Question

Logestics Management Ch7 "Just-in-time and the agile supply chain" Based on this chapter answer the following.

1. Discuss major types of Waste, companies has to keep in mind during production.

Answer 1

Just In Time: Just-in-Time production refers to the management process that allows the production when the company has the demand or orders from the customers. They will not produce goods just to keep in inventory or excess production is not allowed.

Agile Manufacturing: Agile manufacturing refers to the processes to reduce costs in production but provide quicker response to customer demand. It also helps in reducing waste during the production process of the goods.

Type of Waste in production: Waste refers to the various type of production processes that use resources but does not add any value for the company and the customer and reduces the profit for the company. There are so many wastes a company can keep in mind during production. These are explained in below heads,

a. Overproduction: Overproduction occurs when the produce items are not required by the client or the company. This is one of the most serious waste that can lead to another kind of wastes for the manufacturers. Due to overproduction, the level of extra inventory increases and it will increase the storage cost, handling costs, capital cost, etc for the manufacturers. In this process, more raw materials are used for productions without any requirements. produced goods will be spoiled when are not used on time. The reasons could be for overproduction are,

• Not clear customer requirements.
• Not a reliable process.
• Not proper forecast and demand information.
• Poor automation.

b. Defects: This is another kind of waste during the production process that could occur with any company. The defect will be not useful either for the customer or for the company. It can consume more raw materials, time, labor and will reduce machine utilization. There are various reasons for defects in the production process are,

• Not proper inventory level.
• Not proper quality control at the production level.
• Poor machine or equipment quality.
• Poor process standards.

c. Excess Motion: Excess or unnecessary motion in machinery or equipment could lead to tear and wear and low performance of the machines. Excell motion also increases unnecessary bending, stretching, walking, and other safety and health issues in the workers. The reason behind the excess motion could be,

• Poor layout of the workstation.
• Poor production standards.
• Machinery or equipment sharing in different processes.
• Poor production planning.

d. Transport: This is one of the other waste a production plant can face. Unnecessary transportation between operation and processes could result in high fuel and energy costs. Excessing movement and handling can result in damage and low quality of the products. There are various reasons behind transportation waste that are listed below,

• Multiple storage locations.
• Large distance between facilities.
• Poor design layout.

e. Excess Inventory: Excess inventory is also a kind of waste that is not useful in the near future but it needs holding and storage costs, using raw material in current time, and capital costs in the production. Excess inventory will occur due to overproduction, canceled customer orders, poor production planning, poor sales forecasting, etc.

f. Over Processing: Excess processing is one of the wastes that can affect negatively the organization in the production process. Providing excess quality or specification in the product that was not asked by the customer is a type of waste that is called over-processing. This could happen due to a lack of communication, not a clear understanding of the customer requirement.

g. Waiting: Waiting is one of the wastes that may happen in any production process. Waste happens when any production step is slow as compared to the projected time initially. Other reasons could be an excessive time in the movement of raw material, slower supply chain, any issue in machinery, not proper planning for the waiting in the production process. It is basically the opposite of the overproduction.