Introduction to Operations Management

Explore process design and process mapping with plant layout to convert raw materials into finished products, selecting technology and material flow while planning orders and production.

Explore process mapping to visualize workflows, document tasks, and identify inefficiencies. Follow a six-step approach from determining the process to analyzing improvements and sharing the flow chart.

Learn to map processes with symbols like start/stop, process, and decision to visualize flow, identify bottlenecks, plan contingencies, and document responsibilities for clear communication.

Learn how to optimize facility layout by minimizing material handling, reducing bottlenecks, and balancing processes, with product, process, group, and fixed-position layouts for efficient production.

Explore principles of plant layout, including minimum movement, space utilization in three dimensions, and flexibility for future expansion, with close interdependence, safety, and economy driving operations.

Explore facility planning and layout construction by detailing data collection, blueprinting, process mapping, drafting, design improvement, and test runs, then evaluate material handling and flexibility.

apply the least cost method to build an initial feasible transportation solution by allocating from sources to retailers through the lowest-cost cells, gradually saturating demands.

Compute the optimal single facility location using the median based on the cumulative weight of existing plant coordinates to minimize cost and distance, yielding a site at (800, 500).

Decide when to deploy multi plants as demand grows, and use an ERP like SAP to plan materials, production, and scheduling across facilities with an APS for simulations.

Examine operations strategy, competitiveness, and productivity, including efficiency measurement and quality control, with five elements—production system, facilities, product or service, technology, and resources.

Explore five types of operations strategy—core competency strategies, corporate strategies, competitive strategy, product or service strategies, and customer driven strategy—and learn how each guides market positioning.

Assess competitors to protect market share and profitability by profiling rivals and comparing products and services. Gather information on competition from websites and market data to inform decisions.

Define productivity as the output-to-input ratio and measure work effectiveness, then explore external and internal factors, plus quantitative and qualitative drivers that improve it.

Understand total productivity calculation, total output divided by total input, and how it guides costs, decisions, and financial impact across factory and service contexts.

Explore the distinction between productivity and efficiency, learn to calculate efficiency against standard labor hours, and apply ratios like idle time, activity, and labor capacity to improve quality and output.

Explore the challenges of measuring productivity in service industries and learn practical ways to track performance through time use, customer satisfaction, and engagement.

Define and implement a quality control system to maintain the desired level of product or service quality. Measure variance and prevent defective items from reaching customers.

learn how capacity planning aligns scarce resources—machinery, staffing, and inventory management—with current and future demand, using resource, project, team, and air capacity planning, while assessing risk.

Master inventory management as an end-to-end process from ordering to selling, balancing supply and demand and avoiding excess with techniques like economic order quantity, ABC analysis, and just-in-time.

Improve inventory accuracy by tracking stock, location, and demand to reduce overselling and stockouts. Leverage organized warehouses, cost savings, vendor terms, and faster delivery to boost profits and customer satisfaction.

Master materials management by planning, organizing, and controlling material movement from warehouse to production lines to ensure on-time delivery, quality, and cost through five R's, MRP, purchasing, and inventory control.

Explore lean production systems and six sigma, focusing on waste elimination, cost reduction, and continuous improvement. Learn how involving employees drives efficiency and competitive advantage in manufacturing.

Learn to identify lean production wastes—overproduction, waiting, transport, stocks, motion, and defects—and apply time-based management, just-in-time, simultaneous engineering, cell production, kaizen, and quality improvement to cut waste.

Explore lean production principles—identify value from the customer, map the value stream, create flow, establish a pull system, and pursue perfection via continuous process improvement—for better quality and profits.

Explore six sigma, a data-driven quality improvement system that reduces defects to 3.4 per million, using the five Dmaic steps (define, measure, analyze, improve, control) to solve process problems.