assembly line. Computers & Industrial Engineering, 111, 481-491. Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360835217302152
Hosseinabad, E. R., & Zaman, M. A. U. (2020). A Brief Review on Cellular Manufacturing and Group Technology. Research Journal of Management Reviews. Vol, 5(1), 1-20. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Emad_Rabiei_Hosseinabad/publication/338544448_ A_Brief_Review_on_Cellular_Manufacturing_and_Group_Technology/links/5e223fd49 2851cafc38c76b2/A-Brief-Review-on-Cellular-Manufacturing-and-Group- Technology.pdf
Jacobs, F. R., Chase, R. B., & Lummus, R. R. (2018). Operations and supply chain management (Vol. 567). New York: McGraw-Hill Irwin.
May, S. A. (2017). Flow chemistry, continuous processing, and continuous manufacturing: A pharmaceutical perspective. Journal of Flow Chemistry, 7(3-4), 137-145. Retrieved from https://link.springer.com/article/10.1556/1846.2017.00029
McDermott A (2019) Batch, flow, continuous, and custom production: why they're successful and why they fail. Quickbooks. Retrieved from https://quickbooks.intuit.com/r/growing- complex-businesses/batch-flow-continuous-and-custom-production-in-manufacturing/
Stevenson, W. J. (2005). Operations management. McGraw-hill.
