Operations Management

Definition: Make or Buy Decision is a tactical decision-making technique wherein the business concerns choose between – Inhouse Manufacturing and Subcontracting. It is popularly known as the 'Outsourcing Decision'. In the key phrase, 'Make' signifies carrying out production within the firm. Whereas 'Buy' refers to outsourcing the complete product or its … [Read more...] about Make or Buy Decision

Definition: Capacity Planning is a systematic approach to determine the production capacity required to satisfy current and future business requirements. In operations management, it deals with the planning and control of capacity in production units. The production process is made up of several components that possess some kind of capacity. Thus, organizations strategically … [Read more...] about Capacity Planning

Definition: Poka-Yoke is a mechanism applied to any process to prevent human mistakes in manufacturing units. It is a part of lean manufacturing systems that helps in preventing mistakes as and when they occur. This concept is given by an industrial engineer named 'Shigeo Shingo' at Toyota Production Systems in Japan. It was first named 'Baka-Yoke', which means … [Read more...] about Poka Yoke

Definition: Production Planning and Control or PPC is a managerial function that integrates and coordinates the production processes to accomplish predetermined objectives. It establishes schedules to plan the entire production and assure efficiency in processes and resources. Basically, it determines: The requirement of the production facilities. Accommodation of … [Read more...] about Production Planning and Control

Definition: The Material Requirements Planning or MRP is a subset of the Inventory Control System. It determines the exact quantity of dependent demand items required for production as specified in the Master Production Schedule (MPS). Where Dependent Demand Items include components of the final product and its sub-assemblies. The information about these items is obtained … [Read more...] about Material Requirements Planning

Definition: The Master Production Schedule (MPS) is the master level product-wise schedule made for the individual end-products or sub-parts of the products in order to get detailed information about the overall manufacturing. Moreover, we can also understand it as the Disaggregation of the Aggregate plan. As it creates separate schedules for every single item of the … [Read more...] about Master Production Schedule

Definition: Just-in-Time (JIT) Manufacturing is a philosophy that focuses on achieving Complete Waste Elimination, Inventory Reduction and Streamlined Processes in business operations. It is one of the successful tools for Production Planning and Control. Also, it inculcates the elements of Total Quality Management, Production Scheduling and Lean Management. However, … [Read more...] about Just-in-Time Manufacturing

Definition: Total Quality Management (TQM) is a modern production tool that is focused on providing premium consumer satisfaction through constant improvement in the organization's processes. In simple words, TQM is serving customers at their best by maintaining quality at each organizational level.   The total in TQM refers to all the activities undertaken … [Read more...] about Total Quality Management

Definition: Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) is a lean maintenance concept that maximizes effectiveness by continuous maintenance and improvements in the equipment. It is a combined effort made by the entire organization. TPM develop a maintenance-free framework by identifying the losses and eliminating them. It will lead to a considerable decrement in the maintenance … [Read more...] about Total Productive Maintenance

Definition: Maintenance Planning is a controlling function that formulates strategies to keep the Capacities and Facilities as per intended working conditions up to their useful life. It helps Minimize Costs, achieves Higher Production Efficiency, and reduces Ideal Time. The manufacturing units produce final products using their resources and assets. These assets are the … [Read more...] about Maintenance Planning