MSC Advanced Industrial and Manufacturing Systems: Technological Educational Institute If Pireaus
MSC Advanced Industrial and Manufacturing Systems: Technological Educational Institute If Pireaus
MSC Advanced Industrial and Manufacturing Systems: Technological Educational Institute If Pireaus
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Table of contents
Abstract: ……………………………………………………………3
Chapter 1: Introduction………………………………………..........4
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Abstract
The present assignment focuses and analyses thoroughly by means of specific
examples, the basic characteristics of MRP II (Manufacturing Resources
Planning) and JIT (Just in Time) systems, as well as how the latter of the tow
(JIT systems) can be smoothly implemented in a company and function
harmoniously with the already introduced and applied MRP II systems.
Furthermore, JIT systems will be assessed as far as their contribution or not to
the overall enhancement of an enterprise’s competitiveness and reduction in a
firm’s wastes and expenses. In addition, certain reasons and various aspects
will be examined with a view to justifying the presence of a formal Materials
Management (MM) system within a company, along with a description of the
basics features of MM systems. The main benefits and assets of the MM
systems will also be mentioned in relation to the process of MM systems
implementation in a company. Last but not least, specific examples of
commercially current and available MM systems will be given, too.
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Chapter 1: Introduction
Manufacturing Resource Planning system (MRPII) was an evolution of
material requirement planning (MRP) systems and its appearance in the
1980s. MRPII systems make use of software applications for coordinating
manufacturing procedures which incorporate everything related to them from
product planning, purchasing aspects, and inventory control to product
distribution. MRPII includes all manufacturing resources and its fundamental
functions are considered to be those of financial modules, business plan,
detailed capacity planning, sales operation plan, resource planning, product
costing modules, engineering change management, and customer’s orders.
MRPII can be defined as a computer information system which integrates the
financial resource with the manufacturing process and ensures the
connections among all the forementioned functions existing with an
enterprise. When all these processes are tuned together harmoniously, then a
company can become more productive and as a result more competitive, too.
In general, MRPII systems are regarded as ‘push systems’, since the
production control focuses on the beginning of the production-line and the
whole schedule ’pushes’ work though operations from the beginning to end.
Just in time production systems (JIT) in the other hand, is defined more as
a term of a particular methodology and strategy within a firm, which is
applied with a view to reducing costs by means of a eliminating the so-called
‘in-process inventory’ level. JIT can be lead into great improvements, as far as
the quality and the efficiency of a company are concerned. Also, since the new
stock is ordered when it is only necessary for this to be done, there is no
overstocking of parts whatsoever. As a result, more space available can be
ensured in a company’s warehouse. JIT philosophy was first used by Henry
Ford in the Motor Company of his. Also, Toyota in Japan used JIT process
with very satisfactory results. All the information needed so as to apply JIT
systems, is exchanged between suppliers and clients via sophisticated
production scheduling software, EDI (Electronic Data Interchange). Despite
the elimination of stock existence or unsold finished products and time-save,
any mistakes should be avoided because production relies very much on
suppliers and if stock is not completed and delivered on time, the whole
production schedule can be delayed. In addition, any unexpected orders
cannot be met, since there is no spare available finished product. However JIT
is a very responsive method of production within an enterprise.
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Furthermore JIT is characterised as a ‘pull system’, and not a ‘push system’
as MRPII is characterised. This means that the production control focuses on
the end of the production-line and the schedule ‘pulls’ work through
operations from preceding operations. The only main disadvantage of JIT is
that manufacturers have to ensure that they have a sales forecast or reference,
so as to successfully cope with any possible fluctuations in sales demand. Last
but not least, JIT is a perfect execution system, which reduces inventory and
overhead, along with the fact that when it is used in conjunction with MRPII
system, the gap between planning and execution can be completely vanished,
since MRPII can be used for forecasting long-term supply needs and
production planning. In other words, the drawback of JIT can be ‘alleviated
and smoothed’ via MRPII systems.
REFERENCES
[1] (http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-just-in-time-manufacturing.htm
accessed, in 12/12/2010)
[3] (http://www.transtutors.com/homework-
help/Industrial+Management/Just+in+Time+Production+System/jit-
philosophy.aspx, accessed in 12/12/2010)
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Chapter 2:
When seen and examined at first, JIT and MRPII systems can be defined as
two totally different systems which follow the ‘pull’ and ‘push’ philosophy of
production, respectively as both of these were described above. However, JIT
and MRPII can work together in a very successful and beneficial way within a
company. They are two compatible systems, the performance of which can be
maximized and greatly leveraged when these two are used together. They
both aim at planning and controlling the vital features of material flow. In
other words what kind of material in which quantity flow and when. The
material flow is metaphorically speaking, the brain and the heart of a
manufacturing enterprise. Hence, by controlling and organising effectively
and successfully the material flow via the two management tools, MRPII and
JIT, the whole manufacturing system may succeed or fail. The hybrid
combination and total outcome of JIT and MRPII can lead to higher
superiority, excellence and quality as far as a company’s overall assessment
and performance are concerned. MRPII has the ability to plan in an effective
way all the resources existing within a firm, while JIT has the ability to reach
manufacturing perfectness through the incessant reduction of both waste and
due time. It becomes obvious that MRPII and JIT embody and comprise
certain assets and organizational benefits for a company’s welfare and
prosperity in the market, so if they are both applied and cooperated the best
possible outcome may be reached. There are many companies which have
implemented JIT concepts on the already existing MRPII sites, such as Nissan
Toyota and others. JIT’s two main primary aims are zero inventories and zero
waste. For the JIT philosophy, waste is defined as anything which adds cost
without adding value. Even though, zero inventories and zero waste are not
considered as achievable and feasible aims in what are called complex
manufacturing environments, they still remain and set a target. Practically
speaking, JIT main philosophy incorporates the avoidance of interrupted
‘work flow’, the elimination of material usage and stocking, the
synchronisation of manufacturing with sales and the adoption of what is
called ‘pull’ scheduling, which as mentioned before, focuses on the end of the
production line and ‘pulls’ work through operations from preceding ones. To
avoid interrupted work flow which JIT desires, set-up times need to be
minimised, quality has to be checked at the source and effective preventative
maintenance should take place with a view to eliminating machine
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breakdowns. All these may be applied via MRPII. Additionally, any necessary
equipment can be rearranged according to product flow by implementing
group technology and flexible manufacturing sells. In other words, JIT’s
philosophy and targets can come into practice when applying MRPII systems,
which provide JIT systems with the required tools and methods to make their
goals feasible.
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William Harley Davidson, Arthur Davidson, William Davidson and Walter
Davidson, at their yard 10 x 15 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The production was
three motorcycles in 1903 and increased to eight within the next five years. In
1969 AMF incorporated acquired Harley Davidson Motor Company and
expanded its capacity from 15,000 to 40,000 motorcycles. Harley Davidson
Incorporated was founded in 1981 when it was bought from AMF
Incorporated in a management buyout. In 1986, Harley Davidson
Incorporated became a publicly held company. It was then that the new
management installed a JIT inventory system to eliminate inventories and
enhance the overall quality of the production. Harley Davidson began to
focus on a new quality and started to invest greatly in both research and
development. In one year, the new perspective resulted in reducing the break-
even point by 18,000 motorcycles. The further improvements in the quality
had as result to increase in overall demand and an amazing production
number of 100,000 motorcycles in 1995. Its total net sales for the first nine
months of 1995 were $ 1.3 billion! Furthermore, by applying JIT inventory
principles with a view to eliminating inventories of raw materials and
working in process, the new systems provides the company with the ability to
deal more quickly with any engineering design alternations and
modifications. In addition, quality is continually improving and ensured by
fulfilling successfully the marketing demands within its manufacturing
facilities.
Suppliers also play an important role since they share the same desire and
commitment to quality and production efficiencies. Thus, superior quality is
the ultimate goal of both management and suppliers, without forgetting the
fact that the latter do have much bargaining power over the management of
Harley Davidson Company. Since there is always the risk of major
interruptions in the production line if a supplier fails to provide the required
materials or cease functions.
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production process similarity. In addition, Ford Auto empowered its
employees’ performance and participation in the total procedure of
production, which means division of problems solving and careful planning
along with adequate team work. All these elements increased the
productivity, flexibility and quality of the manufacturing process. Finally,
Ford Auto focused on specialised suppliers who improved the quality if the
final products in total. JIT was applied to produce Ford Ka. JIT fulfilled
successfully the target of 1,100 KA cars per day within only eight weeks since
the launch date in comparison to the fifteen weeks which were required for
Ford Fiesta. The main causes for wasting extra time were material handling,
assembly time and inbound logistic. Every part had to be continuously
handled by humans. This fact caused great perils of damages, as well as
misplacing and overall imperfection in quality, specifically as far as fragile
parts, such as airbags or instrument consoles are concerned. JIT system was
supported with sophisticated aerial tunnels which connected Ford with its
suppliers. This led to reduced production lead times, improved product
quality, eliminated handling and transportation costs. The brain of this
system is DAD (Direct Automated Delivery) which incorporated the whole
procedure as an extended manufacturing warehouse. DAD enables Ford Auto
with a scheduling system with a view to delivering all supplied components
right on time these are needed. Furthermore, DAD and tunnels integrate all
the manufacturing equipment, which means that every component is
delivered and at the same time is also installed with the main structure or
other parts in the Ford factory.
Before implementing JIT Ford Auto Company used to spend over $ 6million
for inadequate delivery system which included over 250 trucks per day. Not
to mention the fact many parts where often damage during their
transportation and packaging. JIT does not only offer great benefits such as
eliminating transport costs, but it also brings customers’ satisfaction and
responds immediately within shorter timeframes as far as market demands
are concerned. Only eight weeks needed to reach full production capacity and
more than $ 6 million was saved on an annual basis concerning transport. To
sum up, implementing a JIT system can lead to numerous benefits which
outnumber the drawbacks and can transform a company’s performance and
competitiveness as well as reducing its costs, especially when this company
produces a certain type of products. If the whole procedure is tuned via JIT
philosophy, the best quality product within the shortest time frame will be
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manufactured and delivered with minimum or even no wastage fulfilling any
customer’s expectations and demands.
REFERENCES
[1] (http://www.accessmylibrary.com/article-1G1-11716076/using-mrp-
system-implement.html, accessed in 16/12/2010)
[2] (file:///C:/Users/KOSTAS/Desktop/MASTER/EGASIA-ISM/JIT/1/C/1G1-
7514445.html, accessed in 16/12/2010)
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Chapter 3:
Materials Management Systems (MM) are considered to be a fundamental
and vital aspect and factor in project planning and control. They are
representative examples of the most basic and unavoidable costs in
construction industry. Hence, if a company reduces procurement expenses,
overall reduction in the total cost of products construction may likely arise in
significant cause for large and continuously unavoidable expenses throughout
the process of construction. The production for examples of refrigerators for
domestic use, involves to a great extent an adequate and very careful
materials management if the possible congregation of incessant costs wants to
be avoided. There is a wide variety of materials which are needed with a view
to constructing a fridge, as well as transportation, field storage and
installation of theirs, are concerned. From the very beginning of the planning
and scheduling stages of construction, certain decisions concerning the
materials management should be made for the benefit of the company in the
long run.
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projected demand of each material item from the existing available inventory
data. When the latter becomes too low, a new order is automatically
suggested. Having a materials requirement system installed, projects
managers are continuously informed and aware of any purchasing
requirements since the majority of the detailed record which is kept in these
systems, is automatised to the greatest extent. Moreover, there are three main
classifications of materials. These are bulk materials, standard off-the-shelf
materials and fabricated members or units. The first ones concern materials
while being in their natural or semi-processed state, the second ones refer to
standard piping and valves which are characteristic samples of standard off-
the-shelf materials and can easily be stockpiled making the delivery
procedure of theirs rather a simple one and the third ones include steel
beams, columns for buildings etc. which can be assembled even in a shop
providing that the required working conditions are available. Last but not
least, MM systems allow materials to be used by specialized craftsmen who
know how to handle its item and not by general labour. Therefore, electricians
handle the electrical materials for example, which contributes greatly to the
overall improvement, competitiveness and productivity of a company.
The present report aims to examine and analyse thoroughly the reason for
installing a materials management system (MM) in our company. Moreover,
the main benefits such as cost savings, efficiency gain and ease of
maintenance in the basic fields of the organisation and production of the
company, which will be arisen by the use of MM technology, are going to be
mentioned, too.
To begin with the reasons why install an MM system in this kind of company
are numerous and concern different aspects of organizational and structural
level. The company’s expansion the European Union’s marketplace is a
reason itself, since the implementation of a MM system will boost the
company’s productivity and as a result its competitiveness, too. More
specifically, the customer service will be more satisfactory and therefore, this
will result in greater demand. The potential for increasing sales could be
realised if lead times will improve, something which is feasible after installing
an MM system. Moreover, a more stable and managed master schedule will
be achieved, a fact that will make the schedule a more reliable one. In other
words, more clients will be attracted and persuaded to buy fridges. Instead of
wasting time on supervising time frameworks, this time may be used for
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further improvements as far as the total process of production is concerned.
Thus there will be a significant saving in both direct and indirect wastes. Also,
relevant research conducted in other similar firms, has shown that the
purchasing department can reach a 20% reduction in material costs within
three months in advance of requirements. Regarding the inventory field, an
MM system will eliminate all overdue items on the schedules themselves
which will reduce raw material and work in progress. The finished unit
inventory will be much better control and checked provided the fact that the
managed master production schedule is carried out by a sales and operation
plan. The result will be a gradual elimination in the slow moving stock in the
long run, something very satisfactory and beneficial for our company.
Furthermore, the costs of implementation and maintenance if compared with
the annual benefits will be insignificant ones, and will be even trivial after a
long period of time.
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great extent. As far as implementation and maintenance cost are concerned,
research has again shown that in comparison to the benefits, the latter
outnumber and outweigh the costs of implementation and maintenance
especially after some years have passed by.
The specific company which makes fridges for domestic usage is using an
MRPII (manufacturing Resource Planning) system. A Just In Time (JIT)
system, can be implemented with a view to tracking its stock and boost the
productivity and competitiveness of the company itself. MRPII can function
quite harmoniously with a JIT system as shown before. The most important
thing while choosing software is defining the relevant processed within your
company, along with determing functionality which is crucial and a critical
factor to your firm. Moreover, an appropriate software for this company is
software will help to achieve the original and primary aim implementing it.
That is to track the stock of the company. Except the field of functionality, the
factor usability must also be taken into consideration. Additionally, further
and more specified data and information must be collected by specialised
consultants either from the software vendors or yours. Moreover, any systems
implementation is always taking more time than it has primarily been
estimated and it usually costs more than it is expected. Another factor is the
people involved and the latter’s appropriate and adequate training too, since
no such system functions perfectly, without the human factor.
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accurately defining the demand, the supply chain, the manufacturing process
and the delivery chain. These sectors have to fit together collectively and
interactively once the implementation was taken place. However, it is vital to
keep in mind that incessant alterations and further improvements will
continuously take place after the implementation. Hence, reviewing and
monitoring the whole system after the implementation are two main things
which should be done. Consequently to the explanation of the company’s
goal to track its stock, enhance its competitiveness in the Europe market, the
number of production per month (300 units) and all the relevant information
about the staff, the cost production etc, the logistics of the JIT system must be
organised and carefully be designed. The major factors of wasted time are the
fundamental functions of purchasing, inventory management, distribution,
transportation and warehousing, interacting all these with the production
process lead to wasted time.
REFERENCES
[1] (http://newworkouts.org/222017/materials-management-from-pome-by-
gautam-koppala/, accessed in 18/12/2010)
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[3] (http://www.kos.co.za/mrp2.htm, accessed in 18/12/2010)
[6] (http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1038/is_n3_v36/ai_13183245/,
accessed in 18/12/2010)
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Chapter: 4
Material Management systems display various and multiple benefits when
introduced in a company. With regard to a survey-study which concerned
twenty construction sites certain advantages of MM systems were noted. A
comparison of two studies with and without having implemented a materials
management system showed a shift in productivity from 1.92 man-hours per
unit which was without an MM system to 1.14 man-hours per unit with MM
system. Moreover, warehouse expenses decreased 50% with the
implementation of an improved inventory which represents a saving of 22,000
euro as well as the interest charges for inventory which were also eliminated,
displaying a cash flow savings of 85,000 euro. The overall cost and
maintenance of such a system has proven to be beneficial when compared to
the total benefits that such a system can offer to a company concerning its
productivity in general and reducing major expenses. Additionally, cash flow
can be improved since a company does not have to provide a large storage
capacity with a view to storing the necessary materials. Except this materials
damage or waste can be prevented which as a consequence, results in not
having to buy new materials. Moreover, the purchase of the required
materials can take place gradually, for instance, firstly buy the quantity of
material for basement etc. another benefit of Materials Management is that it
reduces surplus generally speaking. In other words, it estimates the quantity
needed to eliminate material damage while it prevents the process of
purchasing any material which are not suitable to the constructions
conditions (e.g. weather, soil…etc.). Furthermore, since MM systems
encourage employees to fulfill the constructions process on due time, parallel
to gaining the finished construction structures of an excellent quality, then
MM systems improve the labour productivity too. Additionally, they plan,
organise and estimate the quantity of material which is going to be used, thus
gaining extra profit MM system reduce material wastage. All in all, when a
company adopts and implements an MM system, then it displays enhanced
construction planning and management, while it simultaneously improves its
overall productivity, performance and clients trust, transporting it into a more
systematic company.
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application used each time. Many applications of theirs include supply chain
management, sales, purchase orders, report writing, job tracking, invoicing
and other ERP/MRP software applications. The main functionality of an MM
system is to provide a means of tracking inventories, sustaining and
preserving product locations, suppliers, orders and so on. Certain modules
consist the main and most fundamental functionalities of MM systems which
provide a company with real-time effect to the accounting system and which
are the following: system management, security management, sales
management, quality assurance, raw material management, finished
inventory management, inventory production management, reports,
consumption based planning, external service management and information
systems.
REFERENCES
[1]
(http://www.slidefinder.net/b/benefits_material_management_sharifah_masz
ura/15071046, accessed in 22/12/2010)
[2] (http://www.elegantmicroweb.com/material_management_system.htm,
accessed in 22/12/2010)
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