Process Design

• Process
– A group of related tasks with specific input and
outputs
• Design
– the act of working out the form of something (as
by making a sketch or outline or plan)

• Process design is the design of processes for

desired physical and/or chemical transformation of
materials.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Process_design_(chemical_engineering)
 Design of Design of Design of Design of
the Product the Process the Service the Process

In manufacturing operations In most service operations

overlapping the activities of the overlap between service
product and process design and process design is
is beneficial implicit in the nature of
service
Map the process of making tea
• For yourself / few family members
– Inputs / Outputs
– Process Steps
– Technology required
– Performance Indicators
• For guests in a party have 100+
members
 Classification of Production
System

Continuous
Production
Production/Operations

Mass
Volume

Production
Batch
Production
Job-Shop
Production

Output/Product Variety
 Jobbing processes

Very small quantities: ‘one-offs’, or only a few

required

Specially made: high variety, low repetition,

‘strangers’, every one ‘customized’

Skill requirements are usually very broad

Skilled jobber, or team, completes whole

product
 Batch processes

Higher volumes and lower variety than for

jobbing

Standard products, repeating demand. But can

make specials

Specialized, narrower skills

Set-ups (changeovers) at each stage of

production
 Mass (line) processes

Higher volumes than batch

Standard, repeat products (‘runners’)

Low and/or narrow skills

No set-ups, or almost instantaneous ones

 Continuous processes

Extremely high volumes and low variety:

often single product
Standard, repeat products (‘runners’)

Highly capital-intensive and automated

Few changeovers required

Difficult and expensive to start and stop the

process
 Different processes suit different levels of volume-variety

Process Process Variety Low Volume High

tasks flow
Diverse/ High
Intermittent
complex Jobbing

Batch

Line (or Mass)

Continuous
Repeated/ Continuous Low
divided
Process
Mapping
Map the process of making tea
• For yourself / few family members
– Inputs / Outputs
– Process Steps
– Technology required
– Performance Indicators
• For guests in a party have 100+
members
Process mapping symbols Process mapping symbols
derived from ‘Scientific derived from Systems Analysis
Management’

Operation (an activity Beginning or end of the

that directly adds value) process

Inspection (a check of Activity

some sort)
Input or output from the
Transport (a movement
process
of something)

Delay (a wait, e.g. for materials) Direction of flow

Storage (deliberate storage, Decision (exercising discretion)

as opposed to a delay)
Process Flowchart Symbols
Examples: Giving an admission
Tasks or operations ticket to a customer, installing a
engine in a car, etc.

Examples: How much change

Decision Points should be given to a customer,
which wrench should be used,
etc.

Storage areas or Examples: Sheds, lines of people

waiting for a service, etc.
queues

Flows of materials Examples: Customers moving to

the a seat, mechanic getting a
or customers
tool, etc.

Delay Examples: A wait (for materials)

 Example 1: Process flowchart of the
order filling process (by department)
CUSTOMER

100% Two
of credit scheduling Product and
Order Payment
checked within errors per invoice
generated sent
24 hours quarter received
Order

Payment
Order
SALES

Order
completed and
cancelled
submitted

Order cancellation
Order

New Yes Credit No

Order Payment
customer?
FINANCE

received check OK?

received

Yes Invoice Invoice

No prepared sent
Credit and
invoicing

Product packages
Notice of shipment
Order Inventory Production Items Order
entered adjusted scheduled `
manufactured stopped
PRODUCTION

Production Control
and Manufacturing

Packages
assembled and
inventoried Order Order
Order picked shipped
Assembly and
Shipping
Example 2: Process Chart for Emergency Room
Hospital Admissions

Step Time Distance Summary

No. (min) (ft)      Step Description
Number Time Distance
1 0.50 15.0 X Activity Enter emergency room, approach patient window
of Steps (min) (ft)
2 10.00 X Sit down and fill out patient history
3 0.75 40.0 X
Operation  5 to ER triage
Nurse escorts patient 23.00room
4 3.00 X Transport 
Nurse inspects injury
9 11.00 815
5 0.75 40.0 X Return to waiting room
6 1.00 Inspect
X  available2bed
Wait for 8.00
1.00 60.0 Go to ER bed
7 X Delay  3 8.00
8 4.00 X Wait for doctor
9 5.00 X Store inspects injury
Doctor ― and questions
― patient
10 2.00 200.0 X Nurse takes patient to radiology
11 3.00 X Technician x-rays patient
12 2.00 200.0 X Return to bed in ER
13 3.00 X Wait for doctor to return
14 2.00 X Doctor provides diagnosis and advice
15 1.00 60.0 X Return to emergency entrance area
16 4.00 X Check out
17 2.00 180.0 X Walk to pharmacy
18 4.00 X Pick up prescription
19 1.00 20.0 X Leave the building
 Example 3: Business Process Modelling Notation (BPMN)

• The Business Process Modelling Notation (BPMN) is the new standard to model business process
flows and web services.

• Created by the Business Process Management Initiative (BPMI), the first goal of BPMN is to provide a
notation that is readily understandable by all business users.

• This includes the business analysts that create the initial drafts of the processes to the technical
developers responsible for implementing the technology that will perform those processes.

Source: Owen, M. and Raj, J. (2003) BPMN and Business Process Management:
Introduction to the New Business Process Modelling Standard. Popkin Software
Flow process charts for processing expense reports
at Intel before and after improving the process
Description of activity
Description of activity
1 Report arrives
1 Report arrives
2 Wait for processing
2 Stamp and date report
3 Check expenses report 3 Check expenses report
4 Stamp and date report 4 Attach payment voucher
5 Send cash to receipt desk 5 Wait for batching
6 Wait for processing
6 Collect retorts into batch
7 Check advance payment Batch to audit desk
7
8 Send to accounts receivable
8 Wait for processing
9 Wait for processing 9 Check reports and vouchers
10 Check employee record 10 Reports to batch control
11 Send to account payable 11 Batch control number
12 Attach payment voucher
12 Copy of reports to filing
13 Log report
13 Reports filed
14 Check against rules 14 Payment voucher to keying
15 Wait for batching Confirm payment
15
16 Collect retorts into batch
17 Batch to audit desk Totals 5 5 2 2 1
18 Wait for processing
19 Batch of reports logged
20 Check payment voucher
21 Reports to batch control
22 Batch control number
23 Copy of reports to filing
24 Reports filed
25 Payment voucher to keying
26 Confirm payment
Totals 7 8 5 5 1
Let us map a simple process in Bizagi
 Process
Performance
Measures
 Process Performance Measures
Impact of performance objectives on process design
Operations
Performance Typical process design objectives Benefits of good process design
Objectives
Speed Minimum throughput time Short customer waiting time
Output rate appropriate for demand Lower WIP & inventory

Flexibility Provide a range of capabilities Process a wide range of products

Ability to change processes Ability to cope with change

Quality Provide appropriate resources On-specification products

Error-free processing Less recycling & waste

Dependability Provide dependable processes On time deliveries

Reliable processes Less disruption & rescheduling

Cost Appropriate capacity to meet demand Low processing cost

Eliminate process waste Low delays / inventory costs

© 2006 Prentice Hall, Inc. 1 – 111

 Process performance measures I

• Activity: One single task that is performed

• Process: Is any part of an organization that takes inputs and

transforms them into outputs (usually linked sequence of
activities)

• Setup Time: Time taken to changeover a process from one

activity to the next (e.g. Lean production emphasizes reducing
setup times using the Single Minute Exchange of Dies approach,
SMED)

• Run Time: Time that a resource is actually activated

• Utilization: Is the ratio of the time that a resource is actually

activated relative to the time that it is available for use
 Process performance measures II

• Work content = the total amount of work required to produce a

unit of output, usually measured in standard times.

• Throughput time = the time taken for a unit to move through a

process (= work in progress X cycle time)

• Throughput efficiency = work content x 100

throughput time

• Cycle time = the average time between units of output emerging

from a process.

• Work-In-Progress (WIP) = the number of units within a process

waiting to be processed further
 Little’s Law
• Little’s law is the mathematical relationship between throughput
time, work in process and cycle time.

• Little’s law is represented as the following equation:

Throughput time = work in process X cycle time
Where:

Throughput time = the time taken for a unit to move through the process

Work in process = the number of units within a process waiting to be

processed further (also called Work in progress).

Cycle time = the average time between units of output emerging from the process.
Process Analysis: Productivity Improvement
Productivity definition: “Productivity is the ratio of what is produced by
an operation to what is required to produce it.” (Slack et al., 201: 50).

Productivity = Output from the operation

Input to the operation

Single-factor productivity: Often partial measures of inputs or outputs are used to

enable comparisons (e.g. Number of cars produced per year per employee).
Single-factor productivity = Output from the operation
One input to the operation

Multi-factor productivity: Multi-factor productivity is the measure that includes all

input factors such as labour costs, materials costs, and overhead costs.
Multi-factor productivity = Output from the operation
All inputs to the operation
 Cycle Time Reduction
• Reduction of total time taken from start of the
production or service to its completion. It includes
processing time, move time, wait time, and
inspection time
• Benefits of cycle time reduction:
•Reduced costs
•Increased throughput
•Streamlined processes
•Improved communications
•Reduced process variability
•Schedule integrity
•Improved on-time delivery
 Process variability
The relationship between process utilization and number of units
waiting to be processed for variable arrival and activity times

(a) Decreasing variability allows higher (b) Managing process capacity

utilization without long waiting times and/or variability

Average number of units

Average number of units

waiting to be processed
waiting to be processed

High utilization
but long waiting
time
Decreasing Reduction in
process X100
variability variability
Short waiting
time but low
utilization

Y Z

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
Utilization Utilization
 Little’s law (a really quite useful law)

Throughput (TH) = Work in process (WIP) × Cycle time (CT)

Cycle time
= 2 minutes

WIP = 10
Throughput time = ?

Throughput time = 10 × 2 minutes

= 20 minutes
 Little’s law (a really quite useful law)

Throughput (TH) = Work in process (WIP) × Cycle time (CT)

500 exam scripts need to be marked in 5 days (working 7 hours a day).

It takes 1 hour to mark a script. How many markers are needed?

Throughput time = 5 days × 7 hours = 35 hours

35 hours = 500 scripts × Cycle time

Cycle time = 35 hours = 0.07 hours

500 scripts

Number of markers = Work content = 1 hour = 14.29

Cycle time 0.07
 Process
Improvement
 Process Mapping
• Process documentation
– 30000 feet view
– 500 foot view
– RACI chart
• For Process Improvement
– Aims/ Objectives
– Process Types
– Variation
– Waste
 Waste and its types
• TIMWOOD
– Transport
– Inventory
– Motion
– Waiting
– Over-processing
– Over-production
– Defects
Value adding activities
 Process Improvement
• Sequencing
• Variation
• Identify Waste (TIMWOOD)
• Value Adding Activities