Cafe

The Integration of Computer in Manufacturing Business Executive Summary “Computer-integrated Manufacturing is the integration of total manufacturing enterprise by using integrated systems and data communication coupled with new managerial philosophies that improve organizational and personnel efficiency. ” This is according to Erhums. This system helps to reduce problems regarding to the manufacturing of products with the help of the implementation of computers. This strategy helps to improve the performance of manufacturing.

It is implemented to satisfy the needs and demands for a productivity enhancement and higher quality products with fewer errors in production process. This paper discusses about the help provided by the computer-integrated manufacturing in various business. It also states here the illustration of the key issues of the integration and adaptability of CIM. In addition, a new framework has been proposed in this paper for the design and implementation of CIM. Introduction Business has so many things to consider. And one of it is how will you increase efficiency and enhance productivity with fewer errors.

Before, the only way to manufacture products is through manual approach wherein there is a possibility of wrongdoings which may lead to business failures. But since advanced technology has been developed, it will be a very big advantage in the field of manufacturing business. It focuses on producing products in its most favorable condition, and at the same time, guaranteeing high quality, low costs, high flexibility and even smaller production quantity. Computer-integrated Manufacturing (CIM) is concerned with the integration of the business, engineering and manufacturing processes of an enterprise.

It helps the enterprise to achieve and maintain a competitive edge in the manufacturing marketplace. Over a period of time, factory owners have integrated computer systems in order to control the entire production process. This is done by taking the design, analysis, planning, purchasing, cost accounting, inventory control and distribution departments and interlink them with the factory floor, material handling, and management departments. This system will have an impact on every system within the factory.

This paper focuses on the integration of computer in the manufacturing process. This is an area of significant importance of computer application which is inclined to the field of Information Technology in business. Literature Review According to the US National Research Council, CIM improves production productivity by 40 to 70 percent as well as enhances engineering productivity and quality. CIM can also decreases design costs by 15 to 3o percent, reduce overall lead time by 20 to 60 percent, and cut work-in-process inventory by 30 to 60 percent.

Managers who use CIM believe that there is a direct relationship between the efficiency of information management and the efficiency and the overall effectiveness of the manufacturing enterprise. Thacker’s view is that many CIM programs focus attention on the efficiency of information management and the manufacturing machines, material transformation processes, manufacturing management process, and production facilities. Computer-integrated Manufacturing can be applied to manufacturing organizations by changing the manufacturing focus toward a service orientation.

CIM and Job Definition Format (JDFF) are becoming increasingly beneficial to printing companies to streamline their production process. A better understanding of manager’s needs would help systems develop recognize the emerging opportunities for creative use of information technology, and implement necessary changes. Methodology Computer-integrated Manufacturing is the system used to describe the full automation of manufacturing plant, with all processes functioning under computer control and digital information on tying team together.

This system was promoted by machine tool manufactures in the 1980’s and the society for Manufacturing Engineers. It is not the same as a “lights-out” factory wherein it will run completely independent of human intervention. The hearts of CIM are the Computer-aided design (CAD) and Computer-aided Manufacturing (CAM). These systems are essential in reducing cycle times in the organization. Functional requirements must be compared to the current inventory of systems and available technologies to identify the accessibility of the system.

According to Jorgensen and Krause, there are techniques that is being used in satisfying system requirements which includes utilizing unused and available functional capabilities of current systems; identifying functional capabilities but not currently in house; recognizing state-of-the-art technology that is not immediately commercially available on a system; foreseeing functional capabilities of systems on the technical horizon; and identifying whether the requirement is beyond the capabilities of systems on the technical horizon. Study

Computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM) system is simply the manipulation of computers in manufacturing products or other activities where final products or other activities are the main concern of this system. CIM has a big role regarding to the development of a product concept that may exist in the marketing organization which includes product design and specification, commonly the responsibility of an engineering organization; and its extension through production into delivery and after-sales activities that reside in a field service or sales organization.

CIM systems had come into view as an outcome of the developments in manufacturing and computer technology. This integrated computer aided manufacturing system, operates on both hardware and software. The software is simply what runs the factory or it is the brain of the factory. And the hardware is what makes the machine functions or run, or simply hardware is the muscle of the factory. These systems run on efficient output process. This means that the hardware and software works in the factory together. They should be not separated because as a unified unit, it operates for the peak benefit of the whole factory.

CIM system divided every individual “center” of the factory into work cells. As work cells, they are then divided into individual stations. He stations are the broken down to the individual processes and this process are what metamorphosis that raw materials into actual product. It may sound interweaving, but it streamlines the whole manufacturing process. This also allows the operations to change any necessary things that should be altered to the system without shutting down the whole system. In this way, optimizing production and its good quality will be highly obtained.

Analysis In spite of all the positive outcomes of the computer-integrated manufacturing system, there are also problems or key issues arose that needs to be ponder carefully such as the equipment incompatibility and difficulty of integration of protocols. The integration of different brand equipment controllers with robots, conveyors and supervisory controllers is a time-consuming task with a lot of pitfalls. In other words, the time required for software, hardware, communications and integration and large investment cannot be financially justified easily.

Another problem is data integrity. Machines react clumsily to bad data and the costs of it upkeep as well as general information systems departmental costs is higher than in non-CIM facility. Another problem that evolved is to try to accomplish in programming extensive logic to be able to produce schedules and optimize part sequence. There is no human mind that is to put into place of this approach in reacting to a dynamic day0today manufacturing schedule and changing priorities.

On the other hand, integrated manufacturing is neither a universal remedy nor should it be embraced as a religion. It is an operational and tool that if executed and used properly will provide a new dimension to competing. Eventually, it will introduce quickly new customaries high quality products and delivering them with unprecedented lend times, swift decisions, and manufacturing products with high velocity. Conclusions and Recommendations Computer is one of the models of the information and communication technologies in manufacturing.

There are factors which are involved when it comes to the CIM implementation and this includes production volume, in order to make the integration, the experiences of the company or personnel is highly concerned also the level of the integration into the product itself and the integration of the production process. When a company wants to integrate the computer into their business, they must be careful in starting manipulating this system for this undergoes a complex process. Computers, made an enormous impact regarding on the speed and accuracy of the production process.

With the help of this system, it is now accessible to create high quality outcomes in just a short period of time and it is hustle-free and less effort not like in the previous tomes, it would have taken a number of days to make the same products with no assurance that they would all be able to have the same quantity and quality. Computer-integrated manufacturing is a very interactive and hands on system. If it is applied appropriately, it will surely increase efficiency and enhance productivity with fewer errors to the whole factory. References http://www. computerintegratedfacturing . com/

For the following case: •View the Video Case for Chapter 3 for OMMyLab •Bulletize the following (so that the case can be understood fully from your bullets and not have to read the case) •Clearly articulate the question(s) you are answering before providing you answer •Quantitative Issue The manager is trying to evaluate how a new advertising campaign affects guest counts. Using data for the past 10 months (see the table) develop a least squares regression relationship and then forecast the expected guest count when advertising is $65,000. Provide the answer to your boss and then provide the model as backup) •Qualitative Issues 1. Describe three different forecasting applications at Hard Rock. Name three other areas in which you think Hard Rock could use forecasting models. (Justify your choices) 2. What is the role of the POS system in forecasting at Hard Rock? 3. Justify the use of the weighting system used for evaluating man¬agers for annual bonuses. 4. Name several variables besides those mentioned in the case that could be used as good predictors of daily sales in each cafe.

Provide backup using appropriate technology (Provide the spreadsheets as spreadsheets). Forecasting at Hard Rock Cafe With the growth of Hard Rock Cafe—from one pub in London in 1971 to more than 129 restaurants in more than 40 countries today—came a corporate wide demand for better forecasting. Hard Rock uses long-range forecasting in setting a capacity plan and intermediate-term forecasting for locking in contracts for leather goods (used in jackets) and for such food items as beef, chicken, and pork.

Its short-term sales forecasts are conducted each month, by cafe, and then aggregated for a headquarters view. The heart of the sales forecasting system is the point-of-sale sys¬tem (FOS), which, in effect, captures transaction data on nearly every person who walks through a cafe’s door. The sale of each entree repre¬sents one customer; the entree sales data are transmitted daily to the Orlando corporate headquarters’ database. There, the financial team, headed by Todd Lindsey, begins the forecast process.

Lindsey fore¬casts monthly guest counts, retail sales, banquet sales, and concert sales (if applicable) at each cafe. The general managers of individual cafes tap into the same database to prepare a daily forecast for their sites. A cafe manager pulls up prior years’ sales for that day, adding information from the local Chamber of Commerce or Tourist Board on upcoming events such as a major convention, sporting event, or con¬cert in the city where the cafe is located. The daily forecast is further broken into hourly sales, which drives employee scheduling.

An hourly forecast of $5,500 in sales translates into 19 workstations, which are further broken down into a specific number of wait staff, hosts, bartenders, and kitchen staff. Computerized scheduling software plugs in people based on their availability. Variances between forecast and actual sales are then examined to see why errors occurred. Hard Rock doesn’t limit its use of forecasting tools to sales. To evaluate managers and set bonuses, a 3-year weighted moving average is applied to cafe sales. If cafe general managers exceed their targets, a bonus is computed.

Todd Lindsey, at corporate headquarters, applies weights of 40% to the most recent year’s sales, 40% to the year before, and 20% to sales 2 years ago in reaching his moving average. An even more sophisticated application of statistics is found in Hard Rock’s menu planning. Using multiple regression, managers can compute the impact on demand of other menu items if the price of one item is changed. For example, if the price of a cheeseburger increases from $7. 99 to $8. 99, Hard Rock can predict the effect this will have on sales of chicken sandwiches, pork sandwiches, and salads.

Managers do the same analysis on menu placement, with the center section driving higher sales volumes. When an item such as a hamburger is moved off the center to one of the side flaps, the corresponding effect on related items, say french fries, is determined. Hard Rock’s Moscow Cafe Data Month 12345678910 Guest count 21 24 27 32 29 37 43 43 54 66 (in thousands) Advertising 14 17 25 25 35 35 45 50 60 60 (in $ thousand)

This paper will cover a reflection of my experience with the Biz Cafe simulation. After reading this paper, one should have an idea of what I learned from the simulation and how it works. I will be talking about the challenges my team and I dealt with and how we overcame these challenges. Most importantly, I will be talking about how we made Coffee Connection run as a successful coffee shop.

In this paper, I will also discuss my thoughts on teamwork and the significant factors of running a small business. My Biz Cafe Simulation Learning Experience Taking part in the Biz Cafe simulation has been one of the most motivating, enjoyable and enriching learning tools that I have ever been given the opportunity to utilize. It actually gives you the surreal feeling that you are really running your own coffee shop business. I appreciate the creativeness of the simulation and the fact that it provided a fun, delightful educational experience for me.

Biz Cafe has allowed me to become familiar with the significant factors of successfully starting and running a small business. Some of the significant factors include management, marketing, operational and accounting decisions. The Biz Cafe simulation provided hands-on experience that allowed my group members and I to make the imperative business decisions that contribute to the making or breaking of a business. Overall, I have certainly developed a better understanding of the management of a small business and what it possibly feels like to become an owner.

Having the opportunity to start and run a simulated coffee shop from a practical standpoint, I have been able to broaden and strengthen my knowledge of the day-to-day operational functions of a small business. With the help of my team, we were able to make the careful decisions needed in order to run as a successful coffee shop business. Coffee Connection In the start-up decisions, the name we chose for our cafe was Coffee Connection. We agreed upon the name, Coffee Connection because we thought that the name was nice and appropriate for our cafe.

The furniture we chose for our coffee shop was the used furniture which was cheaper for us. Choosing the used furniture proved to be a good choice that in the long run worked for our coffee shop. We also decided that purchasing the high capacity espresso machine would be very convenient for the business. The machine turned out to be a great investment that served Coffee Connection very well. Challenges We Overcame A challenge that we faced with our coffee shop was making the staffing decisions. We struggled with trying to figure out a sufficient number of managers and servers to hire and an appropriate pay for them.

Around the beginning of the simulation, we had a nice amount of servers which resulted in us receiving an award for best staff. After we extended hours, things seemed to go downhill with our staff. As a result, this had an effect on the overall service of the workers. They were not as happy or productive as we had hoped. Our managers were becoming stressed out and our servers were being overworked and even a couple of our servers quit. This lead to us hiring more servers, another manager and giving our managers a raise. These necessary adjustments were a must in our attempt to increase productivity.

We also thought that by giving the managers a pay raise, it would make them feel appreciated and motivate them to work. Recognition is what is needed to inspire employees to do their best. According to Business Now (Shah, 2009), “People are willing to work—and work hard—if they think their work makes a difference” (p. 284). After all, a company’s employees are their most valuable resource. During each round of the Biz Cafe simulation, we tried to exercise a realistic way of thinking when making important decisions that would have an impact on our business.

When purchasing coffee, one thing we did not take advantage of was sales forecasting which was probably our biggest mistake. As a result, our coffee purchases were constantly off. Not taking advantage of sales forecasting caused it to be difficult to determine an adequate amount of coffee to order for just about every round. What Made Us Successful Early on in the beginning of the simulation, I think we did a great job as far as brand awareness. We were sure to take advantage of the radio and newspaper advertisements. Before long, business was booming.

The advertisements were one of best decisions we decided upon due to how much business we brought in by simply marketing our cafe and product. By investing in the advertisements, our sales were definitely increased. Good marketing is undeniably one of the keys to the success of a business. As a team, it is most important to always work together if you plan to succeed. Throughout the Biz Cafe simulation, my teammates and I each put forth an awesome team effort by working together. We all brought different ideas and thoughts to the table.

Communication is one of the most vital aspects in working as a team. We made it our business to meet on our group’s discussion board to discuss our weekly decisions and goals for our coffee shop. Each of us was determined to run our cafe successfully. It was pretty fun participating in the simulation with them. Constantly keeping track of the other cafes helped us determine where we should be. Our ultimate goal was to grow and run as a successful cafe. Overall, I think we did a good job!

References

1. Shah, A. J. (2009). Business Now (p. 284). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.