Operation Analysis

Human Factors
R. Z. Angila

Is the study of an operation or group of related operations for the purpose

of analyzing their efficiency and effectiveness so that improvements can
be developed relative to specified objectives.
Objectives in operations analysis
A. Increase productivity
B. Reduce time and cost
C. Improve safety and quality

The 9 Primary Approaches to Operation Analysis

1. Operation Purpose
2. Part Design
3. Tolerances and Specs
4. Material
5. Manufacturing Sequence and Process
6. Setup and Tools
7. Material Handling
8. Plant Layout
9. Work Design
Also consider: management and reward changes

1. Operation Purpose
Ask:
Does this operation serve a useful purpose?
Is this operation really needed?
Try to:
Eliminate operations
Combine operations
As many as 25% of operations in American Industry can be eliminated.

Example 1: Operation Elimination

Many stores have dropped the requirement that customers sign
their credit slip for small totals: less than $15 - $50.
This makes the payment transaction very fast!
E.g. in coffee shop study,
Average payment transaction time: 27 sec

Example 2: Operation Elimination Outsource operations

Ask: Can a supplier an operation more economically than we can
in-house?
 Operation: pack ball bearings in grease
Modification: purchase sealed bearings from supplier.

Example 3: Operation Elimination Eliminate re-work

Coffee shop worker:
1. Worker pours milk into stainless steel beaker,
2. Steams milk, pours into cup.
3. Runs out of milk must pour and steam more while customer waits
impatiently.
Solution:
Add measuring lines to inside of beaker so worker does not have to
estimate how much milk to pour.

2.Part Design: Design for manufacturing and life-cycle

Reduce parts simplify designs
Reduce processing operations
Utilize better material
Loosen tolerances where possible
Design for manufacturing: choose an easy to manufacture shape
over a difficult one.

Minimum cost design:

It helps designers if they understand processes such as: casting,
molding and punching, bending, etc.
Example: instead of:
Four bends in sheet metal to make part,
Make lower cost extrusion with 4 bends already in it.
This type of thinking is called
Design for Manufacturing

3. Tolerances and specifications

Designers tend to incorporate tolerances that are more rigid than
necessary
Why? To be extra sure that product will function in all situations.
It is perceived to reduce risk, but it can add much unnecessary cost,
Need to consider risk/cost trade-off.
Taguchi (86) methods develop quality products and reduce cost.

4.Material
Incorporate better, more economical material in designs:
Less expensive
Easier to process
Use materials more economically
Use supplies and tools more economically,
Standardize materials
 Find best vendor: price, stock. Can achieve 10% to 15%
reductions by shopping around, sometimes every year.

Example: New material

Substitute glass tubing for Micarta spacer bar in transformer.
(Micarta is a glass cloth, epoxy resin laminate material)
less expensive and better cooling
Replace stamped gear with plastic gear in assembly.
saved $0.13 per unit, $10,000 per year.
Keiretsu: (Japanese term) interlocking relationship between manufacturers
and suppliers.

5.Manufacturing Sequence and Tools

Re-sequence operations
Group operations that can share common fixturing
Mechanize manual operations where economically feasible (see
section on setup)
Use more efficient facilities (see section on layout) Example,
substitute Super automatic cappuccino machines for old style.
Manufacture near-net shape.
Use Robots (where economically feasible usually for long product
runs, small product variability)

Example: re-sequencing
Original sequence:
1. Paint part 1
2. Paint part 2
3. Paint part 3
4. Paint part 4
5. Rivet parts together
New sequence:
1. Rivet parts together
2. Paint one assembly

6.Setup, Tools and Fixtures

Carefully consider economic trade-offs:
Will the setup, fixtures, or tools be used enough to justify their
expense?
Prevalent mistake of tool makers and planners:
Too much specialized tooling and fixturing
Example: Tooling
Good choice: Tooling that saves 10% on each job and is used
frequently.
Poor choice: Tooling that saves 90% on each job but is used only
twice a year. (Will not recover expense of creating and storing
tooling).
7.Material Handling
The best way to handle material is NOT to handle it.
Moving, storing, positioning, tracking.
Insuring that materials get where they need to be when they are
needed.
Material Handling Institute survey says 35 to 85% of the cost of
getting a product to market is associated with material handling.

Better material handling

Reduces cost, time
Increases safety, health and well being of workers:
40% of plant accidents happen during material handling
25% are caused by lifting and shifting material

Approach to reducing material handling time

Reduce time spent picking up material
Use mechanized of automated equipment (where economically
feasible)
Make better use of existing handling facilities
Handle material with greater care
Consider bar coding

8.Plant Layout
Poor layout can result in major costs through increased travel time,
increased material handling, etc.
Two types of layouts for plants:
Product layout: machines placed in the order used in the
manufacturing process.
Advantage: reduces travel time
Process layout: machines grouped by type: e.g. all lathes
together, all drill presses together, etc.
Advantage: makes training easier.
Later we will discuss Muthers Systematic Layout Process (SLP).

9.Work Design
Eliminate operations,
Re-sequence, re-design operations