The Management of Manufacturing Systems PDF
Preview The Management of Manufacturing Systems
THE MANAGEMENT OF MANUFACTURING SYSTEMS Related Macmillan titles The Management of Production, third edition 1. D. Radford and D. B. Richardson Production Engineering Technology, second edition 1. D. Radford and D. B. Richardson Production Planning and Information Systems 1.1. Verzijl The Management of Manufacturing Systems J. D. Radford B.Sc.(Eng.). FI.Prod.E., M.I.Mech.E.. F W.S.o.M. D. B. Richardson M.Phi/ .. FI.Prod.E., FI.Mech.E.. A.M.B.I.M. M © J. D. Radford and D. B. Richardson 1977 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1s t edition 1977 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without permission. First published 1977 by THE MACMILLAN PRESS LTD London and Basingstoke Associated companies in Delhi Dublin Hong Kong Johannesburg Lagos Melbourne New York Singapore and Tokyo ISBN 978-0-333-19522-2 ISBN 978-1-349-15805-8 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-1-349-15805-8 This book is sold subject to the standard conditions of the Net Book Agreement. The paperback edition of this book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the pub lisher's prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. Contents Preface vii 1 Production Systems 1 2 Forecasting and its Applications 12 3 Allocation and Scheduling of Resources ".4 4 The Design/Manufacturing Interface 76 5 Human Factors in Production 87 6 Design and Operation of Work Systems 101 7 Production Facilities 126 8 Maintenance and Replacement 141 9 Materials Management 153 10 Cost Control 172 11 Quality and Reliability 187 12 Management Information Systems 205 Appendixes 216 Index 223 Preface Books concerned with manufacturing management usually fall into one of two main categories. Some attempt a strict systems approach at the expense of practical relevance, while others consider the various parts of the production system in isolation with little reference to the over-all objectives of the organisa tion. We have endeavoured to tread a path between these two extremes by writing separate chapters on the essential sub -systems of production, while considering the external and internal factors that influence their design and operation. Human factors are largely unquantifiable but any manufacturing system that is not socially, as well as economically and technically viable is unlikely to succeed. In consequence greater emphasis has been given to human aspects of production management than would have been considered necessary in the past. This book has not been tailored to any specific s:'llabus, although most of its contents are applicable to the Council of Engineering Institutions' examination in Analysis of Manufacturing Systems. It should also be of value in preparing for professional examinations, such as those of the Institution of Works Managers, and to students reading in universities and polytechnics for degrees including subjects related to production management. In addition, if the practical objective has been achieved, we hope that it will be of use as a concise guide to those in industry who are involved in the increaSingly difficult and vital task of production management. We wish to thank a number of colleagues for their advice, particularly our ex-colleague, Mr A. J. Till, M.B.E., F.I.Mech.E. We should also like to thank Miss Grace M. Vine for typing the manuscript. 1. D. RADFORD D. B. RICHARDSON 1 Production Systems 1.1 Introduction Product manufacture employs a large proportion of the working population in industrialised countries. If products are to be competitive in price, quality and delivery, production must be efficiently organised. The penalties for inefficient management of production can be liquidation for companies and reduced living standards nationally. This book is not concerned with tracing the development of manufacturing industry, nor with describing the history of the various theories of management. These theories evolved from the technological and sociological conditions of the day and each, in its time, exerted an influence on the mode of manufacture. The rapidity of change during the second half of the twentieth century has posed many new problems of organisation, which have not been effectively resolved and which have resulted in a high level of industrial unrest. To help resolve these problems a better understanding of the functioning of production systems is needed so that they can be made more socially acceptable and, at the same time, more efficient. In an attempt to improve the operation of production systems, modelling and simulation techniques have been developed, which give a better insight into the ways in which system components interact. Only limited success has been achieved so far, but improved results can be expected from the use of more realistic models. In parallel with this development there has been increased use of analytical methods to assist in decision-making; some methods are now widely used while others have made little impact. This book seeks to illustrate the scope of production management, to indicate some of its problems and to describe techniques that can be used in their solution. It is broadly divided into three sections, each of four chapters. The first section is concerned with planning, the next with the provision, maintenance and operation of production facilities, and the last considers the control of output, cost, quality and information. 2 THE MANAGEMENT OF MANUFACTURING SYSTEMS 1.2 Manufacturing Organisation The Organisation Chart The formal organisation of a manufacturing company is the structure through which decisions are made, instructions are transmitted and communication is, or should be, effected. It consists essentially of a hierarchy headed by the chief executive and extending downwards through the various levels of management and supervision to the clerical and manual workers. The division of work and responsibility can be illustrated by an organisation chart showing the lines of authority; the main divisions are usually by function, for example, sales, manu facture, finance, research and development. In very large organisations the primary divisions may be by product, with each product division having its own self contained management structure. A formalised structure of this type enables responsibility to be apportioned and job objectives based on a corporate plan for the company to be set. When represented as an organisation chart it enables a critical appraisal of the various functions to be made, and frequently indicates possible areas for improvement. O1anging conditions and attitudes have exerted a strong influence on organisation; for example, in recent years the personnel function has assumed greater signifi cance and it is now common practice to have personnel directors on executive boards, whereas before the Second World War few companies even had personnel departments. Similarly the growing complexity of data-processing systems in large companies has led to the appointment of data-processing managers, who occupy relatively senior positions in the management hierarchy. Co-ordination An organisation chart for a typical medium -sized engineering company is shown in figure 1.1, giving the main functional responsibilities with a more detailed breakdown of the manufacturing function. In addition to the line relationship shown on the chart there are numerous staff relationships involving co -ordination of activities across the line boundaries. For instance, the level of quality of com ponents and of finished products is monitored by a quality department, which is normally subordinate to the research and development function. If quality falls below the acceptable standard an inspector can stop production until the fault is rectified. Fault-correction may be a simple matter of re-setting a machine or may involve the factory supervision enlisting the assistance of the production engineer ing department. In some cases the quality demands may be outside the capability of the production equipment and design modification may be the only viable short-term solution. To effect co-ordination in this way functional staff must have defined authority over the direct operators even though the operators concerned do not work directly for the quality department. To facilitate co-ordination across the formal lines of authority it is desirable that all jobs in the organisation should be care fully defined by means of job specifications. Even so, with the passage of time there are many 'grey areas' in which authority and responsibility are not clear cut and in these areas co-ordination is possible only if goodwill exists. The grey areas can be dangerous for two reasons: they may lead to essential tasks not being PRODUCTION SYSTEMS 3 Chairman I I Non-executive directors I I FinLce Persomel Production Technical Martting director director director director director I I I I FINANCIAL ACCOUNTS LABOUR RELATIONS RESEARCH FORECASTING COST ACCOUNTS SELECTION TRAINING DEVELOPMENT ADVERTISING LEGAL WELFARE DESIGN SALES DATA PROCESSING SAFETY QUALITY DISTR IBUTION Chief production Mmaatenroiarl s Works engineerl manrer PROCESS PLANNING PURCHASING MANUFACTURE TOOL DESIGN PROD. CONTROL ASSEMBLY WORK STUDY STOCK CONTROL MAINTENANCE Figure 1.1 Organisation chart of typical medium-sized engineering company, showing major areas of responsibility properly performed or they may result in 'empire building' by managers who are not best placed to perform the tasks. To reduce these damaging possibilities job specifications should be amended in the light of changes in organisation or operation. Decision -making A problem common to many large companies that have grown rapidly from small beginnings is the concentration of decision-making at top management level. It is desirable that decisions should be made at the lowest reasonable level for three reasons. The first is that by relieving them of all but the most significant decisions senior management are then in a better position to concentrate on the wider objectives of the business. The second is that lower -level decisions can generally be made more effectively at or near the operational level that they affect, since the full facts are more likely to be available here. The third reason is that by delegation of decision-making it is possible to assess the potential of employees to accept greater responsibility. An organisation that does not permit junior managers to make decisions is likely to lose many who are worth keeping and will probably build up resentment among those who remain. Before top management delegates important decisions it is essential that, wher ever possible, the information system of the company should be designed to enable the results of decisions to be appraised in a quantifiable form. Without this monitoring safeguard the cumulative effect of wrong decisions could be disastrous. Communication It is desirable that manufactUring organisations should have good communication both vertically and horizontally. Often a company making diverse products re-
The list of books you might like
