Planning at High Performance Pumps Introduction High Performance Pumps is a small, successful manufacturing organization that specializes in manufacturing a range of pumps. This success is due to the performance, quality and reliability of the product and the excellent back-up service. The pumps range in size from 075 mm to larger pumps. The smaller pumps are manufactured in batches of 100 and the large specials in batches of five. However, regardless of size, all pumps use the same manufacturing processes. Manufacturing processes and planning There is a major common component for all pumps and this is a camshaft. The size of the camshaft varies according to the size of the pump. The process skills involved in the camshaft manufacture are highly developed and considered cost-effective compared with competitors. In fact, one of the areas of expansion is the design and manufacture of camshafts for other companies for their products, with camshaft production increasing by 400 per cent in the last 6 years. Nearly all of this increase was for customized products in a wide range of volumes. However, regardless of the production volume, all camshafts are produced according to the same process plan and machine routing. Design and manufacture Although business had significantly increased over the last 6 years, there are some significant problems within manufacturing. The most noticeable of these is the high WIP, which has tripled during the 6 years. However, there was another major problem with regards to product costs. Product design had initiated a value analysis program to reduce the cost of standard products by 10 per cent. This initiative resulted in a number of design changes. Manufacturing blamed the introduction of design modifications, in conjunction with the overall increase in product variety and drop in volume, for the problems. However, product design refused to accept any of the blame for the poor performance of manufacturing and suggested that the problem was with the poor manufacturing planning and control system. There are further problems with the method of product costing. There is a lack of detailed information on component costs and process costs, therefore, due to the use of common processes across the various product ranges, a 'blanket' overhead rate is used. This meant that the customized products were costed using standard cost data. Finally, the cycle times and lead times being used were very often inaccurate. An example of this is that the planners are using lead-times of 1-2 weeks for small pumps when they are actually nearer to 6 weeks. Summary The company had already invested in new processing equipment to cope with the increase in demand. This had meant re-organizing the shop floor which had in fact reduced the floor space for assembly. However, it was clear that further re-organization was required. This, in turn would require a further detailed investigation to determine the appropriate course of action. Discussion points 1. What kind of manufacturing environment do you think is employed at High Precision Pumps, based on the knowledge of processes and skills? 2. How are the changes in demand affecting the manufacturing environment? 3. What kind of approach is being taken to the process planning? Comment on the appropriateness of this approach. 4. What level of detail would you expect to see in the process planning documentation for this company? 5. How much do you think the design modifications have contributed to the problems of manufacturing? 6. What kind of role does the industrial engineering function play in the organization? 7. What kind of further changes require to be made to solve the problems encountered at High Precision Pumps?
Case study: Planning at High Performance Pumps Introduction High Performance Pumps is a small, successful manufacturing organization that specializes in manufacturing a range of pumps. This success is due to the performance, quality and reliability of the product and the excellent back-up service. The pumps range in size from 075 mm to larger pumps. The smaller pumps are manufactured in batches of 100 and the large specials in batches of five. However, regardless of size, all pumps use the same manufacturing processes. Manufacturing processes and planning There is a major common component for all pumps and this is a camshaft. The size of the camshaft varies according to the size of the pump. The process skills involved in the camshaft manufacture are highly developed and considered cost-effective compared with competitors. In fact, one of the areas of expansion is the design and manufacture of camshafts for other companies for their products, with camshaft production increasing by 400 per cent in the last 6 years. Nearly all of this increase was for customized products in a wide range of volumes. However, regardless of the production volume, all camshafts are produced according to the same process plan and machine routing. Design and manufacture Although business had significantly increased over the last 6 years, there are some significant problems within manufacturing. The most noticeable of these is the high WIP, which has tripled during the 6 years. However, there was another major problem with regards to product costs. Product design had initiated a value analysis program to reduce the
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