Work in process

Examples of Work in process in the following topics:

• Introduction to Mapping Waste-Elimination

  • For this reason, Walter Stahel and I both advocate creating a sustainability process map (also known as a process flow chart) to help lay a strong foundation before application begins.
  • Almost any production setup or work process in any organizational setting will benefit from being mapped. including service businesses, factory assembly lines, farms, offices, schools and food production.
  • Raw materials (including the amounts of whatever is needed to collect, process, and ship them),
  • Manufacturing processes (including manpower needs, material use, energy use, and waste creation),
  • Keep Miller's words in mind when mapping a work process.

• Process decisions

  • Repetitive processes are used to produce identical or very similar products in high volumes.
  • Equipment and labor are organized in a line flow arrangement to meet very specific customer or product processing requirements.
  • Efficiency is a key goal in repetitive process environments.
  • Intermittent processes are very flexible in meeting the individual requirements of different products or customers, but they tend to be very inefficient, with high amounts of waiting time, work in process inventories, and space requirements.
  • A cellular process arranges dissimilar machines and equipment together in a line that is dedicated to producing a specific family of products that have similar processing requirements.

• Processes

  • A process is defined as: (1) a series of progressive, interrelated steps or actions from which an end result is attained, or (2) a prescribed procedure or a method of conducting affairs.
  • Either way, processes form the belief systems, philosophies or thought patterns that constitute the work environments in which goods and services are manufactured (seen from this angle, a business process can also be referred to as a ‘business model' or ‘the way we do things around here').
  • Most practitioners agree that for any business process to function properly, total commitment from all involved is mandatory.
  • Success is also reliant upon a perfect fit between the process, its product, and the business's customers.

• The Sales Process

  • Reasons for having a well thought-out sales process include seller and buyer risk management, standardized customer interaction in sales, and scalable revenue generation.
  • Quality expert Joseph Juran observed, "There should be no reason our familiar principles of quality and process engineering would not work in the sales process. " A sales team's fundamental job is to move a greater number of larger deals through the sales process in less time.
  • Specific steps or stages in a sales process vary from company to company but generally include the following elements:
  • These steps of the sales process are given (pg. 66) and explained in one of the most influential sales textbooks written by Gregory A.
  • A solid sales process also has the dramatic impact of forecasting accuracy and predictability in revenue results.

• JIT manufacturing principles

  • They work in partnership with management and each other in the continuous pursuit of excellence.
  • Employees work together in problem-solving teams to gather data and build consensus on how to improve work processes.
  • Employees have cross-functional skill sets that allow them to be assigned to areas which need help, and to help them adopt a broader ("big picture") view of the production process.
  • Unlike a traditional "push" environment where line workers are relatively independent of one another in their work activities, JIT employees are connected by the "demand pull" discipline, where work is not produced unless the downstream work center needs it.
  • Managers are charged with hiring employees who can work in a proactive team environment, and provide the training and incentives to build a work culture that is focused on continuous improvement.

• Uniform plant loading, flexible resources, and line/cellular flow layouts

  • A JIT environment thrives on predictability in customer demand, production processes, suppliers, and workers.
  • Earlier in this chapter, we described the efficiencies that repetitive process layouts provide.
  • Workers tend to have specialized skills, work independently of other departments, and have little sense of "ownership" of the products they work on.
  • Workers in a cell environment tend to have a greater sense of ownership and pride in their work because they have a "big picture" view of the product as it is converted from raw material to a finished good.
  • This deeper understanding of the production process increases the opportunities for workers to contribute ideas for process improvements.

• Total Quality Management

  • In contrast, cell layouts promote JIT goals by featuring unidirectional product flows, high visibility, and fast throughput times.
  • Workers in a cell environment tend to have a greater sense of ownership and pride in their work because they have a "big picture" view of the product as it is converted from raw material to a finished good.
  • This deeper understanding of the production process increases the opportunities for workers to contribute ideas for process improvements.

• Internal equity

  • Some word processing duties.
  • In determining this, the manager should ask his or herself, "How does the work of the office assistant described above compare with the work of the office manager?"
  • In addition, determining the appropriate differential in pay for people performing different work is a key challenge.
  • In general, a typical job analysis attempts to describe the skill, effort, responsibility, and working conditions of each job.
  • The result of the job analysis and job evaluation processes will be a pay structure or queue, in which jobs are ordered by their value to the organization.

• Departmentalization Pros

  • Departmentalization refers to the grouping of process or purpose activities into departments.
  • As long as an enterprise belonged in an industry whose market, sources of raw materials, and production processes remained relatively unchanged, few entrepreneurial decisions have to be reached.
  • From a process prospective, a high degree of specialization can be very efficient in some instances and enable the development of highly centralized control functions.
  • Employees with similar training, education, skills, or equipment work together and under a supervisor responsible for that department's activities.
  • For instance, in a larger retail operation, one marketing department supervisor would control and coordinate the work of buyers, merchandizers, and the sales force so that information and activities of each function would be more efficient and productive.

• Remanufacturing (to as-good-as-new condition)

  • Remanufacturing to as-good-as-new condition is a three-step process whereby: (1) a used product is disassembled, (2) its parts are cleaned and repaired, and (3) the parts are reassembled to a sound working condition.
  • The term ‘sound working condition' is key because in some areas of the world, reassembled products made from used parts are considered new and come with the same guarantee and warranty as products made from virgin raw materials.
  • Conversely, in other regions, remanufactured (or refurbished) products must be labelled as such by law even if they carry the same warranty.