Introduction
Operational management is the part of the business that engages in the improvement of the quality of goods and services by ensuring that business operations are proficient and effective. This is achieved through better management of resources and the use of better distribution forms of goods and services to customers with a view to increasing production.
The major issues facing Tom and Mason include
The fact that each mold had to meet exacting unique standards poses the problem of time, demand in labor, and resources. This is because the fabrication process alone requires high skills involving the design engineer and the machinists that can only start after the purchasing department has ordered the specific materials and tools. This makes the manufacture of unique molds cumbersome and time-consuming which leads to delays and low returns from production.
The limited capacity of productivity of this company has led to the concentration of its sales efforts on supplying parts that were used in limited quantities for research efforts and pre-production pilot runs. The concentration of production efforts on these activities, in turn, led to the low concentration on attending to consumer orders. This in return resulted in delays in honoring orders and also compromised the quality of products the company produced.
It is evident that there is a personnel shortage as the design team after a review of the design specifications gives the mold specifications to the master machinist for fabrication. The fabricating process takes only three to five days and the testing and inspection up to a few days. However, this period extends from two to four weeks depending on the workload the machinist has already scheduled to do. This, therefore, indicates the shortage of personnel in this given area if not in all other divisions.
The other issue facing this company is the ordering of raw materials and special tooling that takes three to four weeks. This long process is a problem in that it pushes the time taken for an order to be met with the three to four weeks the process takes. This implies that the ordering process is cumbersome and tedious thus the need for immediate intervention to reduce the time taken to meet orders and also create enough time for the production process. This will enable the company to produce better quality items to avoid the return of faulty products that have been taking place.
Another issue that is facing the company is the order of materials when orders have already been placed. This can be corrected by ordering the required materials in advance so as to be able to resume the production of ordered items as soon as the orders are placed. This will further speed up the rate of meeting orders and reducing the workload as the ordering of raw materials will have been done.
The other issue that needs to be addressed is the change to the current system of developing partnerships with suppliers of parts. This step will be helpful in that it will help make the production efficient and cost-effective therefore allow for diverting of funds into other activities in support of the business. This will also play the role of reducing the time taken to meet orders that is a major problem facing the company.
As seen from the sales records, the sales for mold fabrication have remained virtually constant over time but that of multiple molds was declining. This decline further affects the productivity of the firm therefore the management may need to focus on the production of those products that have either a constant or increasing sales trend. It would also be a proper management strategy to major in the production of the model sizes whose demand is higher.
There is also the issue of having no projective plans and goals put into place that makes the master scheduler not to be able to determine or plan for the delivery of orders. This may have the effect of reducing the sales returns of the firm as customers take the time of having their order met as one of the major conditions when choosing a supplier.
Below is a flow diagram showing the processes and the changing nature of the production process.
The competitive priorities for these processes include the choice of either producing fabricating molds or plastic parts. This is because though different these two processes are linked and often orders would lead to the fabrication of molds and production of necessary parts. This is also because of the changing nature of the industry guided by changing demand and the need to work cooperatively with suppliers.
As evident, the firm is at a production crisis therefore in need of an operational management shift. This may involve a change of time management so as to have fixed timescales and schedules for the different activities to help meet orders in time. The firm can also review the decision-making to accommodate views of the different staff that can have an overwhelming effect on correcting the present crisis. The firm can also ensure effective communication within the firm that will seek to improve the production process through enhanced cooperative work. The firm may also attempt to increase the trust and cooperation between the management and the employees; this will help identify any shortages within the production process.
Some of the alternatives that can be employed include seeking to reduce the costs of raw materials and the time scale of acquiring them. The firm can also try to overcome the problems through team motivation where goals that are met are rewarded to help meet the set goals. Other success strategies that can be applied include keeping the team aware and focused on the project’s progress.