Lesson video

Hi there, everybody.

My name is Mr. Booth and welcome to your design and technology lesson for today.

It's brilliant that you could join me.

In today's lesson, we are going to be looking at time planning.

I'm gonna show you why it is so important to plan your time when you are manufacturing products.

I'm gonna give you some great examples from industry on where things have gone right, but also when things haven't gone right, when they've gone wrong.

What I also want you to be able to do in this lesson is to plan your time very carefully and we're actually gonna use a Gantt chart to do that.

Now this lesson is part of the iterative design unit where we're looking at the context of nature.

Today's outcome, I want you to be able to plan the manufacture of your design using a timeline.

We have three key words for you to look out for today.

The first is time planning.

That's what this is all about.

And what this is is organizing and scheduling tasks efficiently so you can manufacture really good products on time.

To do that, we are gonna be using a Gantt chart.

This is one of many methods you can use to plan your time.

This is a way of displaying tasks in a horizontal bar chart.

And then we have the stages of making.

These are the sequential steps involved in creating something.

And you need to think carefully about these when planning your time.

We have two learning cycles today.

The first one is all about time planning, and then we're gonna create our own Gantt chart to help us plan our time correctly.

So let's get going with time planning.

Strong project management skills can lead to successful outcomes.

Project management skills include time planning, which is of course what we're talking about, communication, problem-solving, risk management, budgeting, decision-making, and of course collaboration.

Now you'll find all of these are really important as part of project management.

Time planning is crucial in project management because it ensures tasks are completed efficiently, that deadlines are met, and resources are used effectively.

And all of these are measured throughout the process.

It helps to meet deadlines, increase productivity, improve resource allocation, reduce stress of yourself but also staff, and also enhance decision-making to make sure you're making the correct decisions based on the evidence that is in front of you.

Quick check for understanding.

What is crucial in project management?

Is it A, stress planning, B, work planning, C, time planning, or D, office planning?

Pause the video now, have a go at this, and come back to me when you've got your answer.

It is of course C, time planning.

That's what this is all about.

Now, manufacturing a product from start to finish can present many challenges.

Planning time efficiently can help to reduce those challenges.

Manufacturers will produce detailed plans for the manufacturer of their products.

Quite often these are extremely detailed with many people inputting into those from the start.

This ensures consumer demand is met.

It ensures cost efficiency, identifies and prevents bottlenecks, and highlights supply chain delays, and improves productivity.

Now, I use the term bottlenecks there.

Do you have any idea what I mean by a bottleneck?

Maybe pause the video now, have a chat with the person next to you, and come back to me when you think you can define what a bottleneck in manufacturing is.

So what do you think a bottleneck is?

Well, obviously, in the real world, when we're talking about a bottleneck, this is the neck of a bottle and this reduces the flow of liquid as it flows out of a bottle, which is great when you want to take a drink from your water bottle.

But in industry it actually can be seen as a negative thing because this is where production slows down because of something that is happening in the production process.

So what we want to do is try and reduce or prevent bottlenecks from happening, so we have that nice flow of production, which of course will then reduce waste.

Quick check for understanding, being able to plan time during the manufacturing stage can improve A, demand, B, productivity, C iterations, or D efficiency.

Pause the video now, have a go at this, and come back to me when you've got your answer.

It is of course productivity and efficiency.

That's what we are trying to improve.

So let's have a look at some examples.

Now, example of where time planning could have been better is the manufacture of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner passenger aircraft.

Boeing planned to deliver the first aircraft in 2008, but actually the first commercial flight didn't happen until 2011.

No, Boeing relied heavily on global suppliers.

They didn't make every single product, every single part of the plane themselves.

They actually used lots of bought-in items, but they failed to properly coordinate the timelines between these hundreds of different organizations that were contributing to the manufacturer of this plane, and this of course led to delays.

The suppliers of all these parts struggled to meet deadlines, and Boeing had to take over some of the production processes.

And this is actually really common in industry.

The impact of this was there was a three-year delay that resulted in billions of dollars of extra costs.

The airlines suffered financial losses due to postponed deliveries.

You imagine if you were an airline and you'd ordered a number of these planes, and they weren't delivered on time, that's gonna have a huge implication on your business.

And of course there was lots of reputational damage.

I'm talking to you about it in this lesson because it's quite a famous case.

And of course the customers lost confidence in their product.

Now there is of course a flip side to this.

The famous car manufacturer from Japan, Toyota, they also found that they had similar problems to this.

So what they did is they actually sent their engineers into all their suppliers and helped them become more efficient, which in turn made Toyota more efficient.

And one of the ways they did that is by using what we call just-in-time.

So let's have a closer look at what that actually means.

So a way of improving time planning during manufacture is to use just-in-time, or we sometimes refer to this as JIT or J-I-T.

So just-in-time is where materials and components are delivered only when they are needed.

And this reduces waste, storage costs we call inventory, and of course production delays.

All of those can be classed as waste.

Waste isn't just about materials, it's also things like time, but also delays that you have as well.

Now it was first pioneered in the 1950s in Japan and made famous by Toyota, but it's widely used in manufacturing to improve efficiency.

And actually, if any of you go on to work in manufacturing of anything, whether it's food products or whether it's actual products that we use in our home, you will find they will incorporate aspects of just in time in their manufacturing.

Quick check for understanding.

Just-in-time is where materials and components are delivered.

.

.

Every day is A, B, after when needed, C, every month, or D, only when needed.

Pause video now, have a go at this, and come back to me when you've got your answer.

It is of course only when needed, just-in-time.

Well done.

Now let's have a little look at lead times.

Now this refers to the time it takes from initiating a project or an order from a customer until the final product or service is delivered or completed.

Different sectors of the industry will have different lead times.

For example, the construction industry is known to have long lead times, and you can imagine if you are building a football stadium, it's gonna take a lot of time to acquire permits, procure specialist materials, and also coordinate all the labor needed to work on that project.

The flip side of that is of course fashion, fast fashion has a very quick lead time.

And in fact, some fashion houses can get a product to customers within a month of the sketches being delivered.

So we're now onto your first task.

We're gonna do a task on time planning.

I want you to think about making a hot drink at home, a bit like a cup of tea, a cup of coffee, or a hot chocolate.

Now, if you don't drink any hot drinks, I want you to imagine.

I'm sure you know somebody who does drink those hot drinks.

So think carefully about that process.

The first thing I want you to do is identify the major stages of making this drink in six steps or less.

So you've gotta really condense and think carefully about how you will make it in six steps.

I want you to predict a lead time for this activity by thinking about how long each stage will take to complete.

So you've gotta think very carefully about how long each stage will take, and then of course add that all together to think about the lead time.

Once you've done that, I want you to apply some project management thinking to making this hot drink.

And you can do this by answering these following questions.

I want you to identify two bottlenecks that contribute to wasting time during the task.

And let's remind ourselves, a bottleneck is where production slows down.

Okay, it doesn't go as quick as we want.

The production doesn't flow as well as it should do.

And then I want you to tell me, how could you apply a just-in-time strategy to this task to minimize waste?

Remember, waste is things like time or standing around, not doing anything for some time or waiting for products to arrive.

Pause the video now, have a go at this task, and come back to me when you've got your answer.

So, how did you get on?

Well, let's look at how Jacob got on with his attempt.

So, first of all, he thought about making a cup of tea.

So let's look at his process.

First of all, he's gonna fill up and put the kettle onto boil, and that's gonna take two minutes.

That's a really sensible first thing to do because that seems to take quite a long time.

He's then gonna find a mug or a cup and put the tea bag in.

That's gonna take 30 seconds.

Pour in the water, which is now boiled, into the mug, and allow it to brew.

So that's gonna take about one minute.

He's then gonna get the milk from the fridge and pour it into the mug.

That's about 30 seconds.

Then remove the teabag and stir the drink, 30 seconds.

And then the product can be delivered to the consumer.

Jacob also predicts that the lead time for this task will be four minutes and 30 seconds to get through the entire process.

Alex then says, well, there are two bottlenecks that will waste time during this task.

They are waiting for the kettle to boil and for the teabag to brew.

So what could we do about that?

Well, by applying a just-in-time strategy, it means components are delivered when needed.

A quick boil kettle or a boiling water tap will deliver hot water when needed.

You wouldn't need to wait as long, the two minutes it took to boil the kettle.

By collecting the milk and the spoon as the tea bag is brewing, this will be an efficient use of time and would enable these components to be delivered when needed.

So well done, Alex, there.

You've applied some just-in-time strategies to make sure that this is actually reduced.

And if you can reduce that lead time, then you get your drink quicker.

But more importantly, in industry, it means you're getting your product to the customer quicker and on time.

So we're now onto our second learning cycle.

So we're gonna apply a lot of that knowledge we've just learned into creating our own Gantt chart so we can plan out our project.

A tool that is well known and used in project management for time management is a Gantt chart.

In fact, you might have already come across a Gantt chart in your school lives.

A Gantt chart is a way of displaying tasks in a horizontal bar chart that visually displays a schedule over time.

It's a very visual way of understanding what needs to be done and also what is done and whether you are actually keeping to your time plan.

Gantt charts can be used to plan entire projects, but using them for individual phases, like making, can improve efficiency at crucial stages.

What it also do is it'll break those tasks down.

It can be very overwhelming when you need to make a product and you need to plan your time efficiently.

But if you break those tasks down into individual steps, then actually it can be then far more manageable.

Quick check for understanding.

A tool that is well known and used in project management for time planning is a what?

Pause the video now.

Come back to me when you've got your answer.

It is of course Gantt chart.

Well done.

Now, Sofia has designed an accessible herb planter.

She wants to produce a time plan for the manufacturing stage.

She's decided to focus on one component at a time.

So we're only gonna look at one component of her planter.

For your task, obviously, you are probably gonna have to look at multiple components so your Gantt chart will probably have more detail then Sofia's.

But let's have a look at what Sofia has done so far.

The first step is to identify the stages of making involved in the manufacturing of this component.

The specific component she's gonna make.

It can be helpful to do this using numbers.

So what we've done is we've gotta source the MDF for the base, number one.

Number two, create a card template for the base and the large shelf, and then we obviously can carry on.

So you can see how this is very similar to making your hot drink.

Sofia will now use those stages of making to help her construct a Gantt chart.

Let's look at what our Gantt chart looks like.

Now, yours might look similar to this to start with.

And as you get better at doing this, you might add far more detail, depending on your situation.

So, first of all, we have all the making stages.

That's the probably most important part of this Gantt chart.

You can see they are in this column of the left.

So we have sourcing the MDF, which is number one.

We are marking out the template at the sides, number two.

Number three is check the template for accuracy.

Number four is use the template to mark out the sides.

We're then cutting the sides for number five.

Marking out the whole locations, number six.

And then drilling the holes for number seven.

So although it's a simplified version of the chart, you can see we have thought very carefully about each of those stages and the order that they are gonna take place in.

We then have lots of additional details.

So for example, we have a start date.

When are we actually gonna start that making stage, how long is that stage gonna take?

In here, we've got the duration in hours, but of course you could put minutes as well.

We then have a status and we're gonna rank that.

That's gonna be really important.

What I mean by that is we're gonna decide on a color coding to decide whether it's in progress, whether it's something which actually we need to start, it hasn't started yet, or even if it is completed.

We also need to have some quality control checks in there, and that's really important to make sure we have quality, in our minds, at all stages of manufacturing.

And then of course we have our week by week chart of when these different stages will take place and they will happen across the rows on the top.

And you can see in this, Sofia is decided it's gonna take roughly about six weeks to make all these different stages to get the finished part completed.

Quick check for understanding.

Referring to a manufacturing Gantt chart, what is on the left in a column?

Is it A, stages of time, B, stages of making, C, stages of designing, or D stages of the week?

Pause the video now.

Have a go at this and come back to me when you've got your answer.

It is of course stages of making.

Well done.

Sofia goes through each making stage and fills in the box or cell for when that stage of making will happen on the timeline.

So what you can see for this is you can see, in week one, she will be sourcing the MDF, but she'll also be marking out the template for the sides.

And then obviously as we get into week two, you can see week two is very busy, but all those other activities will be taking place.

And of course marking out the whole location.

You can see this part of the making stage will happen over weeks three and four, and that's absolutely fine.

Now another aspect of this that you need to think about carefully is some of those stages cannot take place until the previous stage has been done.

For example, you cannot do stage five, which is cutting the sides until you have marked out the sides.

So it's really important that you get it in the right order, just like when you did your hot drink.

Obviously, then Sofia can add a key to indicate the meaning of the status column to help with tracking of progress of making.

Now this is really important because other people want to see whereabouts you are within your project.

And if you're collaborating, if you're working as part of a team, then this will be a live document.

So people will need to see what's happening, especially if you are working as a team.

So you can see Sofia has decided green is completed, yellow-orange is pending, and red is not started.

And that's really clear to see what is taking place, but it's also really important to keep it updated when you are working.

Additional details filled in.

A title and component name is added.

Quality control text can be considered.

And Sofia has completed the Gantt chart.

And again, yours might be far more detailed than this, but you can see now we have a great Gantt chart to work with.

We've planned our time and hopefully we can then stick to this time whilst we manufacture.

So we're now onto task B.

And yes, what you're going to do is use a previous design that you've created.

I want you to construct a Gantt chart for the manufacturing stage.

Complete this for one component only and use the same format as below.

Now once you get good at this, you'll obviously be able to use your own format and you'll be able to add to this.

But for now, just use this format.

Pause the video now, have a go at this task, and come back to me when you've completed it.

So how did you get on?

Well, as we can see, Sofia has filled out her Gantt chart, and it's live as well.

So you can see, in this week, she's already sourced her MDF for this frame size.

That is complete and it took her one hour.

Everything else has been filled out.

She's even got some quality control checks in there.

So you can see on the stage of making three, she's checking the template for accuracy.

She's going to make sure she measures that template very carefully by measuring it twice.

All the other information is filled out, and it looks like we've got a great Gantt chart that Sofia can now work to, and I'm sure yours was just as fantastic.

So well done.

So that brings us to the end of this lesson.

Well done with everything you've been doing today.

Let's have a quick summary.

Strong project management skills can lead to successful outcomes.

These skills include time planning.

Manufacturers will produce detailed plans for the manufacturer of their products.

Time planning ensures tasks are completed efficiently, deadlines are met and resources are used effectively.

Lead times are calculated and the strategy of using just-in-time is used to reduce waste.

A tool used for time planning is a Gantt chart.

This is a way of displaying tasks in a horizontal bar chart that visually displays a schedule over time.

And of course, a Gantt chart support in the scheduling of tasks and helps with organization, tracking, and quality control.

Well done with today's lesson.

I look forward to seeing you all next time.

Goodbye.