Widget Production
Mike Pina
March 26th, 2012
ISCOM/305 – Systems Operations Management
Kairo Hannon
Taylor Inc. is a company that manufactures widgets. It is in the middle of optimizing its manufacturing operations to increase operational efficiency and effectiveness by increasing productivity and balancing costs of productions.
The company’s current operation, while effective carries a sizeable overhead and operational costs related with workers compensation claims, high costs in wages due to an sizeable employee base to run the production line. In addition, given to its current processes and way of doing business, more than 27% of productive labor time is wasted to compensate for the operational design and layouts.
As part of its strategy, Taylor Inc, is looking into making improvements to their manufacturing physical layout, expecting to increase production, applying lean techniques; and a more structured management approach to its operation, its performance and its people; aiming to balance resources and production schedules, maximize output, maintain current levels of employees, decrease worker compensation expenses and maintain, and increasing profitability.
A good approach would be to adopt network strategies such as real time approach to measuring and tracking production schedule, communicating and tracking production goals and performance via the network and making them visible to each production line, showing as well the time lines, production speed, and other key indicators that can help supervisors and managers monitor and cross-coordinate to ensure the desired levels of performance.
Taylor Inc, could also implement continuous training programs to ensure employees skills are up-to-date and sharp which will translate into higher productivity and less wasted time during change over.
The table below shows the different alternatives presented to the company, in comparison to its current operation and how each alternative would be the...