Heath Case

Business in health industryProcess selection refers to the strategic decision of selecting which kind of production processes to use to produce a product or provide a service. For example, in the case of Toshiba notebook computers, if the volume is very low, we may just have a worker manu- ally assemble each computer by hand. In contrast, if the volume is higher, setting up an assembly line is appropriate. The formats by which a facility is arranged are defined by the general pattern of work flow; there are five basic structures (project, workcenter, manufacturing cell, assembly line, and continuous process). In a project layout, the product (by virtue of its bulk or weight) remains in a fixed lo- cation. Manufacturing equipment is moved to the product rather than vice versa. Construc- tion sites (houses and roads) and movie shooting lots are examples of this format. Items produced with this type of layout are typically managed using the project management techniques described in Chapter 2. Areas on the site will be designated for various pur- poses, such as material staging, subassembly construction, site access for heavy equip- ment, and a management area. A workcenter is where similar equipment or functions are grouped together, such as all drilling machines in one area and all stamping machines in another. A part being worked on then travels, according to the established sequence of operations, from workcenter to work- center, where the proper machines are located for each operation. This type of layout some- times is referred to as a job shop. A manufacturing cell is a dedicated area where products that are similar in processing requirements are produced. These cells are designed to perform a specific set of processes, and the cells are dedicated to a limited range of products. A firm may have many different cells in a production area, each set up to produce a single product or a similar group of products efficiently. These cells typically are scheduled to proProcess selection refers to the strategic decision of selecting which kind of production processes to use to produce a product or provide a service. For example, in the case of Toshiba notebook computers, if the volume is very low, we may just have a worker manu- ally assemble each computer by hand. In contrast, if the volume is higher, setting up an assembly line is appropriate. The formats by which a facility is arranged are defined by the general pattern of work flow; there are five basic structures (project, workcenter, manufacturing cell, assembly line, and continuous process). In a project layout, the product (by virtue of its bulk or weight) remains in a fixed lo- cation. Manufacturing equipment is moved to the product rather than vice versa. Construc- tion sites (houses and roads) and movie shooting lots are examples of this format. Items produced with this type of layout are typically managed using the project management techniques described in Chapter 2. Areas on the site will