Abstract Changes in production processes, such as production and engineering order changes, can potentially affect both direct and indirect manufacturing costs. Research to date, however, has focused primarily on how changes in production processes affect the level of manufacturing overhead costs while assuming such changes do not affect direct unit-level costs. in this paper, we present results from a field study on the effects of production changes on direct labor productivity and direct material yields. Our analyses show that production changes reduce direct labor productivity and material yields raising costs beyond the labor and material costs Incurred in setups associated with these changes. We also illustrate how change-adjusted labor and material standards may be used in variance analysis to separate the effects of production changes on the usage and costs of direct inputs from those effects associated with more common effects on operating efficiency. Our results suggest there could be significant benefits from re-examining existing manufacturing and marketing policies that increase the frequency of changes in production processes.
Dopuch et al. (Thu,) studied this question.