Draw a Process Flowchart of the manufacturing operation.
Manufacturing Process Pedro Pants Garment has the latest, high volume, computer-based process technology in the industry- a machine called the Pant Maker. It represents the best equipment option for long runs of high volume, standard items. It is run by one operator and has the capability to produce every garment in the Pedro Pants’ portfolio, but only one model at a time. There is only one machine available, so one problem to meeting deadlines has been the long set-up time required, especially for Dress Pants with more demanding production requirements. The Pant Maker combines laser cutting of fabric with automated stitching. The equipment has proved to be reliable and capable of producing to consistent quality requirements. But the first step in the production process is coloration (fabric dyeing), which tends to be much slower due to different color requirements even within the same batch run. On average, a typical product mix can only count on the fabric equivalent of 2,000 pants per day getting through this step, ready for the Pant Maker. The Pedro brothers still feel this is an effective approach since it allows them to purchase a generic, semi-finished fabric in larger batches and at lower cost. This reduces inventory risks of trying to maintain stock of every color and fabric type. In order to simplify process management in the factory, the accounting system converts ALL measures of inventory to equivalent pants based on an average ratio across all product lines. On one particular day of your visit, an operations audit team counted bolts of raw cloth equivalent to 44,000 pants waiting for coloration and processing. This was the largest source of inventory in any format throughout the process since finished goods were shipped off to customers almost immediately upon completion of the order. The cost accounting methods at Pedro Pants are not very sophisticated, so the company could not determine production standards by pant model. However, since the product mix was generally consistent week-to-week, management felt that an overall approach would be representative. Using the standard product mix shown above, the Pant Maker should be capable of manufacturing 15,000 pants per week. The final step in the process is Sorting, Packing and Shipping (all three activities are defined as one “step”). Since this is the most labor-intensive activity, half of the firm’s personnel are assigned here. The Accounting department uses a standard of two minutes of labor time per unit are required at this step to take the finished garment from the Pant Maker to a customer shipping container.