Ultamyacin’s current process for producing pressed face powder is long and takes many steps to deliver the final product. It has several elements that can be optimized in order to save time and eliminate unnecessary activities. The following review presents a new process for pressed face powder production and analyzes the influence of Deming’s 14 points on these changes. Then, organizational and employee goals for improving this process are discussed. Most notably, the production can benefit by building the quality of resources and materials into the system and eliminating delay by investing in better equipment and vehicles.
Deming’s 14 points cover the potential steps a business can take to improve its management. The first point is to focus on continuous and purposeful product improvement (The Deming Institute, 2022). In the discussed case, the business should work with suppliers to ensure that the raw materials and products of manufacturing are of high quality to eliminate or significantly lower the risk of contamination or low quality. The next point, adopting a new philosophy, is connected to this process as well (The Deming Institute, 2022). Ultamyacin’s management should focus on treating the entire process through the Total Quality Management (TQM) lens and instill the vision of quality into each employee.
The third point is the most important: the company should stop relying on inspections for higher quality. According to Deming, Ultamyacin must build quality into the product from the start, which can be done by monitoring suppliers, improving equipment, and training employees (The Deming Institute, 2022). Fourth, total cost minimization should become a priority by selecting one supplier and building long-term relationships. The fifth step is constant improvement, which implies that the current plan for production should be reviewed after some time to see whether more changes are necessary. The sixth point is also among the most important ones – training on the job should become a pillar of the company’s product quality goals in order to facilitate change and ensure higher quality (The Deming Institute, 2022). Leadership also should be trained and chosen to follow the ideals of TQM and Deming’s points.
Next, points eight and nine ask to eliminate fear and barriers between departments. This process should result in better company culture and improved communication between employees and management (The Deming Institute, 2022). A team may be created to discuss the problems and future goals, covering all steps of the production process. The tenth point addresses the need to eliminate targets and slogans. As such, the zero-defect policy should be ingrained in supplier relations and quality management rather than employee relations. In the eleventh point, Deming calls for removing quotas and numerical goals for employees and management, which are not currently present in the process of the production plan. Next, the merit system covered in the twelfth step is also not mentioned in the plan. Finally, the last two steps are connected in the case, as they encourage the organization to educate employees and motivate every individual to participate in company transformation (The Deming Institute, 2022). The present plan invites all members to train and change their view of the production process.
Reviewing the old process, one can see that several steps in production can be optimized without changing the route significantly. As the cost of building a new manufacturing facility was deemed too high, other measures are introduced to lower the costs and increase quality. First, based on Deming’s third point, the majority of inspections should be removed and performed rarely to support the standard. Instead, it is vital to build a relationship with high-quality suppliers and review the contract to include checks before shipping. Furthermore, the quality of manufacturing and employee training are incorporated to decrease the need for inspection after each operation.
The second major change is the elimination of the delay that occurs early in the process. Ultamyacin should consider purchasing its own tank trucks or equipping the facility in Minnesota. This expense can shorten the transportation time for the company and move products from one location to another without an unnecessary pause between steps. As the company cannot consider building different facilities, it has a limited number of choices to lower costs and improve production time. Therefore, such spending is necessary to help Ultamyacin to optimize its process in the long term.
Finally, the third proposed change refers to the packaging supplier that is currently chosen by Ultamyacin. It is essential to find a local package manufacturer in Strasbourg to eliminate the steps of production and transportation from the Czech Republic. This step increases transportation costs and adds another source of potential risks. Packaging can be damaged when moved from one country to another, and some fees can make this step less profitable for the company (Sarkis, 2020). Thus, following the point of constant improvement, it is advised to simplify the process by finding a local supplier.
To succeed in implementing the advised changes, the management and employees must improve their communication, create new goals, and commit to the transformation. First, management should review the process and discuss these changes with all employees to increase transparency. In this case, the communication should reflect the new TQM approach and Deming’s points of removing barriers (Basheer et al., 2019; The Deming Institute, 2022). Every worker should understand why the changes are happening, and the value of quality must be highlighted as the new aim of each step in the manufacturing process. Then, an interprofessional team can be created to monitor the transformation and introduce further changes to continue optimizing production. These professionals will share their experience and knowledge about transportation, transfer, production, and supplier relations to promote the transformation and predict potential risks. Lastly, an educational program for all employees and management is important for the change, and it should become one of the major goals for the company.
In conclusion, the proposed plan follows Deming’s point by changing the production from within and engaging every worker in the company. The elimination of inspections by increasing the quality of materials and training employees is the most important element of the transformation. It should save much time without sacrificing the quality of the final product. Other initiatives include reducing wait time and contacting local suppliers to decrease the risks of incurring damage during the transportation of packaging. Overall, the plan needs further improvement if the company reaches a state where it can build new factories and optimize production with more significant changes than it currently can afford.
References
Basheer, M., Siam, M., Awn, A., & Hassan, S. (2019). Exploring the role of TQM and supply chain practices for firm supply performance in the presence of information technology capabilities and supply chain technology adoption: A case of textile firms in Pakistan. Uncertain Supply Chain Management, 7(2), 275-288. Web.
Sarkis, J. (2020). Supply chain sustainability: Learning from the COVID-19 pandemic. International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 41(1), 63-73. Web.
The Deming Institute. (2022). Dr. Deming’s 14 points for management. Web.