MAINTENANCE MANAGEMENT

INTRODUCTION AND MEANING

Past and current maintenance practices in both the private and Government sectors would imply that
maintenance is the actions associated with equipment repair after it is broken. The dictionary defines
maintenance as “the work of keeping something in proper condition, upkeep.” This would imply that
maintenance should be actions taken to prevent a device or component from failing or to repair normal
equipment degradation experienced with the operation of the device to keep it in proper working order.
Data obtained in many studies over the past decade indicates that most private and Government facilities
do not expend the necessary resources to maintain equipment in proper working order. They wait for
equipment failure to occur and then take whatever actions are necessary to repair or replace the
equipment. Nothing lasts forever and all equipment has associated with it some predefined life
expectancy or operational life.

OBJECTIVES OF MAINTENANCE
Pieces of equipment are an important resource which is constantly used for adding value to products. So,
it must be kept at the best operating condition. Otherwise, there will be excessive downtime and also
interruption of production if it is used in a mass production line. Hence, we need an integrated approach
to minimize the cost of maintenance. In certain cases, the equipment will be obsolete over a period of
time. If a firm wants to be in the same business competitively, it has to take decision on whether to
replace the equipment or to retain the old equipment by taking the cost of maintenance and operation into
account.

TYPES OF MAINTENANCE
The design life of most equipment requires periodic maintenance. Belts need adjustment, alignment
needs to be maintained, proper lubrication on rotating equipment is required, and so on. In some cases,
certain components need replacement, e.g., a wheel bearing on a motor vehicle, to ensure the main piece
of equipment (in this case a car) last for its design life. Different approaches have been developed to
know how maintenance can be performed to ensure equipment reaches or exceeds its design life. In
addition to waiting for a piece of equipment to fail (reactive maintenance)the other approaches are
preventive maintenance, predictive maintenance, or reliability centered maintenance.

Breakdown (Reactive) Maintenance

Breakdown maintenance is basically the ‘run it till it breaks’ maintenance mode. No actions or efforts are
taken to maintain the equipment as the designer originally intended to ensure design life is reached.
Studies as recent indicate that, this is still the predominant mode of maintenance. Advantages to
breakdown maintenance can be viewed as a double-edged sword. If we are dealing with new equipment,
we can expect minimal incidents of failure. If our maintenance program is purely reactive, we will not
expend manpower or incur capital cost until something breaks. Since we do not see any associated
maintenance cost, we could view this period as saving money. In reality, during the time we believe we
are saving maintenance and capital cost, we are really spending more money than we would have under a
different maintenance approach. We are spending more money associated with capital cost because,
while waiting for the equipment to break, we are shortening the life of the equipment resulting in more
frequent replacement. We may incur cost upon failure of the primary device associated with its failure
causing the failure of a secondary device. This is an increased cost we would not have experienced if our
maintenance program was more proactive.
Our labour cost associated with repair will probably be higher than normal because the failure will most
likely require more extensive repairs than would have been required if the piece of equipment had not
been run to failure. Chances are the piece of equipment will fail during off hours or close to the end of the
normal workday. If it is a critical piece of equipment that needs to be back on-line quickly, we will have
to pay maintenance overtime cost. Since we expect to run equipment to failure, we will require a large
ME 581 Lecture Notes pg. 1
material inventory of repair parts. This is a cost we could minimize under a different maintenance
strategy.
Advantages
1. Involves low cost investment for maintenance.
2. Less staff is required.
Disadvantages
1. Increased cost due to unplanned downtime of equipment.
2. Increased labour cost, especially if overtime is needed.
3. Cost involved with repair or replacement of equipment.
4. Possible secondary equipment or process damage from equipment failure.
5. Inefficient use of staff resources.

Preventive Maintenance
Preventive maintenance can be defined as, “Actions performed on a time or machine-run-based schedule
that detect, preclude, or mitigate degradation of a component or system with the aim of sustaining or
extending its useful life through controlling degradation to an acceptable level.”Preventive maintenance
is a means to increase the reliability of their equipment. By simply expending the necessary resources to
conduct maintenance activities intended by the equipment designer, equipment life is extended and its
reliability is increased. In addition to an increase in reliability, lot of amount will be saved over that of a
program just using reactive maintenance. Studies indicate that this savings can amount to as much as
12% to 18% on the average.
Advantages
1. Cost effective in many capital intensive processes.
2. Flexibility allows for the adjustment of maintenance periodicity.
3. Increased component life cycle.
4. Energy savings.
5. Reduced equipment or process failure.
6. Estimated 12% to 18% cost savings over reactive maintenance program.
Disadvantages
1. Catastrophic failures still likely to occur.
2. Labour intensive.
3. Includes performance of unneeded maintenance.
4. Potential for incidental damage to components in conducting unneeded maintenance.

Depending on the facilities current maintenance practices, present equipment reliability, and facility
downtime, there is little doubt that many facilities purely reliant on reactive maintenance could save
much more than 18% by instituting a proper preventive maintenance program. While preventive
maintenance is not the optimum maintenance program, it does have several advantages over that of a
purely reactive program. By performing the preventive maintenance as the equipment designer
envisioned, we will extend the life of the equipment closer to design. This translates into savings.
Preventive maintenance (lubrication, filter change, etc.) will generally run the equipment more efficiently
resulting in dollar savings. While we will not prevent equipment catastrophic failures, we will decrease
the number of failures. Minimizing failures translate into maintenance and capital cost savings.

Predictive Maintenance
Predictive maintenance can be defined as “Measurements that detect the onset of a degradation
mechanism, thereby allowing causal stressors to be eliminated or controlled prior to any significant
deterioration in the component physical state. Results indicate current and future functional capability”.
Basically, predictive maintenance differs from preventive maintenance by basing maintenance need on
the actual condition of the machine rather than on some preset schedule. Preventive maintenance is time-
based. Activities such as changing lubricant are based on time, like calendar time or equipment run time.
ME 581 Lecture Notes pg. 2
For example, most people change the oil in their vehicles every 3,000to 5,000 miles travelled. This is
effectively basing the oil change needs on equipment run time. No concern is given to the actual
condition and performance capability of the oil. It is changed because it is time. This methodology would
be analogous to a preventive maintenance task. If, on the other hand, the operator of the car discounted
the vehicle run time and had the oil analyzed at some periodicity to determine its actual condition and
lubrication properties, he may be able to extend the oil change until the vehicle had travelled 10,000
miles. This is the fundamental difference between predictive maintenance and preventive maintenance,
whereby predictive maintenance is used to define needed maintenance task based on quantified
material/equipment condition. There are many advantages of predictive maintenance. A well-orchestrated
predictive maintenance program will eliminate catastrophic equipment failures. Schedule of maintenance
activities can be made to minimize or delete overtime cost. It is possible to minimize inventory and order
parts, as required, well ahead of time to support the downstream maintenance needs and optimize the
operation of the equipment, saving energy cost and increasing plant reliability. Past studies have
estimated that a properly functioning predictive maintenance program can provide a savings of 8% to
12% over a program utilizing preventive maintenance alone. Depending on a facility’s reliance on
reactive maintenance and material condition, it could easily recognize savings opportunities exceeding
30% to 40%. Independent surveys indicate the following industrial average savings resultant from
initiation of a functional predictive maintenance program:
1. Return on investment—10 times
2. Reduction in maintenance costs—25% to 30%
3. Elimination of breakdowns—70% to 75%
4. Reduction in downtime—35% to 45%
5. Increase in production—20% to 25%.

Advantages
1. Increased component operational life/availability.
2. Allows for pre-emptive corrective actions.
3. Decrease in equipment or process downtime.
4. Decrease in costs for parts and labour.
5. Better product quality.
6. Improved worker and environmental safety.
7. Improved worker moral.
8. Energy savings.
9. Estimated 8% to 12% cost savings over preventive maintenance program.
Disadvantages
1. Increased investment in diagnostic equipment.
2. Increased investment in staff training.
3. Savings potential not readily seen by management.

Concept of Reliability in Maintenance

Reliability is the probability of survival under a given operating environment. For example, the time
between consecutive failures of a refrigerator where continuous working is required is a measure of its
reliability. If this time is more, the product is said to have high reliability. In a textile mill, generally the
light is maintained at a minimum specified level. To achieve this, let us assume that there are 100 bulbs
in use and the guaranteed life time of these bulbs is 5000 hours. If we collect statistics about the number
of bulbs survived till 5000 hours, we can compute the reliability of the bulbs. In this case, Number of
bulbs survived till the specified time limit: Reliability = Failure rate =Number of bulbs used If the
number of bulbs that survived till 5000 hours is 80, then we can say that the reliability is0.8 (i.e., 80/100)
The reliability of railway signaling system, aircraft, and power plant are some of the interesting examples
for demonstrating the reliability concept. In these cases, a failure will lead to heavy penalty.

ME 581 Lecture Notes pg. 3

The concept of reliability can be matched with systems concept. Generally, products/equipment will have
many components which may function with serial relationship or parallel relationship. So, the individual
component’s reliability affects the reliability of the product. Hence, enough attention must be given at the
design, stage such that the product’s reliability is maximized. The cost of maintenance is also to be
considered along with the reliability while improving it.

Reliability Improvement
The reliability of a system/product depends on many factors. So, we should concentrate at the
grassroot level to improve product’s reliability.
Some of the ways of improving systems reliability are listed below:
_ Improved design of components
_ Simplification of product structure
_ Usage of better production equipment
_ Better quality standards
_ Better testing standards
_ Sufficient number of standby units
_ Usage of preventive maintenance if necessary at appropriate time.

MAINTENANCE PLANNING
Planning of maintenance jobs basically deals with answering two questions, ‘what’ and ‘How’ of the job;
‘what activities are to be done?’ and ‘how those jobs and activities are to be done?’ While answering
these two questions, other supplementary questions are to be answered, e.g., ‘where the jobs is to be
done?’ and ‘why the job is to be done?’ etc., but all these will be helping in developing ‘what’ and ‘how’
of the job. It is very essential that engineering knowledge must be applied extensively to maintenance
jobs for development of appropriate job plans using most suited techniques, tools materials and special
facilities etc. As the job planning forms the basic foundations, over which the efficiency and cost of
actions depends, persons responsible for job planning should have adequate capabilities, such as,
knowledge about jobs and available techniques, facilities and resources, analytical ability, conceptual
logical ability and judgmental courage etc.
Steps of Job Planning
The main steps to be followed for proper job planning are:
1. Knowledge base: It includes knowledge about equipment, job, available techniques, materials and
facilities.
2. Job investigation at site: It gives a clear perception of the total jobs.
3. Identify and document the work: Knowing the earlier two steps and knowing the needs of
preventive, predictive and other maintenance jobs.
4. Development of repair plan: Preparation of step by step procedures which would accomplish the
work with the most economical use of time, manpower and material.
5. Preparation tools and facilities list indicating the needs of special tools, tackles and facilities needed.
6. Estimation of time required to do the job with work measurement technique and critical path
analysis.

MAINTENANCE SCHEDULING
Scheduling is the function of coordinating all of the logistical issue around the issues regarding the
execution phase of the work. Scheduled of maintenance jobs basically deals with answering two
questions—‘Who’ and ‘When’ of job, i.e., “who would do the job” and “when the job would be started
and done”. Effective scheduling essentially needs realistic thinking, based on substantial data and
records. Majority of scheduling work needs to occur in areas such as overhead labour hours safety and
toolbox meetings, break times and training times etc. Addition of corrective and approved improvement
actions as dictated by the prioritization system and operations plan etc.

ME 581 Lecture Notes pg. 4

Requirements for Schedulers
A scheduler should also have knowledge about job, techniques, facilities, analytical ability and
judgmental courage. The scheduler must obtain knowledge/information about following ability and
judgmental courage. The scheduler must obtain information about following facts, before starting his job:
1. Manpower availability by trade, location, shift, crew arrangement and permissible overtime
limit etc.
2. Man hour back log on current or unfinished jobs.
3. Availability of the equipment or area where the work has to be performed.
4. Availability of proper tools, tackles, spares, consumables, structural and other required materials.
5. Availability of external manpower and their capabilities; these may be from other shops/departments
of the plant or from contractors (local, nearby, ancillary etc).
6. Availability of special equipment, jigs/fixtures, special lifting and handling facilities and cranes etc.
This should also include labour and time saving devices like pneumatic hammers and excavators etc.
7. Starting date of the job; also often completion time of total job is predetermined and, in that case,
resources are to be arranged accordingly.
8. Past schedules and charts (updated) if the same job has been done earlier, etc.

MAINTENANCE SCHEDULE TECHNIQUES

Different types of schedules are made suiting the respective job plans and different techniques
are used for making and following those schedules. The first step of all scheduling is to break the job into
small measurable elements, called activities and to arrange them in logical sequences considering the
preceding, concurrent and succeeding activities so that a succeeding activity should follow preceding
activities and concurrent activities can start together. Arranging these activities in different fashion makes
different types of schedules. They areas follows:
1. Weekly general schedule is made to provide weeks worth of work for each employee in an area.
2. Daily schedule is developed to provide a day’s work for each maintenance employee of the area.
3. Gantt charts are used to represent the timings of tasks required to complete a project.
4. Bar charts used for technical analysis which represents the relative magnitude of the values.
5. PERT/CPM are used to find the time required for completion of the job and helps in the allocation of
resources.

Modern Scientific Maintenance Methods

Reliability centered maintenance: Reliability centered maintenance (RCM) is defined as “a process
used to determine the maintenance requirements of any physical asset in its operating
context”. Basically, RCM methodology deals with some key issues not dealt with by other maintenance
programs. It recognizes that all equipment in a facility is not of equal importance to either the process or
facility safety. It recognizes that equipment design and operation differs and that different equipment will
have a higher probability to undergo failures from different degradation mechanisms than others. It also
approaches the structuring of a maintenance program recognizing that a facility does not have unlimited
financial and personnel resources and that the use of both need to be prioritized and optimized. In a
nutshell, RCM is a systematic approach to evaluate a facility’s equipment and resources to best mate the
two and result in a high degree of facility reliability and [Link] is highly reliant on
predictive maintenance but also recognizes that maintenance
activities on equipment that is inexpensive and unimportant to facility reliability may best be left to a
reactive maintenance approach. The following maintenance program breakdowns of continually top-
performing facilities would echo the RCM approach to utilize all available maintenance approaches with
the predominant methodology being predictive.
_ <10% Reactive
_ 25% to 35% Preventive
_ 45% to 55% Predictive.

ME 581 Lecture Notes pg. 5

Because RCM is so heavily weighted in utilization of predictive maintenance technologies, its program
advantages and disadvantages mirror those of predictive maintenance. In addition to
these advantages, RCM will allow a facility to more closely match resources to needs while improving
reliability and decreasing cost.
Advantages
(a) Can be the most efficient maintenance program.
(b) Lower costs by eliminating unnecessary maintenance or overhauls.
(c) Minimize frequency of overhauls.
(d) Reduced probability of sudden equipment failures.
(e) Able to focus maintenance activities on critical components.
(f) Increased component reliability.
(g) Incorporates root cause analysis.
Disadvantages
(a) Can have significant startup cost, training, equipment, etc.
(b) Savings potential not readily seen by management.
How to Initiate Reliability Centered Maintenance?
The road from a purely reactive program to a RCM program is not an easy one. The following is a list of
some basic steps that will help to get moving down this path.
1. Develop a master equipment list identifying the equipment in your facility.
2. Prioritize the listed components based on importance to process.
3. Assign components into logical groupings.
4. Determine the type and number of maintenance activities required and periodicity using:
_ Manufacturer technical manuals
_ Machinery history
_ Root cause analysis findings—Why did it fail?
_ Good engineering judgment
5. Assess the size of maintenance staff.
6. Identify tasks that may be performed by operations maintenance personnel.
7. Analyze equipment failure modes and effects.
8. Identify effective maintenance tasks or mitigation strategies.

Six Sigma Maintenance

It is the application of six sigma principles in maintenance. Six sigma is a maintenance process that
focuses on reducing the variation in business production processes. By reducing variation, a business can
achieve tighter control over its operational systems, increasing their cost effectiveness and encouraging
productivity breakthrough. Six sigma is a term created at Motorola to describe the goal and process used
to achieve breakthrough levels of quality improvement. Sigma is the Greek symbol used by statisticians
to refer to the six standard deviations. The term six sigma refers to a measure of process variation(six
standard deviations) that translates into an error or defect rate of 3.4 parts per million. To achieve quality
performance of six sigma level, special sets of quality improvement methodologies and statistical tools
developed. These improvement methods and statistical tools are taught to a small group of workmen
known as six sigma champions who are assigned full-time responsibility to define, measure, analyze,
improve and control process quality. They also facilitate the improvement process by removing the
organizational roadblocks encountered. Six sigma methodologies improve any existing business process
by constantly reviewing and re-tuning the process. To achieve this, six sigma uses a methodology known
as DMAIC (Define opportunities, Measure performance, Analyze opportunity, Improve performance,
Control performance). This six sigma process is also called DMAIC process. Six sigma relies heavily on
statistical techniques to reduce failures and it incorporates the basic principles and techniques used in
Business, Statistics, and Engineering. Six sigma methodologies can also be used to create a brand new
business process from ground up using design for six sigma principles.

ME 581 Lecture Notes pg. 6

SIX SIGMA MAINTENANCE PROCESS
The steps of six sigma maintenance are same as DMAIC process. To apply six sigma in maintenance, the
work groups that have a good understanding of preventive maintenance techniques in addition to a strong
leadership commitment. Six sigma helps in two principal inputs to the maintenance cost equation:
Reduce or eliminate the need to do maintenance (reliability of equipment),and improve the effectiveness
of the resources needed to accomplish maintenance. Following are the steps involved in six sigma
maintenance process.
Define
This step involves determining benchmarks, determining availability and reliability requirements,
getting customer commitments and mapping the flow process.
Measure
This step involves development of failure measurement techniques and tools, data collection
process, compilation and display of data.
Analysis
This step involves checking and verifying the data and drawing conclusions from data. It also
involves determining improvement opportunities, finding root causes and map causes.
Improve
This step involves creating model equipment and maintenance process, total maintenance
plan and schedule and implementing those plans and schedule.
Control
This step involves monitoring the improved program. Monitor improves performance and
assesses effectiveness and will make necessary adjustments for the deviation if exists.

Enterprise Asset Management (EAM)

Enterprise asset management is an information management system that connects all departments and
disciplines within a company making them an integrated unit. EAM is also referred as computerized
maintenance management system. It is the organized and systematic tracking of an organization’s
physical assets i.e., its plant, equipment and facilities. EAM aims at best utilization of its physical assets.
It ensures generation of quality data and timely flow of required data throughout the organization. EAM
reduces paper work, improves the quality, quantity and timeliness of the information and provides
information to technicians at the point of performance and gives workers access to job specific
information at the work site.

Lean Maintenance
Lean maintenance is the application of lean principle in maintenance environments. Lean system
recognizes seven forms of waste in maintenance. They are over production, waiting, transportation,
process waste, inventory, waste motion and defects. In lean maintenance, these wastes are identified and
efforts are made for the continuous improvement in process by eliminating the wastes. Thus, lean
maintenance leads to maximize yield, productivity and profitability. Lean maintenance is basically
equipment reliability focused and reduces need for maintenance troubleshooting and repairs. Lean
maintenance protects equipment and system from the route causes of malfunctions, failures and
downtime stress. From the sources of waste uptime can be improved and cost can be lowered for
maintenance.

Computer Aided Maintenance

For effective discharge of the maintenance function, a well-designed information system is an essential
tool. Such systems serve as effective decision support tools in the maintenance planning and execution.
For optimal maintenance scheduling, large volume of data pertaining to men, money and equipment is
required to be handled. This is a difficult task to be performed manually. For a planned and advanced
maintenance system use of computers is essential. Here programs are prepared to have an available inputs
ME 581 Lecture Notes pg. 7
processed by the computer. Such a computer-based system can be used as and when required for
effective performance of the maintenance tasks. There are wide varieties of software package available in
the market for different types of maintenance systems. A computerized maintenance system includes the
following aspects:
_ Development of a database
_ Analysis of past records if available
_ Development of maintenance schedules
_ Availability of maintenance materials
_ Feedback control system
_ Project management.
Following are some computer-based maintenance systems which can be implemented:
Job card system: It is essential to prepare a job card for each component to record the maintenance work
carried out or the work to be done. Job card shows the plant code, equipment code, the job code, the
nature of the jobs, the start time and finishing time of the card, man-hour spent and etc. The use of
computers facilitates the issue of job cards, recording of job history and control of manpower.
Spare part life monitoring system: Under this system, information about a spare part such as its
description, anticipated life and date of its installation in equipment is recorded. As and when a particular
spare part is replaced during breakdown failures or scheduled maintenance, the updating of this
information is done in their respective files stored in the computer. This helps to prepare the following
reports:
_ Spares repeatability in various machines indicating the performance of such spare parts.
_ Comparisons of the actual life with the estimated life of the spare parts.
Spare parts tracking system: In most of the cases maximum time is consumed in procurement of spare
parts. The total time required to rectify the breakdown is summation of the time to identify the cause of
the failure, time to determine the requirements of spare parts, time to procure spare parts and the time to
rectify the failure. In a computerized system, the spare part tracking system is beneficial in getting
required material at the earliest. A spare part file is created that contains the information about the
material code, spare part identification number, the assembly or sub-assembly number and the place
where the spare part is used. This helps in knowing the current position about a particular spare part and
facilitates timely requirement for future demands.

TOTAL PRODUCTIVE MAINTENANCE (TPM)

Total productive maintenance (TPM) is a maintenance program, which involves a newly defined concept
for maintaining plants and equipment. The goal of the TPM program is to markedly increase production
while, at the same time, increasing employee morale and job satisfaction. It can be considered as the
medical science of [Link] brings maintenance into focus as a necessary and vitally important
part of the business. It is no longer regarded as a non-profit activity. Downtime for maintenance is
scheduled as a part of the manufacturing day and, in some cases, as an integral part of the manufacturing
process. The goal is to hold emergency and unscheduled maintenance to a [Link] was introduced
to achieve the following objectives. The important ones are listed below.
_ Avoid wastage in a quickly changing economic environment.
_ Producing goods without reducing product quality.
_ Reduce cost.
_ Produce a low batch quantity at the earliest possible time.
_ Goods send to the customers must be non-defective.

Similarities and Differences between TQM and TPM

The TPM program closely resembles the popular Total Quality Management (TQM) program. Many of
the tools such as, employee empowerment, benchmarking, documentation, etc. used in TQM are used to
implement and optimize TPM. Following are the similarities between the two:
1. Total commitment to the program by upper level management is required in both programs,
ME 581 Lecture Notes pg. 8
2. Employees must be empowered to initiate corrective action, and
3. A long-range outlook must be accepted as TPM may take a year or more to implement and is an on-
going process. Changes in employee mind-set toward their job responsibilities must take place as well.

Major Losses in an Organization

Loss Category
1. Failure losses—Breakdown loss
2. Setup/adjustment losses
3. Cutting blade loss
4. Start up loss
5. Minor stoppage/Idling loss
6. Speed loss—operating at low speeds
7. Defect/rework loss
8. Scheduled downtime loss
9. Management loss Losses that impede equipment efficiency
10. Operating motion loss Losses that impede human work efficiency
11. Line organization loss
12. Logistic loss
13. Measurement and adjustment loss
14. Energy loss
15. Die, jig and tool breakage loss Losses that impede effective use of
16. Yield loss production resources

PLANNED MAINTENANCE
It is aimed to have trouble free machines and equipment producing defect free products for total customer
satisfaction. This breaks maintenance down into 4 ‘families’ or groups, which was defined earlier.
1. Preventive maintenance
2. Breakdown maintenance
3. Corrective maintenance
4. Maintenance prevention
With planned maintenance, we evolve our efforts from a reactive to a proactive method and
use trained maintenance staff to help train the operators to better maintain their equipment.
Policy
1. Achieve and sustain availability of machines;
2. Optimum maintenance cost;
3. Reduces spares inventory; and
4. Improve reliability and maintainability of machines.
Target
1. Zero equipment failure and breakdown;
2. Improve reliability and maintainability by 50%;
3. Reduce maintenance cost by 20%; and
4. Ensure availability of spares all the time.
Six Steps in Planned Maintenance
1. Equipment evaluation and recoding present status;
2. Restore deterioration and improve weakness;
3. Building up information management system;
4. Prepare time based information system, select equipment, parts and members and map out plan;
5. Prepare predictive maintenance system by introducing equipment diagnostic techniques; and
6. Evaluation of planned maintenance.

QUALITY MAINTENANCE
ME 581 Lecture Notes pg. 9
It is aimed towards customer delight through highest quality through defect free manufacturing.
Focus is on eliminating non-conformances in a systematic manner, much like Focused Improvement. We
gain understanding of what parts of the equipment affect product quality and begin to eliminate current
quality concerns, then move to potential quality concerns. Transition is from reactive to proactive
(Quality Control to Quality Assurance).QM activities is to set equipment conditions that preclude quality
defects, based on the basic concept of maintaining perfect equipment to maintain perfect quality of
products. The conditions are checked and measure in time series to very that measure values are within
standard values to prevent defects. The transition of measured values is watched to predict possibilities of
defects occurring and to take counter measures beforehand.
Policy
1. Defect free conditions and control of equipment;
2. QM activities to support quality assurance;
3. Focus of prevention of defects at source;
4. Focus on poka-yoke (fool proof system);
5. In-line detection and segregation of defects; and
6. Effective implementation of operator quality assurance.
Target
1. Achieve and sustain customer complaints at zero;
2. Reduce in-process defects by 50%; and
3. Reduce cost of quality by 50%.
Data Requirements
Quality defects are classified as customer end defects and in house defects. For customer-end
data, we have to get data on:
1. Customer end line rejection; and
2. Field complaints.
In-house, data include data related to products and data related to process.
Data Related to Product
1. Product-wise defects;
2. Severity of the defect and its contribution—major/minor;
3. Location of the defect with reference to the layout;
4. Magnitude and frequency of its occurrence at each stage of measurement;
5. Occurrence trend in beginning and the end of each production/process/changes (like pattern change,
ladle/furnace lining etc.); and
6. Occurrence trend with respect to restoration of breakdown/modifications/periodical replacement of
quality components.
Data Related to Processes
1. The operating condition for individual sub-process related to men, method, material and
machine;
2. The standard settings/conditions of the sub-process; and
3. The actual record of the settings/conditions during the defect occurrence.

ME 581 Lecture Notes pg. 10

TRAINING AND MANPOWER DEVELOPMENT

INTRODUCTION AND MEANING

It is aimed to have multi-skilled revitalized employees whose morale is high and who has eager to come
to work and perform all required functions effectively and independently. Education is given to operators
to upgrade their skill. It is not sufficient know only ‘Know-How’ by they should also learn ‘Know-Why’.
By experience they gain, ‘Know-How’ to overcome a problem what to be done. This they do without
knowing the root cause of the problem and why they are doing so. Hence, it becomes necessary to train
them on knowing ‘Know-Why’. The employees should be trained to achieve the four phases of skill. The
goal is to create a factory full of experts. The different phase of skills is:

Phase 1: Do not know.

Phase 2: Know the theory but cannot do.
Phase 3: Can do but cannot teach.
Phase 4: Can do and also teach.
Policy
1. Focus on improvement of knowledge, skills and techniques;
2. Creating a training environment for self-learning based on felt needs;
3. Training curriculum/tools/assessment etc. conducive to employee revitalization; and
4. Training to remove employee fatigue and make work enjoyable.
Target
1. Achieve and sustain downtime due to want men at zero on critical machines;
2. Achieve and sustain zero losses due to lack of knowledge/skills/techniques; and
3. Aim for 100% participation in suggestion scheme.
Steps in Educating and Training Activities
1. Setting policies and priorities and checking present status of education and training;
2. Establish of training system for operation and maintenance skill-up gradation;
3. Training the employees for upgrading the operation and maintenance skills;
4. Preparation of training calendar;
5. Kick-off of the system for training; and
6. Evaluation of activities and study of future approach.

CONCEPT OF TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT

Training and development describes the formal, ongoing efforts that are made within organizations to
improve the performance and self-fulfillment of their employees through a variety of educational
methods and programs. In the modern workplace, these efforts have taken on a broad range of
applications—from instruction in highly specific job skills to long-term professional development. In
recent years, training and development has emerged as a formal business function, an integral element of
strategy, and a recognized profession with distinct theories and methodologies. More and more
companies of all sizes have embraced "continual learning" and other aspects of training and development
as a means of promoting employee growth and acquiring a highly skilled work force. In fact, the quality
of employees and the continual improvement of their skills and productivity through training are now
widely recognized as vital factors in ensuring the long-term success and profitability of small businesses.
ME 581 Lecture Notes pg. 11
"Employees today must have access to continual training of all types just to keep up…. If you don't
actively stride against the momentum of skills deficiency, you lose ground. If your workers stand still,
your firm will lose the competency race."

PHILOSOPHY OF TRAINING
According to S Chandra16, management of the organization firmly believes that human assets unlike
other asset cannot be depreciated and must necessarily be appreciated over entire tenure. Therefore
training is regarded as investment and not a cost. Even long-term intangible gains such as attitude change,
are to be considered as valuable returns. Training is considered as vehicle for effective communication
and coordination. Training is catalytic in any man management matrix for cohesiveness, compatibility,
and cooperation in every organizational endeavour. Management proclaims Training & Development
direction as permanent part & parcel of operational process and not some experiment in isolation.
Management is fully committed to lend its total support to training tasks and is dedicated through intense
involvement in every phase of this activity.
CONCEPT OF TRAINING
It is about developing employees as an individual to make them capable and confident in their jobs, and
consequently in their life. Thus, it is an organized process for increasing the knowledge and skill of the
employees. Consequently, it is a process aimed at changing the behavior in such a way that the
consequence would be useful for the upliftment of the organization.
Training consists of planned program designed to improve performance at the individual, group, and /or
organizational levels. Improved performance, in turn, implies that there have been measurable changes in
knowledge, skills attitude, and/or social behavior.
Training is considered as a tool for HRD. Training has immense potential in transfer and utilization of
latest technical know-how, leadership development, organization of people, formation of self-help-
groups, mobilization of people as well as resources, empowerment of resource-poor rural mass,
entrepreneurship development, etc., which are considered essential components of HRD.
According to C B Memoria, ―Training is a process of learning a sequence of programmed behavior. It is
application of knowledge and it attempts to improve the performance of employee on the current job and
prepares them for the intended job. Training is a short term process utilizing a systematic and organized
procedure by which non managerial personnel acquire technical knowledge and skills for a definite
purpose. Training refers to instructions in technical and mechanical operations, like operation of some
machine/equipment. Training is for a specific job related purpose.
Training is about developing people as an individual and helping them to become more confident and
competent in their lives and in their jobs. The learning process is at the core of training and the ways of
and opportunities for learning are numerous and varied.

CONCEPT OF DEVELOPMENT
Development is related to enhancing the conceptual skills of the employee, which helps individual
towards achieving maturity and self-actualization. Employee development, often referred to as human
resource development (HRD) is about the provision of learning, development and training opportunities
in order to improve individual, team and organizational performance.
Development is defined as an attempt to improve managerial effectiveness through a planned and
deliberate learning process. According to Bernard M Bass & James A. Vaughan, Development implies
the nature and change induced among employees through process of education and training. In the words
of Harold Koontz and Cyril O. Donnel Managerial development concerns the means by which a person
cultivates those skills whose application will improve the efficiency and effectiveness with which the
anticipated results of a particular organizational segment are achieved.
―In the field of human resource management, training and development is the field concerned with
organizational activity aimed at bettering the performance of individuals and groups in organizational
settings. It has been known by several names, including employee development, human resource
development and learning and development.
ME 581 Lecture Notes pg. 12
DISTINCTION BETWEEN TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT
According to Yoder although the terms ―training and ―development‖ appear synonymous, there is
recognized difference between these concepts. Earlier training programs stressed preparation for an
improved performance in largely specific rank and file jobs. With growth of organizations several
problems developed specifically at supervisory level. Accordingly supervisory training programs were
launched enabling them to deal with distinctive problems. During the training of the supervisors, the need
for training of their bosses appeared significant. Therefore, special developmental programs for middle
managers were organized. Later on, the development programs were started for top management as well.
These programs indicated the significance of the concept of development, and thus training appeared to
be an improper designation for learning a wide variety of complex, difficult and intangible functions of
managerial personnel. Thus the concept training was degraded. As managers themselves remarked
―training is for dogs, people are developed. Today, the terms development and education are more
suitable than the term training. It is not the training but the full development of personality that enables
the human resources to exert their full potential. Accordingly training and development programs are
combined together for developing skills as well as basic attitudes, leading to continued personal growth.

Distinction between Training and Development

Training Development
1 Vocationally oriented and on the job and A long term process for developing conceptual
so it is short term skills
2 It is generally for non managerial It is generally for managerial personnel
personnel
3 It is imparting of technical and It is theoretical and conceptual idea
mechanical knowledge implementation.
4 It is related with specific job It is aimed at acquiring general knowledge
5 A mechanic who repairs generator better An engineer may not be better mechanic but he
than engineer is only trained has theoretical and conceptual skill as well as
knowledge of principles of engineering

ME 581 Lecture Notes pg. 13

PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT

What is Production management?

In any manufacturing system, the job of a Production Manager is to manage the process of converting
inputs into the desired outputs.
- It is concerned with the production of goods and services, and involves the responsibility of
ensuring that business operations are efficient and effective.
- It is also the management of resources, the distribution of goods and services to customers.

Therefore, Production Management can be defined as the management of the conversion process,
which converts land, labor, capital, and management inputs into desired outputs of goods and services. It
is also concerned with the design and the operation of systems for manufacture, transport, supply or
service.

Difference between Operations and Production

In the transformation process, the inputs change the form into an output, by adding value to the entity.
The output may be a product or service.
If it is a product centric that is known as production,

If it is a service centric then that is known as operation.

Production System

A production system is a collection of people, equipment, and procedures organized to perform the
manufacturing operations of a company (or other organization)

Components of a production system:

There are two components for a production system such as:

1. Facilities – the factory and equipment in the facility and the way the facility is organized (plant layout)

2. Manufacturing support systems – the set of procedures used by a company to manage production and
to solve technical and logistics problems in ordering materials, moving work through the factory, and
ensuring that products meet quality standards

Figure 1 Diagrammatic representation for a production system

Facilities include the factory, production machines and tooling, material handling equipment, inspection
equipment, and computer systems that control the manufacturing operations. For the facilities, plant
ME 581 Lecture Notes pg. 14
layout is a significant factor for the production system to be efficient. The plant layout is the way in
which the equipment is physically arranged in the factory
Manufacturing systems include the logical groupings of equipment and workers in the factory. A
combination of a group of workers and machines are termed as Production line. There can be instances
where there is only one worker and a machine. This arrangement is called as Stand-alone workstation and
worker. Based on the human participation in the production processes, the manufacturing system can be
classified as the following three systems:
1. Manual work systems - a worker performing one or more tasks without the aid of powered tools,
but sometimes using hand tools. For example, filing work carried out in the central workshop

Figure 2 Diagrammatic representation a manual work system

2. Worker-machine systems - a worker operating powered equipment. For example, turning done on
a work piece using a Lathe.

Figure 3 Diagrammatic representation a worker-machine system

3. Automated systems - a process performed by a machine without direct participation of a human

For example, turning done on a work piece using a CNC machine.

ME 581 Lecture Notes pg. 15

Figure 4 Diagrammatic representation an automated system

Manufacturing support systems: To operate the production facilities efficiently, a company must
organize itself to design the processes and equipment, plan and control the orders and satisfy product
quality requirements. The support systems have no direct contact with the product, but they plan and
control its progress throughout the factory. The manufacturing support system involves a cycle of
information-processing activities that consists of four functions. The four functions are depicted in Figure
5

Figure 5: Information processing cycle

i Business functions - sales and marketing, order entry, cost accounting, customer billing
This function is the principal means of communication with the customer
This represents the beginning and the end of the information-processing cycle
It is at this function, the customer comes in contact with the company and places an order
The production (or customer) order will be (1) order to manufacture an item to customer’s
specifications (2) customer order to buy one or more of the manufacture’s product and (3) an
internal company order based on a forecast of future demand.
ME 581 Lecture Notes pg. 16
ii. Product design - research and development, design engineering, prototype shop
The role of the product design team depends on the production order. As mentioned above, the
production order may change.
iii. Manufacturing planning - process planning, production planning, MRP, capacity planning
Process planning is the sequence of individual processing and assembly operations needed to
produce the part.
Production planning considers the logistics issues in the production process
The authorization to produce the product must be translated into the Master Production Schedule
(MPS)
MPS is a list of products to be made, the dates on which they are to be delivered, and the
quantities of each are included
Based on the MPS, individual components and the sub-assemblies that make up each product
must be planned.
MPS must not list more quantities of products than the factory capacity for a period.
Capacity planning plans the manpower and machine resources of the firm.
iv. Manufacturing control - shop floor control, inventory control, quality control
Managing and controlling physical operations in the factory to implement plans.
Shop floor control monitors the progress of the product as it is being processed, assembled,
moved and inspected in the factory
Materials being processed in the factory are called as Work-in-process (WIP) inventory.
Both shop floor control and inventory control overlap each other.
Inventory control tries to strike a balance between the risk of too little inventory (stock-out
situation) and the carrying cost of too much inventory.
Right quantity to order and when to re-order a given item
Quality control ensures the quality of product and its components meet the standards specified by
the product designer.
Raw materials and component parts from outside sources are inspected when they are received
and final inspection and testing is done to ensure functional quality and appearance.

Aim of production: The aim of a production system is to provide goods and services for mankind
In right quantities
At the appropriate place
At the desired time
With the required quantity
At a reasonable cost

Challenges in manufacturing : The challenges in manufacturing includes

Changing market conditions – shift from seller’s market to buyer’s market
Rate of change is faster
Global competition
Need to be pro-active
Increased customer focus – the customers are less loyal.

Characteristics features of production system

1. Production is an organized activity.
2. The system transforms the various inputs into useful outputs.
3. Production system does not operate in isolation from the other organizational systems.
4. There exists a feedback about the activities which is essential to control and improve system
performance.

Classification of production system

ME 581 Lecture Notes pg. 17
The production system can be classified on the basis of the following:
Type of production – Job shop production, Batch production, Mass production
Size of the plant – Large size plant (eg. Oil refinery), Medium size plant, Small size plant (eg.
Printing press)
Type of product- Complex to manufacture (Aircraft) and simple to manufacture
Physical flow of material – Automated flow, Semi-automated flow and Manual flow
Nature of order/demand pattern – Stable demand, Unstable demand
Variety of jobs – More variety (eg. Automobiles/electronic goods), One variety (eg. Oil refinery)
Job shop production
Characteristics
Characterised by make-to-order strategy
There are three possible situations for production quantity
- Product is manufactured only once
- Small quantities of product are repeated at irregular time intervals (demand not certain)
- Small quantities of product are repeated at regular time intervals
In Job shop production, first and second situations are common.

ME 581 Lecture Notes pg. 18

End product is most of the time as per the customer need.
No standard methods and time standards can be developed as the job is not regularly produced.
Machines and resources must be of general purpose and flexible.
Highly skilled workforce is needed to work on product variety.
In-process inventory is high.
Machines are grouped as per their functional capabilities.
System is flexible
Planning and control is very difficult.
Job-shops are typically inefficient and have long lead times, large work-in-process inventory and
high costs.
Example: Commercial printer, Boiler manufacture, Tailoring shop

Batch production
Characteristics
Batch of identical articles are manufactured
The demand rate is lesser than the rate of production and hence batch production method is
traditionally adopted
There is a built-up of inventory in batch production
There are three possible situations
A batch is manufactured only once (make-to-order)
Batch is repeated at irregular time intervals (make-to-order)
Batch is repeated at regular time intervals (make-to-stock)
Final product is usually standard. The basic design is same.
Such production of standardized items on a continuous basis is called repetitive production.
Customer may be external or internal. For example, in an automobile plant, the engine assembly
plant will be an internal customer for gear assembly plant)
Machines and resources must be of general purpose or semi-automated.
Skilled workforce is needed to work on product variety.
Less supervision is need in comparison with job-shop
Less flexible than job-shop
Machines are grouped as per their functional capabilities.

Mass production
Characteristics
The demand rate is more than the rate of production.
Similar product is manufactured and hence, standard method and time standard is to be analyzed.
Most of the machines used in mass production are special purpose. The equipment is dedicated to
the manufacture of a single product type such as light bulbs, medicines etc.
The system is capital intensive and a long term planning needed before the investment.
Semi-skilled labour is only needed as the product design is similar mostly.
This system is a rigid production system.

Product design
Product design is the process of deciding on the unique characteristics and features of the company’s
product. Process selection is the development of the process necessary to produce the designed product.
Product design and process selection are typically made together. Product design must support product
manufacturability (the ease with which a product can be made). Product design defines a product’s
characteristics of;
appearance,
materials,
dimensions,
ME 581 Lecture Notes pg. 19
tolerances, and
performance standards

Service design is unique in that the service and entire service concept are being designed. When a service
is designed, the designer must define both the service and service concept.
Service design defines a service’s characteristics such as: Physical elements, aesthetic & psychological
benefits. For example, promptness in service, friendliness during the service, ambiance of the service
premises. In addition, product and service design must match the needs and preferences of the targeted
customer group

Phases of product development

The phases of product development are encapsulated in Table 1.1. The activities carried out in the
product development phase with regard to the different departments in the organization is explained.
 Phase 0: Planning

Planning phase is referred as phase zero; precedes the project approval and launch of actual product
development process. The output of this phase is the project mission statement which specifies the target
market for the product, business goals, key assumptions and constraints.
 Phase 1: Concept Development

In Concept development, needs of the target market is identified, alternative product concepts are
generated and evaluated, and one or more concepts are selected for further development and testing.
 Phase 2: System-Level design

System level design includes product architecture and decomposition of products into sub-systems and
components.
- Final assembly of the product is decided

- Geometric layout of the product

- Functional specification of each of the layout sub-system

- Preliminary process flow diagram for final assembly process

 Phase 3: Design Detail

Complete specification of the geometry, materials, and tolerances of all the unique parts in the product.
- Identification of standard parts
- Tooling is designed

 Phase 4: Testing and Refinement

Construction and evaluation of multiple pre-production versions of the product

- Will product work?

- Whether product satisfies customer needs

 Phase 5: Production Ramp-up
- Train the work force
- Work out remaining problems
- Products supplied to preferred customers and evaluated.

Economic analysis of product development

ME 581 Lecture Notes pg. 20
Economic analysis can only capture those factors that are measurable and have both positive and negative
implications that are difficult to quantify. Economic analysis is useful in atleast two different
circumstances using the following measurable factors to help determine:
Operational design and development decisions – should we outsource to save time? Should we
launch the product in four months at a unit cost of 10000 INR or wait for six months, when we
can reduce to 8500 INR?
Go/no-go milestones – should we try to develop a product to address market opportunity? Should
we proceed? Should we launch?

Figure6: Product development process

If initial feasibility studies are favourable, engineers prepare an initial prototype design. This prototype
design should exhibit the basic form, fit and function of the final product, but it will not necessarily be
identical to the production model.

Table 1.1 Product development phase in different departments of an organization

ME 581 Lecture Notes pg. 21

Performance testing and re-design of the prototype continues until this design-test-redesign process
produces a satisfactorily performing prototype. Market sensing and evaluation is accomplished by
demonstrations to potential customers, market tests or market surveys. If the response to the prototype is
favourable, economic evaluation of the prototype design is performed to estimate production volume,
costs and profits for the product.

Break-even analysis
Break-even analysis is a technique widely used in production management. It is based on categorising
production costs between those which are "variable" (costs that change when the production output
changes) and those that are "fixed" (costs not directly related to the volume of production). The variable
and fixed costs are compared with sales revenue in order to determine the level of sales volume, sales
value or production at which the business makes neither a profit nor a loss (the "break-even point").
The Break-Even Chart: The break-even chart is a graphical representation which represents the
relationship between the various costs of production with the volume of production.

ME 581 Lecture Notes pg. 22

Figure 7: Break-even chart

The point at which neither profit nor loss is made is known as the "break-even point (BEP)" and is
represented on the break-even chart by the intersection of the lines representing total cost and
total revenue.
As output increases, variable costs incurred increases, meaning that total costs (fixed + variable)
also increase. At low levels of output, costs are greater than revenue or income. At the point of
intersection, BEP, total costs are exactly equal to total revenue or income, and hence neither profit
nor loss is made.

Fixed Costs: Fixed costs are those business costs that are not directly related to the level of
production or output. In other words, even if the business has a zero output or high output, the level
of fixed costs will remain broadly the same. In the long term fixed costs can alter - perhaps as a result
of investment in production capacity (e.g. adding a new factory unit) or through the growth in
overheads required to support a larger, more complex business.

Examples of fixed costs:

- Rent and rates
- Depreciation
- Research and development
- Marketing costs (non- revenue related)
- Administration costs
Variable Costs: Variable costs are those costs which vary directly with the level of output. They
represent payment output-related inputs such as raw materials, direct labour, fuel and revenue-related
costs such as commission.
A distinction is often made between "Direct" variable costs and "Indirect" variable costs.
Direct variable costs are those which can be directly attributable to the production of a particular product
or service and allocated to a particular cost centre. Raw materials and the wages those working on the
production line are good examples.
ME 581 Lecture Notes pg. 23
Indirect variable costs cannot be directly attributable to production but they do vary with output. These
include depreciation (where it is calculated related to output - e.g. machine hours), maintenance and
certain labour costs.
5.3.1 Computation of Break-even point:

Q = Number of Units sold

As a production manager, the focus will be to shift the BEP towards left, by moving the total cost curve
down. This is possible only by reducing the variable cost. Here lies the importance of value

ME 581 Lecture Notes pg. 24

analysis/value engineering concepts.

Figure 8: Change of Break-even chart as variable cost changes

Exercise

A Company manufactures ball-point pens that it is able to sell at 150 Naira per piece. The variable cost of
the pen is 100 Naira per unit. If the company has a total investment in fixed costs to the tune of 300,000
Naira. What is the break-even sale for the pen?

ME 581 Lecture Notes pg. 25

LINEAR PROGRAMING APPROACH TO PRODUCTION

Mathematical formulation of Linear Programming Problem

Linear programming is a mathematical technique for finding optimal solutions to problems that can be
expressed using linear equations and inequalities. If a real-world problem can be represented accurately
by the mathematical equations of a linear program, the method will find the best solution to the problem.
Of course, few complex real-world problems can be expressed perfectly in terms of a set of linear
functions. Nevertheless, linear programs can provide reasonably realistic representations of many real-
world problems — especially if a little creativity is applied in the mathematical formulation of the
problem.
Let us consider two real life situations to understand what we mean by a programming problem. For any
industry, the objective in any production process is to earn maximum profit by selling products which are
produced with limited available resources, keeping the cost of production at a minimum. For a housewife
the aim is to buy provisions for the family at a minimum cost which will satisfy the needs of the family.
All these types of problems can be done mathematically by formulating a problem which is known as a
programming problem. Some restrictions or constraints are to be adopted to formulate the problem. The
function which is to be maximized or minimized is called the objective function. If in a programming
problem the constraints and the objective function are of linear type then the problem is called a linear
programming problem. There are various types of linear programming problems which we will consider
through some examples.

Example 1

A company manufactures two types of products A1 and A2. Each of the uses milling and drilling
machine. The process time per unit of A1 on the milling machine is 10hrs and on drilling machine is
8hrs. the process time per unit of A2 on the milling machine is 15hrs and on drilling machine is 10 hours.
The maximum number of hours available per week on the milling and drilling machine are 80 and 60hrs
respectively. Also the profit per unit of selling A1 and A2 are #25 and #35 respectively.

Formulate an LP model to determine the production volume of each of the products such that the profit is
maximized

The problem above can be represented in the table below and solved using Graphical or Simplex method.

Operations Machine hours/unit Limit on machine hours

Milling 10 15 80
Drilling 8 10 60
Profit/unit #25 #35

Example 2
Four different type of metals, namely, iron, copper, zinc and manganese are required to produce
commodities A, B and C. To produce one unit of A, 40kg iron, 30kg copper, 7kg zinc and 4kg
manganese are needed. Similarly, to produce one unit of B, 70kg iron, 14kg copper and 9kg manganese
ME 581 Lecture Notes pg. 26
are needed and for producing one unit of C, 50kg iron, 18kg copper and 8kg zinc are required. The total
available quantities of metals are 1 metric ton iron, 5 quintals copper, 2 quintals of zinc and manganese
each. The profits are Rs 300, Rs 200 and Rs 100 by selling one unit of A, B and C respectively.
Formulate the problem mathematically. Solution: Let z be the total profit and the problem is to maximize
Z (called the objective function). We write below the given data in a tabular form:

PROJECTS
A great deal of human activity, and in particular organizational activity, can be characterized as taking
the form of projects. A project is an assembly of people and resources intended to achieve, by means of
ME 581 Lecture Notes pg. 27
various activities, the attainment of a specific objective over a period of time. All but the simplest of
projects involve appreciable numbers of activities, people, and resources. Therefore, projects require the
organization and management of these activities, people and resources. The idea of a project is fairly
ubiquitous in human life. At the domestic level, countless activities can be characterized as projects. Two
obvious examples include preparing a meal or cleaning house. It is quite easy to see how these activities
can be regarded as projects. For example, preparing a meal requires a fairly specific notion of the desired
end result, a variety of ingredients, and number of activities that must be carried out by one or more
people in order to transform the ingredients into the meal, usually within specified time period. But other
activities can also, less obviously, be regarded as projects, such as planning and taking a holiday, or
educating one’s children. University students on teaching programmes, both at the undergraduate and
postgraduate level, generally undertake projects as part of their studies. These consist of various different
activities, have deadlines, and require resources, such as students’ time and effort. A research student
undertaking PhD studies is essentially embarking upon a project, and the process of studying for a
qualification at university can, similarly, be regarded as a project.

Characteristics of projects
Extrapolating from the discussion above, it is possible to assemble a list of features which projects
generically possess. In some projects some of these features may be fairly minimal. It can be argued that,
for large and costly projects, all these features should be well defined, though I am reluctant to be too
prescriptive. The generic features of a project are:
• A project has objectives which are supposed to be achieved. In the simplest cases, these are defined at
the outset of the project. But in many projects, the objectives may be refined or changed as the projects
proceed. Achievement of the objectives is generally equated to the success of the project.
• There are generally a number of criteria which inform the definition of project objectives. Many
authorities cite the ‘trinity ‘of cost (to be minimized), duration (to be minimized) and quality(to be
maximized), and argue that good project management requires successful trading-off between these
 A project consists of a number of distinct component activities. This number may range from the very
small to many thousands.
• The sequence of activities in a project is by no means arbitrary. For example, generally you cannot
build the walls of a building before you have laid the foundations.
• However, there is usually a degree of flexibility in the way in which project activities are sequenced,
which gives rise to alternative options for the plan of a project.
• Project activities require resources in order to be carried out. In particular, an activity requires the time
and effort of the person(or persons) who is (or are) to carry it out. Other resources might include money,
materials or personnel with specialist skills.
• Project activities have durations associated with them. The duration of an activity is the period of time
between the start of the activity and its completion. In general, this is not the same as the time required of
a person to carry it out. For example, I maybe able to devote five hours a week to writing a text which I
estimate will require a total of fifty hours writing time. Then, the duration of the activity will be ten
weeks (assuming I take no breaks in my schedule). The distinction between duration and required time is
an important one. It is a fairly obvious distinction, but there is potential for confusion.
• The resource requirements of project activities constrain the way in which the activities are arranged.
For example, if you are the sole person carrying out the activities, there is a limit to the number of
activities you can carry out at the same time (according to my wife, my limit is one!).
• There may be flexibility in the amount of resource a project activity requires. For example, the duration
of some activities can be reduced by spending more money on them (hiring additional labour for a
building activity, for example). This leads to the possibility of trading off different features of a project
(project duration versus project cost, for example), and possible alternative plans.
• Ultimately, the definition of a project is subjective. Whether you choose to view a set of activities as a
project is up to you. If you do, some advantages will accrue, such as the opportunity to apply project

ME 581 Lecture Notes pg. 28

management techniques such as those described in this book. For large-scale enterprises where one is
charged with using resources responsibly the advantages are substantial and hard to reject.
Critical Path Method
Precedence relationships in a CPM network fall into the three major categories listed below:
1. Technical precedence
2. Procedural precedence
3. Imposed precedence
Technical precedence requirements are caused by the technical relationships among activities in a project.
For example, in conventional construction, walls must be erected before the roof can be installed.
Procedural precedence requirements are determined by policies and procedures. Such policies and
procedures are often subjective, with no concrete justification. Imposed precedence requirements can be
classified as resource-imposed, project-imposed, or environment-imposed. For example, resource
shortages may require that one task be scheduled before another. The current status of a project (e.g.,
percent completion) may determine that one activity be performed before another. The environment of a
project, for example, weather changes or the effects of concurrent projects, may determine the
precedence relationships of the activities in a project. The primary goal of a CPM analysis of a project is
the determination of the “critical path.” The critical path determines the minimum completion time for a
project. The computational analysis involves forward pass and backward pass procedures. The forward
pass determines the earliest start time and the earliest completion time for each activity in the network.
The backward pass determines the latest start time and the latest completion time for each activity. Figure
1.1 shows an example of an activity network using the activity-on node convention. Conventionally the
network is drawn from left to right. If this convention is followed, there is no need to use arrows to
indicate the directional flow in the activity network. The notations used for activity A in the network are
explained below:
A: Activity identification
ES: Earliest starting time
EC: Earliest completion time
LS: Latest starting time
LC: Latest completion time
t: Activity duration
During the forward pass analysis of the network, it is assumed that each activity will begin at its earliest
starting time. An activity can begin as soon as the last of its predecessors is finished. The completion of
the forward pass determines the earliest completion time of the project. The backward pass analysis is a
reverse of the forward pass. It begins at the latest project completion time and ends at the latest starting
time of the first activity in the project network. The rules for implementing the forward pass and
backward pass analyses in CPM are presented below. These rules are implemented iteratively until the
ES, EC, LS, and LC have been calculated for all nodes in the network.
Rule 1: Unless otherwise stated, the starting time of a project is set equal to time zero. That is, the first
node in the network diagram has an earliest start time of zero.
Rule 2: The earliest start time (ES) for any activity is equal to the maximum of the earliest completion
times (EC) of the immediate predecessors of the activity.
Rule 3: The earliest completion time (EC) of an activity is the activity’s earliest start
time plus its estimated duration.

ME 581 Lecture Notes pg. 29

FIGURE 1.1Example of activity network.

Rule 4: The earliest completion time of a project is equal to the earliest completion time of the very last
node in the network. That is, EC of Project=EC of last activity
Rule 5: Unless the latest completion time (LC) of a project is explicitly specified, it is set equal to the
earliest completion time of the project. This is called the zero-project-slack assumption. That is, LC of
Project=EC of Project
Rule 6: If a desired deadline is specified for the project, then LC of Project=Specified Deadline It should
be noted that a latest completion time or deadline may sometimes be specified for a project based on
contractual agreements.
Rule 7: The latest completion time (LC) for an activity is the smallest of the latest start times of the
activity’s immediate successors. That is, LC=Minimum {Immediately Succeeding LS’s}
Rule 8: The latest start time for an activity is the latest completion time minus the activity time. That is,
LS=LC−(Activity Time)

CPM Example
Table 1.1 presents the data for an illustrative project. This network and its extensions will be used for
other computational examples in this chapter. The AON network for the example is given in Figure 1.2.
Dummy activities are included in the network to designate single starting and ending points for the
project.

ME 581 Lecture Notes pg. 30

Forward Pass
The forward pass calculations are shown in Figure 1.3. Zero is entered as the ES for the initial node. As
the initial node for the example is a dummy node, its duration is zero. Thus, EC for the starting node is
equal to its ES. The ES values for the immediate successors of the starting node are set equal to the EC of
the START node and the resulting EC values are computed. Each node is treated as the “start” node for
its successor or successors. However, if an activity has more than one predecessor, the maximum of the
ECs of the preceding activities is used as the activity’s starting time. This happens in the case of activity
G, whose ES is determined as Max {6,5,9}=9. The earliest project completion time for the example is 11
days. Note that this is the maximum of the immediately preceding earliest completion times: Max
{6,11}=11. As the dummy ending node has no duration, its earliest completion time is set equal to its
earliest start time of 11 days.
Backward Pass
The backward pass computations establish the latest start time (LS) and latest completion time (LC) for
each node in the network. The results of the backward pass computations are shown in Figure 1.4. As no
deadline is specified, the latest completion time of the project is set equal to the earliest completion time.
By backtracking and using the network analysis rules presented earlier, the latest completion and start
times are determined for each node. Note that in the case of activity A with two successors, the latest
completion time is determined as the minimum of the immediately succeeding latest start times.

ME 581 Lecture Notes pg. 31

That is, Min{6,7}=6. A similar situation occurs for the dummy starting node. In that case, the latest
completion time of the dummy start node is Min {0,3,4}=0. As this dummy node has no duration, the
latest starting time of the project is set equal to the node’s latest completion time. Thus, the project starts
at time 0 and is expected to be completed by time [Link] a project network, there are usually several
possible paths and a number of activities that must be performed sequentially and some activities that
may be performed concurrently.
If an activity has ES and LS times that are not equal, then the actual start and completion times of that
activity may be flexible. The amount of flexibility an activity possesses is called a slack. The slack time
is used to determine the critical activities in the network as discussed below.
Determination of Critical Activities
The critical path is defined as the path with the least slack in the network diagram. All the activities on
the critical path are said to be critical activities. These activities can create bottlenecks in the network if
they are delayed. The critical path is also the longest path in the network diagram. In some networks,
particularly large ones, it is possible to have multiple critical paths. If there is a large number of paths in
the network, it may be very difficult to visually identify all the critical paths. The slack time of an activity
is also referred to as its float. There are four basic types of activity slack as described below:
• Total Slack (TS). Total slack is defined as the amount of time an activity maybe delayed from its
earliest starting time without delaying the latest completion time of the project. The total slack time of an
activity is the difference between the latest completion time and the earliest completion time of the
activity, or the difference between the latest starting time and the earliest starting time of the activity.
TS = LC –ECOrTS = LS –ES
Total slack is the measure that is used to determine the critical activities in a project network. The critical
activities are identified as those having the minimum total slack in the network diagram. If there is only

ME 581 Lecture Notes pg. 32

one critical path in the network, then all the critical activities will be on that one path.• Free Slack (FS).
Free slack is the amount of time an activity may be delayed from its earliest starting time without
delaying the starting time of any of its immediate successors. Activity free slack is calculated as the
difference between the minimum earliest starting time of the activity’s successors and the earliest
completion time of the activity.
FS = Min{Succeeding ES’s} − EC
• Interfering Slack (IS). Interfering slack or interfering float is the amount of time by which an activity
interferes with (or obstructs) its successors when its total slack is fully used. This is rarely used in
practice. The interfering float is computed as the difference between the total slack and the free slack.
IS = TS − FS
• Independent Float (IF). Independent float or independent slack is the amount of float that an activity
will always have regardless of the completion times of its predecessors or the starting times of its
successors. Independent float is computed as: IF = Max{0,(ESj− LCi − t)}where ESj is the earliest
starting time of the preceding activity, LCi is the latest completion time of the succeeding activity, and t
is the duration of the activity whose independent float is being calculated. Independent float takes a
pessimistic view of the situation of an activity. It evaluates the situation whereby the activity is pressured
from either side, that is, when its predecessors are delayed as late as possible while its successors are to
be started as early as possible. Independent float is useful for conservative planning purposes, but it is not
used much in practice. Despite its low level of use, independent float does have practical implications for
better project management. Activities can be buffered with independent floats as a way to handle
contingencies. In Figure 1.4 the total slack and the free slack for activity A are calculated, respectively,
as:
TS = 6 − 2 = 4 days
FS = Min{2, 2} − 2 = 2 − 2 = 0
Similarly, the total slack and the free slack for activity F are:
TS = 11 − 6 = 5 days
FS = Min{11} − 6 = 11 − 6 = 5 days
Table 1.2 presents a tabulation of the results of the CPM example. The table contains the earliest and
latest times for each activity as well as the total and free slacks. The results indicate that the minimum
total slack in the network is zero. Thus, activities C, E, and G are identified as the critical activities. The
critical path is highlighted in Figure 1.4 and consists of the following sequence of activities:
Start→C→E→G→End
The total slack for the overall project itself is equal to the total slack observed on the critical path. The
minimum slack in most networks will be zero as the ending LC is set equal to the ending EC. If a
deadline is specified for a project, then we would set the project’s latest completion time to the specified
deadline. In that case, the minimum total slack in the network would be given by:
TSM in = Project Deadline − EC of the last node

ME 581 Lecture Notes pg. 33

This minimum total slack will then appear as the total slack for each activity on the critical path. If a
specified deadline is lower than the EC at the finish node, then the project will start out with a negative
slack. That means that it will be behind schedule before it even starts. It may then become necessary to
expedite some activities (i.e., crashing) to overcome the negative slack. Figure 1.5 shows an example
with a specified project deadline. In this case, the deadline of 18 days comes after the earliest completion
time of the last node in the network.
Using Forward Pass to Determine the Critical Path
The critical path in CPM analysis can be determined from the forward pass only. This can be helpful in
cases where it is desired to quickly identify the critical activities without performing all the other
calculations needed to obtain the latest starting times, the latest completion times, and total slacks. The
steps for determining the critical path from the forward pass only are:
1. Complete the forward pass in the usual manner.
2. Identify the last node in the network as a critical activity.
3. Work backward from the last node. Whenever a merge node occurs, the critical path will be along the
path where the earliest completion time (EC) of the predecessor is equal to the earliest start time (ES) of
the current node.
4. Continue the backtracking from each critical activity until the project starting node is reached. Note
that if there is a single starting node or a single ending node in the network, then that node will always be
on the critical path.

ME 581 Lecture Notes pg. 34