Eficiencia Operacional

Operational Efficiency

Chia-Yen Lee1 Andrew L. Johnson2

1Institute of Manufacturing Information and Systems, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan City 701,

Taiwan

2Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77840,

USA

1E-mail: cylee1980@neo.tamu.edu

2E-mail: ajohnson@tamu.edu

1. Introduction

The fields of engineering and management associate efficiency with how well a relevant action is

performed, i.e. ‘‘doing things right’’, and effectiveness with selecting the best action, i.e. ‘‘doing the right

thing’’. Thus, a firm is effective if identifies appropriate strategic goals, and efficient if it achieves them

with minimal resources. This chapter focuses on operational efficiency, or the ability to deliver products

and services cost effectively without sacrificing quality. In this chapter we investigate a firm’s operational

efficiency with both queueing models and productivity and efficiency analysis methods that identify

maximum productivity and measure efficiency as a ratio of observed productivity to maximum

productivity. The maximum productivity levels serves as a benchmark for desired perform. The methods

for analysis will vary depending on the level of analysis. For example, at the micro-level, we measure

operational efficiency at points (machine, workstation, laborer) on the shop floor, whereas the macrolevel

might be at the firm, industry, or nation level. We begin by evaluating performance at the

operational level, and then apply productivity and efficiency analysis to aggregate performance at higher

levels.

The analysis of productivity and efficiency is associated with production economics which focuses on

assessment and uses an aggregate description of technology to answer questions such as (Hackman, 2008):

 How efficient is the firm in utilizing its input to produce its outputs?

 Is the firm using the right mix of inputs or producing the right mix of outputs given prevailing

prices?

 How will the firm respond to a price hike in a critical input?

 How efficient is the firm in scaling its operations?

 Has the firm improved its productive capability over time?

 How does the firm compare to its competitors?

Figure 1 shows the three levels of production and operational planning and defines productivity and

efficiency analysis (PEA) role. The strategic level includes long-term planning issues such as make-orbuy

decisions. The tactical level describe midterm actions that are done perhaps on a weekly or month

basis, while the operational level emphasizes daily scheduling and shop floor control. PEA supports

tactical-level decisions and is part of mid-term production planning. PEA provides performance

benchmarking and production guidance. It can also provide ex post analysis to quantify efficiency for

complex production processes that use multiple inputs to generate multiple outputs, or ex ante analysis to

suggest guidelines for resource allocation.

Figure 1 A General description of the analysis levels in production and operations planning

Absolute Operational Efficiency

Ideal benchmarks to measure efficiency are usually developed in a design laboratory under perfect

operating conditions. However, it is not easy to identify the sources of efficiency loss between ideal

performance and the best observed performance. For instance, in a manufacturing process operating in

perfect conditions, one machine’s ideal throughput is 100 units per hour, yet the actual throughput is 80

units per hour due to operator’s skill, scheduling, etc. We can

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