Course-PM: TEK605 Production flow management (7.5 hp)

Contact details

Lars Medbo, (Examiner) Division of Supply and Operations Management
Tel: 031 - 772 1347, email: lars.medbo@chalmers.se

Course purpose

The course focuses on the nodes in supply chains and the operations involving materials in these nodes. The nodes represent some type of production system, terminal, warehouse etc, and the materials are products (in or not in production processes), modules, sub-assemblies, components etc. The aim of the course is to give a deep understanding of how to design and operate production flows and materials handling in supply chain nodes, and the effects of different choices and decisions. Knowledge of production flows and materials handling, is essential to be able to understand the performance dimensions of a node, e.g. a production unit, and the dependence on planning and control, organization, layout etc.

Course design

Detailed contents are as follows

• Production models
• Facilities layout and planning (terminal, warehouse, production area)
• Production flows design and organisation
• Materials flows and materials handling systems
• Packaging in materials handling systems
• Product flow assessment, material flow mapping
• Performance measurement in production flows
• Warehouse and distribution terminal operations
• Identification technology and support for warehouse planning and operations
• Order picking processes

Course Organisation

A case study project is vital as a red thread through the course. Team of students will study material flow system for three different companies. The students will apply theory from lectures and literature seminars to understand and evaluate the three companies systems. Through the case study project, the course content will be discussed at lectures, guest lectures. The case study project is performed by teams of 6 students.

 

The course content will be discussed in literature seminars involving student teams (i.e. 8-10 students) each time. In total there will be five literature seminars. The seminars facilitate the students understanding of the course literature by discussing textbook and scientific papers dealing with certain topics. The content from guest lectures will also be discussed and reflected on.

 

Use of the course web page
The program and the course will make use of the course web page as the primarily channel for communicating with students (accessible through the student portal at. All news and information regarding the course and changes to the schedule will be posted on the web page. Furthermore, when it is possible without violating copyright agreements, slides from lectures will be available on the course web page.

Course evaluation
Course evaluation for the course will be performed according to the regulations for the master program.

Learning objectives and syllabus

After completion of this course, the student should be able to:

• Describe models and principles for production flows and materials handling systems
• Explain and design production flows in supply chains regarding efficiency and effectiveness
• Explain and design materials flows and materials handling systems, in supply chains regarding efficiency and effectiveness
•  Explain and design production flow layouts
• Describe and compare warehouse layouts
• Explain order picking techniques and processes
• Describe principles for performance measurements in production and materials flows

Link to the syllabus on Studieportalen.

Study plan

Schedule

TimeEdit

Course literature

The literature in the course consists of chapters from three textbooks, all of them available in the e-book collection “books27x7” at Chalmers Library. In addition to the book chapters are a number of scientific papers selected to deeper the studies of the book chapter topics and to treat specific topics, to be able to approach the research edge. Both the book chapters and the papers will be discussed during the literature seminars.
Book chapters are from the following books:

• Baudin, M. (2004), Lean Logistics: the nuts and bolts of delivering materials and goods, Productivity Press, New York. Coded (LL) in schedule below. (Available as e-book at Chalmers library)
• Baudin, M. (2002), Lean Assembly: the nuts and bolts of making assembly operations flow, Productivity Press, New York. Coded (LA) in schedule below. (Available as e-book at Chalmers library)
• Rushton, Croucher, Baker (2017), The Handbook of Logistics and Distribution Management, 6th edition, Kogan Page Ltd, London. Coded (HL) in schedule below. (Available as e-book at Chalmers library)

Examination form

Literature seminars with individual papers and one student team assignments, (the case study project) reports and seminars constitute the bases for examination, in order to achieve grade 3. The student team assignments, accomplished by team of students, are used to stimulate debate and reinforce materials presented in the lectures.

 

The case study project is presented by the students and so act as a final summary of the outcome of the course. The examination, of the case study project, is based on an assessment of the oral and written presentations giving bonus points (up to 4 points) to be added to the elective literature test.

 

Participation in some course activities such as case seminar, literature seminars, guest lectures are compulsory. To achieve a higher grade than grade 3, an elective literature test can be taken in the end of the course, see the course schedule.

Case, exercise and reports

There is one cases study project in the course where the demand for examination is a written case report and participation in two seminars

 

Guidelines and instructions for reports and presentation will be presented together with the case

 

Please note that all hand-ins will be checked for cheating using the “Urkund” Plagiarism Control software.

Literature seminars

There will be five compulsory literature seminars during the course. The literature for each seminar will be published two weeks before the seminar at the course homepage.

Prior to the seminar

• You should register in a student team for the specific seminar at the course homepage. You are encouraged to join different student teams for the different seminars.
• Read the papers / book chapters assigned for the seminar
• Answer the provided seminar questions and hand in the file individually at the course homepage, approximately half a page for each question.
• Prepare, and hand in, one question on your own, that you like to discuss at the seminar.

 

 

 

The seminar

• The allocated time is 50 minutes
• During the seminar, the group together with the teachers will discuss the issues the groups considered most important in the literature. These issues will be based on the questions suggested by the students.
• Two students will lead the discussion. The students will be chosen, by the teacher, at the seminar.
• At the seminar day you will individually review the answers on the questions handed in by two other course participants.

After the seminar

• Your seminar paper will be given the grades pass or rework required.

 

The examination, of the literature seminars, is thus based on participation in seminars, hand in of answers and own questions prior of seminars, peer review and rework if needed.