Process design

× WHAT IS PROCESS DESIGN?

- To ‘design’ is to conceive the looks, arrangement and workings of something before it is created. In
that sense it is a conceptual exercise. Yet it is one that must deliver a solution that will work in practice.

- Design is also an activity that can be approached at different levels of detail. One may envisage the
general shape and intention of something before getting down to defining its details.

-Process design is a fundamental concept that involves developing efficient methods for producing
goods or delivering services.

× Process design and product/service design are interrelated

WHAT SHOULD BE THE OBJECTIVES OF PROCESS DESIGN? .

The whole point of process design is to make sure that the performance of the process is appropriate for
whatever it is trying to achieve.

• The overall purpose of process design is to meet the needs of customers through achieving
appropriate levels of quality, speed, dependability, flexibility and cost.
• The design activity must also take account of environmental issues. These include examination of the
source and suitability of materials, the sources and quantities of energy consumed, the amount and type
of waste material, the life of the product itself, and the end-of-life state of the product.

Standardisation of processes

One of the most important process design objectives, especially in large organisations, concerns the
extent to which process designs should be standardised. By standardisation in this context we mean
‘doing things in the same way’, or ‘adopting a common sequence of activities, methods and use of
equipment’. It is a significant issue in large organisations because, very often, different ways of carrying
out similar or identical tasks emerge over time in the various parts of the organisation.

HOW DO VOLUME AND VARIETY AFFECT PROCESS DESIGN?

In Chapter 1 we saw how processes range from those producing at high volume (for example, credit card
transaction processing) to a low volume (for example, funding a large complex takeover deal) processes
can range from producing a very low variety of products or services (for example, in an electricity utility)
to a very high variety (for example, in an architects’ practice). Usually the two dimensions of volume and
variety go together – but in a reversed way. So low-volume processes often produce a high variety of
products and services, and high-volume operations processes often produce a narrow variety of
products and services. Thus there is a continuum from low volume–high variety through to high
volume– low variety, on which we can position processes.

- In other words, no one type of process design is best for all types of requirement in all circumstances
– different products or services with different volume–variety positions require different processes.

Process types

The position of a process on the volume–variety continuum shapes its overall design and the general
approach to managing its activities. These ‘general approaches’ to designing and managing processes
are called process types. Different terms are used to identify process types depending on whether they
are predominantly manufacturing or service processes, and there is some variation in the terms used.

Project processes

Project processes deal with discrete, usually highly customised products, often with a relatively long
timescale between the completion of each item, where each job has a well-defined start and finish.
Project processes have low volume and high variety.

Jobbing processes

Jobbing processes also deal with high variety and low volumes. However, while in project processes
each item has resources devoted more or less exclusively to it, in jobbing processes each product has to
share the operation’s resources with many others. Resources will process a series of items, but,
although each one will require similar attention, they may differ in their exact needs.

Again, jobbing processes could be relatively complex; however, they usually produce physically smaller
products and, although sometimes involving considerable skill, such processes often involve fewer
unpredictable circumstances
Batch processes

Batch processes may look like jobbing processes, but do not have the same degree of variety. As the
name implies, batch processes produce more than one item at a time, so each part of the process has
periods when it is repeating itself, at least while the ‘batch’ is being processed. If the size of the batch is
just two or three items, it is little different to jobbing. Conversely, if the batches are large, and especially
if the products are familiar to the operation, batch processes can be fairly repetitive. Because of this, the
batch type of process can be found over a wide range of volume and variety levels.

Mass processes

Mass processes are those which produce items in high volume and relatively narrow variety (narrow in
terms of its fundamentals – an automobile assembly process might produce thousands of variants, yet
essentially the variants do not affect the basic process of production). The activities of mass processes
are usually repetitive and largely predictable.
Continuous processes

Continuous processes have even higher volume and usually lower variety than mass processes. They
also usually operate for longer periods of time. Sometimes they are literally continuous in that their
products are inseparable, being produced in an endless flow. They often have relatively inflexible,
capital-intensive technologies with highly predictable flow and although products may be stored during
the process, their predominant characteristic is of smooth flow from one part of the process to another.

Professional services

Professional services are high-contact processes where customers spend a considerable time in the
service process. These services can provide high levels of customization (the process being highly
adaptable in order to meet individual customer needs). Professional services tend to be people based
rather than equipment based, and usually staff are given considerable discretion in servicing customers.
Service shops

Service shops have levels of volume and variety (and customer contact, customization and staff
discretion) between the extremes of professional and mass services (see next paragraph). Service is
provided via mixes of front- and back-office activities..

Mass services

Mass services have many customer transactions, involving limited contact time and little customization.
Staff are likely to have a relatively defined division of labour and have to follow set procedures. Mass
services include supermarkets, a national rail network, an airport, telecommunications service, library,
television station, the police service and the enquiry desk at a utility
THE PRODUCT PROCESS MATRIX

The Product Process Matrix is a valuable tool for illustrating the relationship between process volume,
variety, position, and design characteristics. The matrix helps in understanding how different processes
are positioned based on their volume and variety requirements.

MOVING OF THE NATURAL DIAGONAL

Processes lying on the natural diagonal of the matrix typically have lower operating costs compared to
those off the diagonal but with the same volume-variety position. This indicates the efficiency and cost-
effectiveness of processes aligned with their volume-variety characteristics.

HOW ARE PROCESS DESIGNED IN DETAIL?

Process Design in Detail

Process design involves various steps and considerations to ensure efficiency and effectiveness. Here
are some key aspects of process design:
PROCESS MAPPING

Describing processes by illustrating how activities within the process are interconnected.

PROCESS MAPPING SYMBOLS

Symbols are used to classify different types of activities within a process. While there is no universal set
of symbols, some are commonly used worldwide.

DIFFERENT LEVEL OF PROCESS MAPPING

For a large process drawing process maps at this level of detail can be complex. This is why process are
often mapped at a more aggregated level, called high level process mapping.
PROCESS VISIBILITY

Mapping processes in a way that clearly shows the visibility of each part helps in understanding the
process flow and identifying areas for improvement.

THROUGHPUT TIME, CYCLE TIME AND WORK IN PROGRESS

So far we have looked at the more conceptual (process types) and descriptive (process mapping) aspects
of process design. We now move on to the equally important analytical perspective. And the first stage
is to understand the nature of, and relationship between, throughput time, cycle time and work-in-
progress. As a reminder; throughput time is the elapsed time between an item entering the process and
leaving it; cycle time is the average time between

items being processed; and work-in-progress is the number of items within the process at any point in
time.In addition the work content for each item will also be important for some analyses. It is the total
amount of work required to produce a unit of output.

For example, suppose that in an assemble-to-order sandwich shop, the time to assemble and sell a
sandwich (the work content) is two minutes and that two people are staffing the process. Each member
of staff will serve a customer every two minutes; therefore, every two minutes, two customers were
being served and so on average a customer is emerging from the process every minute (the cycle time of
the process). When customers join the queue in the process they become work-in- progress (sometimes
written as WIP). If the queue is 10 people long (including that customer) when the customer joins it, he
or she will have to wait 10 minutes to emerge from the process. Or put more succinctly

Throughput time = Work-in-progress x Cycle time

In this case: 10-minute wait = 10 people in the system * 1 minute per person

LITTLE LAW

This mathematical relationship (Throughput time = Work in Process × Cycle time) is essential for
understanding and optimizing process performance. It is simple but very useful, and it works for any
stable process. Little’s law states that the average number of things in the system is the product of the
average rate at which things leave the system and average time each one spends in the system. Or, put
another way, the average number of objects in a queue is the product of the entry rate and the average
holding time.
 For example, suppose it is decided that in a new sandwich assembly and sales process, the average
number of customers in the process should be limited to around 10 and the maximum time a customer
is in the process should be on average four minutes. If the time to assemble and sell a sandwich (from
customer request to the customer leaving the process) in the new process has been reduced to 1.2
minutes, how many staff should be serving?

THROUGHPUT EFFICIENCY

This idea that the throughput time of a process is different from the work content of what ever it is
processing has important implications What it means is that for significant amounts of time no useful
work is being done to the materials, information or customers that are progressing through the process.

VALUE ADDED THROUGHPUT EFFICIENCY

The approach to calculating throughput efficiency that is described above assumes that all the "work
content" is actually needed.Therefore work content is actually dependent upon the methods and
technology used to perform the task. It may be also that individual element of a task may not be
considered "value added" . So value at that throughput efficiency restrict the concept of work content to
only those tasks that are literally adding value to what ever is being processed

PROCESS BOTTLENECKS

Identifying bottlenecks in a process helps in addressing areas where congestion occurs due to workload
exceeding capacity. In other words, it is the most overloaded part of a process. And as such it will dictate
the rate at which the whole process can operate.

BALANCING WORK TIME ALLOCATION

Allocating work to process stages must respect the "precedence" of the individuals task that make up
the total work content of the job that the process is performing

ARRANGING THE STAGES

All the stages necessary to fulfill the requirements of the process may not be arranged in a sequential
"single line"

THE EFFECT OF PROCESS VARIABILITY

So far in our treatment of process design we have assumed that there is no significant variability either
in the demand to which the process is expected to respond, or in the time taken for the process to
perform its various activities. Clearly, this is not the case in reality. So, it is important to look at the
variability that can affect processes and take account of it.