Key Functions of Production Manager

The key functions of a production manager include taking important actions for maximum production, co-ordination to understand loopholes in the basic level process and employee concerns, motivating employees to achieve excellence, and linking management with employees to transfer concerns between both sides. Planning and organizing are also essential to ensure none collide and production happens smoothly.

Operations and
Management
Different approaches and their importance

Operation management
 Operation management is an
important aspect of any organization
as it determines good production
and proper service.
 Stable operation management helps
the organization to understand the
need of human resources.
 All the departments of an
organization such as finance,
accounts, human resource, legal and
marketing departments had to suffer
for non-functional operation
management (Subramanian and
Ramanathan 2012).

Theories of operations
management
 The three operations
management theory this
presentation will discuss are:
 Six sigma theory
 Queuing theory
 Lean production theory

Six Sigma theory
 It is one of the key theories including
methodological practices for process
improvement and customer satisfaction
 There are two methodologies in this theory
for process development, having five
sections.
DMAIC- mainly applied to improve existing
business processes.
 D-defining the project goals and problems
 M-measuring details of various aspects of
ongoing process
 A- analyzing root defects
 I-improving the current process
 C- controlling the future aspect of the
process (De Mast and Lokkerbol 2012)
DMADV- mainly applied to newer
processes
 D- Defining the process goals
 M- measuring critical components
and project capabilities
 A- analyze different designs and
pick the appropriate one.
 D- design the details of the process
 V- verify the designs by simulation
processes and then finalize (De
Mast and Lokkerbol 2012).

Lean production
 It is a management process that
focuses on cutting the waste and
enforcing quality to the product.
 It eliminates activities that do not
add valuation production to the
process.
 The processes that are scrutinized
are holding stocks, repairing faulty
products, extra employees and
product around the business
(Ballard and Tommelein 2012).
BENEFITS
 It helps to manage different
costs related to
• Over-production, excess
stocks
• Transport
• Defects
• Waiting time
• Motion (Ballard and Tommelein
2012)

Queuing theory
 Agner Krarup Erlang discovered
the theory while working in
Copenhagen telephone
exchange.
 It is a type of operations
research because these results
are generally used for making
decisions related to resources
needed for process and
production.
 Helps to take informed
business decisions and cost-
effective workflow (Vilaplana et
al. 2014).
BENEFITS
 The details of resources need
to set up workstations, need of
manpower and probable cost
can be understood.
 A scientific acknowledgement
of the problem can be
developed that uses different
facilities and reduces the total
waiting time (Vilaplana et al.
2014).

Operation management
approaches
 The three operation management
approaches this presentation will
discuss are :
 Principles of Total Quality
Management
 Just-in-Time Inventory
 The concept of continuous
improvement (Kaizen) (Singh and
Singh 2012)

Principles of Total Quality
Management
 This approach uses continuous feedback
approach for continuous development of
the process. The principles are:
 Focus on customer
 Employee involvement
 Process centered
 Integrated system
 Strategic and systematic approach
 Decision making (depending on facts)
 Communication
 Continuous improvement (Wang, Chen
and Chen 2012)
Application
 It helps to identify and complete the
needs of customers on priority basis.
 Helps to manage the employees by
providing them training, and using correct
planning for resources
 Evaluation of progress so that planning
for next development can be done.
 Helps to assess the customer satisfaction,
current trends and quality system of the
organization
 Formulate teams that will help to improve
the quality of the product (Wang, Chen
and Chen 2012)

Just-in-Time Inventory
 This inventory strategy helps to
reduce the cost of waste by
allowing the raw materials that
are important for the
production hence, leads to
enhance efficiency too.
 This allows the company to not
to hold safety stocks and
operate with low inventory
levels, thereby lowering the
risk of loss of cost
(Manavizadeh et al. 2013).
Application
 It helps the company to move
from one product manufacturing
to another easily as the run
time of one product is smaller in
this inventory process.
 It helps the organization by
eliminating cost related to
warehouse storage needs as the
company buys raw material
needed for the production of
limited cycle of products
(Manavizadeh et al. 2013).

The concept of continuous
improvement (Kaizen)
 This is a long-term approach to
continuous change process as it
seeks slow and incremental
changes in the process.
 It creates a purpose in the
organization so that the
employees can seek improvement
in production and service as well
as stay competitive in the market.
 The process it uses for continuous
improvement is awareness and
training sessions in organization
(Singh and Singh 2012).
Application
 This process can be applied in
lead manufacturing and
production units.
 Further it helps organizations
with decreased amount of
wastes, satisfying employees as
well as customers, improved
competitiveness in the market,
arranging problem solving
sessions and retention of
engaged stakeholders (Singh
and Singh 2012).

The importance and value of operations
management in achieving business
objectives
 It helps to take appropriate
strategic decisions to formulate
efficient decisions that further
helps in enhancing
competitiveness of the company.
 Tactical planning also increased as
officials are able to understand the
schedule for raw material delivery
and production.
 Leaders or managers are able to
take day-to-day decisions leads to
transform the shift from mass-
customization to strategic
manufacturing and production.

Different operations functions
 The operation functions this
presentation will discuss in the
light of operation management
are:
 Control and Distribution Systems
 Transformation of raw material
into finished goods/services
 Process design
 Transformation of raw material
into finished goods/services
 Capacity management (Heizer
2016).

Control and Distribution
Systems
 This is an computerized
distribution system that helps to
control a manufacturing plant
having maximum number of
control loops.
 It helps to increase the
productivity and reliability and
consequently decreases the
installation cost of big
manufacturing plants by critical
monitoring and strict supervision
(Ranamuka, Agalgaonkar and
Muttaqi 2014).
Application
 It is easily applicable in
manufacturing plant that produces
products in batch-wise manner.
 Nuclear power plants.
 Chemical factories
 Paper and pulp factories
 Sugar refining plants
 Agricultural application
 Pharmaceutical and food beverages
manufacturing units (Ranamuka,
Agalgaonkar and Muttaqi 2014).

Transformation of raw material
into finished goods/services
 This is the process where raw
material turns into finished
products while passing through
different processes and
provides the customers with
finished products.
 It is applied in every
manufacturing processes.
However, in supply chain
management system, it
provides the best result
(Janvier-James 2012).
Application
 It is applied in every
manufacturing process and
starting from raw material
manages up to the finished
products by providing the
machines and people the right
resource for right
manufacturing.
 It further helps by customizing
procedures so that the process
from raw material to finished
product becomes easier
(Janvier-James 2012).

Process design
 Process designing is a process
in operation function that helps
to design new facilities or helps
to upgrade the existing
facilities.
 The design stats with a simple
concept and after further
research and evaluation and
trials, it is included in the
process for the development
and construction of plants.
 It is different from the
equipment design plan (Weske
2012).
Application
 This approach is applied in the
manufacturing units to increase
the process yield, output rate
and purity.
 Further it helps to decrease the
capital cost, waste production
and maintenance cost and
environmental impact.
 It increases flexibility of
process, reliability, and
redundancy (Weske 2012).

Capacity management
 It is the function that
determines that employees are
able to match the company
demands in cost effective
manner.
 It helps to optimize the
performance of employees and
increase their efficiency to
justify the financial demand
(Durson and Kilic 2012).
Application
 It helps the company to
analyze its demand for quality
production.
 Helps the company to store its
data using computer hardware
and software.
 Helps to distribute the
workload related pressure
among employee equally
(Durson and Kilic 2012).

The role that leaders and
managers play
 Setting goals- the leaders using
these techniques set up achievable
goals (long and short-term).
 Organizing work- they organize
tasks so that resources can be
properly distributed for production.
 Take actions- their primary role is
to take important and necessary
actions for maximum production
 Co-ordination- co-ordination helps
them to understand the loopholes in
the basic level process and
employees concerns while running
production.
 Motivate- motivating and
influencing employees so that they
can achieve excellence for
themselves and the organization.
 Link management and
employees- they work as an
linkage between higher
management and employees and
transfers the concerns of both the
sides with responsibility.
 Planning and organizing-
planning and organizing functions
so that none collides and
production happens smoothly.

References
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 Manavizadeh, N., Hosseini, N.S., Rabbani, M. and Jolai, F., 2013. A Simulated Annealing algorithm for a mixed model assembly U-line balancing
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