To meet the demands of customers, production and service operations must meet quality and delivery expectations. This module explains the theory and practice of how information and material flows in manufacturing operations and supply networks can be designed and optimised to meet trade offs in cost, speed, quality, flexibility and robustness. The module aims to equip students with a foundation in  operations and supply chain management; appreciate strategies available for process design and planning, scheduling, forecasting, lean and JIT systems, ERP and MRP; and become aware of the importance of emerging technologies in operations management. 

Course leader

Dr A Brintrup

Module learning outcomes

On completion of the module students should be able to:

• Understand the ways in which manufacturing processes are managed in order to achieve the right quality of product, manufactured to meet the customer requirements and delivered on time, and making the most efficient use of the resources available.
• Understand the role of inventory in manufacturing systems, and apply basic ordering, replenishment, and forecasting techniques
• Describe the major influences on the efficient flow of work through a factory, apply MRP techniques to scheduling, describe the implications of different co-ordination structures on job design, describe how improvement processes relate to co-ordination strategies
• understand how manufacturing operations are integrated with other aspects of the business; how operations are managed across supply networks; and the role of different IT systems in supporting operations across the supply chain

Assessment

100% by examination. Paper 3, double paper with 3P5