Manufacturing

Lean production, also known as lean manufacturing is a practice within the production chain that puts into consideration the expenditures of resources towards elimination of wasteful practices during production. It focuses on attaining more value by working less. Lean manufacturing has gained high prominence because of the way it reduced the Toyota seven wastes and hence improving overall consumer value. The Toyota seven problems concerns were transport, inventory, motion, waiting, overproduction, over processing and defects (Vega, 2003, p. 12). Lean manufacturing is an efficiency variation theme that decreases waste by employing empirical methods in decision making, uncritically accepting pre existing ideas. Therefore, it can be argued that lean manufacturing represents stepwise strategy and set of tools for achieving maximum product flexibility, predictable product output flow, minimum system waste and smooth product flow. Concepts used in this method appear to be making holds in various industries by shortening order to delivery lead times.

For many nations and scholars, it is believed that lean is the set of tools assisting in the process of identifying and steadily eliminating wastes. In the process of eliminating wastes, quality improves with costs and production time declining (Cortada, 2004, p. 11). The evolution of lean manufacturing does not come in automatically or cheaply, but it takes time and perseverance. This is because it takes a lot of resources and time. According to experience at Boeing, evolution process is dramatically affected by various technological challenges. Thus, evolution of this system takes three stages.

A case study at the plane manufacturing site of the Boeing of Spokane suggests that moving to lean manufacturing can only be accomplished in large steps but not small ones. If flexibility is not considered in equipment and workforce systems, initial stages can be costly. The flexibility of workforce depends on workforce attitude because they both support and touch labor from comfort zone to new approaches and job descriptions. Equipments should be flexible enough to adapt product mixes, new line layouts and process change failure to which large cost penalties can be charged. Read about lean production vs mass production

In its evolution, lean production first evolution was from manual to automated cell. In this stage, machines replaced most of the work that was performed by human beings (Bernard, 1999, p. 20). The second evolution marked departure from automation cell to lean manufacturing. This was a change in focus, implying that wastage had captured the attention of many policy makers. The third evolution was marked by movement from manual to partially automated mechanism. In this evolution, it was seen logical and beneficial for a good combination of machine work and optimal decision making.

Automation left decision making to machines, leading to a lot of wastage. Partial automation means that it is important to allow wastage minimization procedurals to function together with machinery efficiency (Swamidass, 2002, . p17). The principles of lead production came from Japanese manufacturing industry. It was first coined by John Krafcik in 1988, when he published ‘‘Triumph of the lean production system’’. Almost at the same time, Toyota took a second approach towards lean production. This second focus is based on improving smoothness or flow of work and hence eliminating unevenness within the production system.

The system promoted by this company of Toyota GM is referred to as mass production. American industrialists realized cheap offshore labor threat in 1910s and then turned to lean manufacturing as a countermeasure. Lean manufacturing has been widely adopted by companies. With exception of operational difficulty in converting from traditional and functional based operation, this manufacturing process significantly involves organizational transformations. It calls for work team’s formation comprising of multi skilled workers.

Work teams improve production and performance processes because they are preferably self directed. Lean and mass production do not differ in goals, but the approaches they apply in achieving them. Smooth flow implementation exposes quality problems already challenging, consequentially waste reduction happening naturally. Mass production naturally takes system wide perspective. Staff members form the Toyota Company have been surprised by the fact that approach is always in use, but the company aims have not been fully achieved.

Both mass and lean production systems are loosely connected by potentially connected principles (Cooke, 2003, p. 16). The principles include continuous improvement, building and maintaining long term relationship with suppliers, flexibility, pull processing, waste minimization, perfect first time quality, automation, visual control, production flow and load leveling. In 1948, Toyota recognized the inefficiency in its system of operation and turned to the lean production strategies. They minimized their non value adding work, unevenness and overburdening.

They developed the sense of exposing problems systematically and employing the tools at times when ideal could not be achieved. These tools are workarounds to various scenarios, explaining apparent incoherence of the above stated principles (Dresner, 1999, p. 22). Mass production is based on to concepts; smart automation and just in time concept. Supporters of mass reduction say that smooth flow delivery achieves as many achievements as the side effects. Automation in this approach is usually achieved through human touch. This implies that systems or machines are designed to assist human focus on what they can do best.

The aim of this type of production is to avail enough intelligence to machines for them to recognize when they work abnormally and hence flag this element from human attention. According to this approach, humans do not focus on normal production but on the abnormal or fault cases within the production channel. The human workload is hence reduced leading to repetitive routine activity that they may not enjoy and ultimately not in their most effective area. The production mode has been viewed a symbol of optimal performance and efficiency since 1980s because of its applicability within the automotive industry especially Toyota.

In 1997, power and shoal companies identified eight areas that are perfected by lean management systems. They included corporate culture, employee improvement, work force flexibility, change management strategies, organizational structure and use of team work, use of kanbans, education and training, human resources issues and lastly the impact on changing roles. There are well spelled differences between mass production and lean production (Cooke, 2003, p. 23). Mass production is a profit maximization based strategy since: price – cost = profit. This is why the practice of systematic cost reduction leads to profit realization.

Lean implementation does not strongly emphasize on profits but just sounds as a fixation with improving the concepts of pull or flow. Another difference regards the tools. The tolls include visual control, value stream mapping and standardized work. Such tools give these two production methods the ability to counter problems or unhealthy challenges. Since every method has got challenges, the tools found in both of them can very applicable in solving problems, meaning that the two can share tools and differ in the objectives or their rationale. Form 1950s, mass production has been operating on management technique as compared to change agents.

This is well observed in push implementation of lean apart from pull by the team itself. This means that mass production does not depend on change agent specialists but on natural operations of the working team. In implementing lean production, developing the specialist is emphasized, but supervisory skills are expected to develop on its own over time (Morrison, 2003, p. 31). Another conspicuous difference between the two methods of production is the concept applied by mass production in batch processing. Mass production handles everything in batches.

Lean production batches are eliminated and reduced along the wait and queue states. Through the organization, work flows continuously from upstream tasks to down stream tasks. Batches are not highly preferred in businesses because they add costs without creating customer value, lengthen work completion time, pose work quality challenges and hide inefficiencies and reduce operational agility (Hitt, 2000,p. 45). Lean implementation focuses on getting right things at the right time, to the right place, in the right quantity. This makes it achieve perfect work flow, enabling change, enabling flexibility and minimizing wastes.

Lean production aims at making the work easy to manage, perform and understand. Organizational cultural impacts have been pointed to affect adoption of these strategies. This is because of the variation in managerial satisfaction of different cultures. Organizational culture may incorporate flexible manufacturing systems, procurement support, production and efficient delivery of finished products. Organizational culture may be developmental, rational, group and hierarchy. Group culture entails team work, empowerment, concern and participation. Hierarchy is the stability, formalization and control.

Rational couture is based on task and accomplishments rather than environment. In developmental culture, flexibility and creativity sustain change and growth. If this cultural environment is harmonized, excellence in adoption of the lead production can babe attained and put the venture in safe operation path. Organizational barriers that impede adoption of this technology are lack of crisis urgency, lack of mutual trust and respect, under organization, complacency, avoidance, overemphasis on core activities and rigid group boundaries (Vega, 2003, p.

34). The future of this manufacturing process is bright, with high probability that it will spread further around the globe. This is because many companies have witnessed the benefits of the process, seeing it as opportunities scratched from the surface. The company that started it fifty tears ago is still struggling to have it fully implemented but still surviving as the most effective automotive industry. Lean manufacturing has further been applied in governments, education, health care, military and service sector.

Its future stability is ascertained by the fact that lure for cheap labor will always exist in the world, which should be accompanied by reasonable distribution of business investment for it to make political and economic sense. The same method has high potentiality to curb recent tides in job loses for it eliminates wastage, driving companies to low cost regions. There are various barriers that are affecting the adoption of the lean production strategy. First and foremost, the strategy requires high collaboration and integration of human behavior in the production process.

Adoption of this strategy can only take place if and only if the concerned management is willing t change the old ideology towards modernism. Again the system requires people to focus on profit motives, which are not very common goal for all businesses (Morrison, 2003, p. 51). Organizational challenge to this technology therefore arises because the objectives of different organizations may not match the objectives of the technology. Organizations also rise up to promote human beings status either by promoting job opportunities or psychologically boosting their understanding.

Lean production aims at wastage minimization and strategies and automation as seen earlier. Automation means excessive exploitation of machinery and equipment in performing most of the functions in an organization. Unemployment and marginalization are major problems in the world, implying that lean production can not be massively adopted by many member states. Organizations may be non profit making, involve human rights activism, profit aimed or to serve government based objectives. Therefore, organizational challenge or barrier is mainly based on the set goals and missions (Cortada, 2004, p.

11). On human barriers, it is worth noting that people are interacting on all bases especially because of globalization aspects. This means controversy must arise in deciding whether or not to adopt any production criteria because of varying interests. In job or organizational environment, it is always advisable to make extensive consultations because all partners are part and parcel of organizational activities and organizational set missions and visions. This means efforts of all participants are essential in pulling the success of the organization closer.

Human barriers are therefore generally experienced in line with conflicting interests in an organizational set up. Operational barriers may compose of the financial ability, availability of machines and equipments and access to new and competitive technology. If a company is financially limited in access to information technology, this is a potential barrier that can limit the possibility of adopting the production process. If however a company that is weak in these terms happens to adapt it, then it may be hard to improve or facilitate full functioning of this process.

Financial and technology based challenges are very well pronounced around the world, meaning that it is illogical and unrealistic ignore such kind of events (Bernard, 1999, p. 19). In my own opinion, implementation of this strategy may be highly complicated or else cheap. This is because different companies, nations and organizations have different levels of development and set out missions. The level of development determines the financial strength, the technological level of the equipments and facilities employed in daily operations, access to information technology and utilization of highly qualified personnel.

As proved and earlier on stated in this paper, it is hard to implement because it consumes a lot of time and resources. This is a clear implication that the method may favor long-term and stable companies (Hitt, 2000, p. 27). This means short term and weak companies are not in position to implement this production program. In terms of output, I highly recommend the process. This is because regardless of the type of company, wastage is a business or organizational vice. Such wastage may take the form of time, finance, labor or equipments.

Whether product or service sector, efficiency is very vital for optimality to be realized. Foreclosures have been witnessed especially for companies that have not accorded efficiency in their operations. Efficiency does not only apply to product or commodity industries bit it is a requirement for all organizations, whether profit making or not. Although companies may differ in goals and internal operation, efficiency maintenance is compulsory for success of any organization to be attained. Every company is always to attain optimality, meaning the lean production is vital.

To end, it is necessary that companies try to curb the challenges towards adoption of lean manufacturing and implement it with full assurance of success (Dresner, 1999, p. 22).

Bibliography Bernard Paul, 1999. Integrated inventory management. New York: John Wiley & Sons; pp. 19, 20 Cooke William, 2003. Multinational companies and global human resource strategies. Westport, CT: Quorum Books; pp. 16, 23 Cortada James, 2004.

The digital hand: How computers changed the work of American manufacturing industries. Oxford: Oxford University Press; pp.11 Dresner Martin, 1999. Benchmarks and best practices for manufacturing profession. New York: John Wiley & Sons; pp. 22 Hitt Michael, 2000. Winning strategies in a deconstructing world.

New York: John Wiley & Sons; pp. 27, 45 Morrison Don, 2003. E-learning strategies: How to get fast implementation and delivery. New York: Wiley; pp. 31, 51 Swamidass Paul, 2002. Innovation in competitive manufacturing. New York: AMACOM; pp. 17 Vega Gina, 2003. Managing teleworkers and telecommuting strategies. Mahwah NJ: Preager; pp. 12, 34

PlastiTech’s current business is in a state of stability and conservation. It is not losing out on market share and yet Bill Summers wants to be able to boost sales in a bid to outdo the firm’s competitors: valid concern for a firm that may be on the verge of facing aggressive competition from local and foreign firms in the near future. The current marketing strategy at PlastiTech is as placid as could be, with only six sales representatives and is decidedly successful, considering the $50 million sales figure.

The quality of the plastics manufactured at PlastiTech is a little better off than its competitors’ and hence Bill Summers is considering the use of additional sales representatives rather than “playing with the price” (PlastiTech Mfg. Inc. Case Study, 2009). The existing business strategy at PlastiTech is competent enough for the firm to consider aggressive strategies to increase its sales. The status quo is stable and hence there is no need for Bill or Barry to make a hurried decision.

It is essential for any manufacturing firm to have a progressive growth in sales; the strategy to be used may however depend on the circumstances and the industry. The consideration of Bill in this regard is highly suitable: hiring of four new sales representatives instead of absorbing shipping costs. Barry, being uncertain, should opt for the option in which PlastiTech may have stringent net profits in the beginning but would be able to gain on volume sales. This means that neither reducing the price directly nor absorbing the shipping costs would be a really good idea for PlastiTech to implement.

Considering the price competitiveness of the entire plastic manufacturing industry, it would not be advisable for PlastiTech to absorb the $3,000 to $6,000 in shipping costs from the West Coast to the Mid and East Coast. This would be clearly seen as a price reduction and might lead to sales losses instead of gains. On the other hand, relying on manufacturer’s agents has not meant a comprehensive coverage of the Mid and East Coast clients. There is a great potential for PlastiTech to cater to customers in the Mid and East regions.

Hence I strongly would recommend the Summers to go ahead and recruit two sales representatives for each region into the firm. I would include a modification in the strategy – four of the experienced sales representatives currently working in the firm should be sent to the new regions (Mid and East). The new representatives should be retained at the West Coast and trained there. This would mean that the best sales representatives would be out into the new market trying to catch new customers while the new recruits would gain the know-how of the game in their home ground – the West Coast assisted by two old sales reps.

Since competition on the Mid and East coasts is more vigorous, the presence of experienced sales representatives would mean greater chances of capturing new customers – since they would have learnt the art of selling over time more than young recruits would be expected to have knowledge of. Implementation of this marketing strategy would not require PlastiTech to reduce their prices or trigger a price war in the industry – this would keep competitors at bay. The future prospect of competitors’ agents coming into the West coast region can be taken care of by continuous improvement of the quality of the existing products.

While elaborating the ideas provided in the chapter, the students may need to be familiarizes with a few fundamental concepts such as Gross Domestic Product, Employment etc. Since the students may find this difficult to understand, it is necessary to explain to them through examples. Several activities and exercises are suggested in the chapter to help the students understand how a person’s activity could be placed – whether in the primary, secondary or tertiary, organized or unrealized, and public or private sector.

You may encourage the students to talk to various working people around them (such as hop owners, casual workers, vegetable vendors, workshop mechanics, domestic workers etc. ) to know more about how they live and work. Based on such information, the students can be encouraged to develop their own classification of economic activities. Another important issue to be highlighted is about the problems caused by the changes in the roles of sectors. The chapter has taken the example of unemployment and what the government can do to solve it.

The declining importance 18 of agriculture and growing importance of industry and services should be related to the experience of the children by taking ore examples that they may observe in their day-to-day life. Information derived from the media could be used for this purpose. You may encourage the students to bring important cuttings and stories from newspapers, which could be prominently displayed in storyboards, and encourage the class to discuss these issues. While discussing the unrealized sector, the key issue of protecting the workers engaged in the sector should be highlighted.

You may also encourage the students to visit persons and enterprises in the unrealized sector and get a first hand experience from real life situation. Sources for Information The GAP data used in this chapter pertaining to Gross Domestic Product at Factor Cost by Industry of Origin at 1993-94 prices is taken from Economic Survey. It is a valuable source of GAP and other information relating to the Indian economy. For evaluation purposes, particularly to develop the analytical ability of learners, teachers can refer to Economic Survey to get data for different years.

You will find that people are engaged in various economic activities. Some of these are activities producing goods. Some others are producing services. These activities are happening around us every minute even as we speak. How do we understand these activities? One way of doing this is to group them (classify them) using some important criterion. These groups are also called sectors. There could be several ways of classification depending on the purpose and what one thinks is an important criterion. At different We begin by looking ties. Mind of economic active Primary (Agriculture) Sector produces natural goods Secondary (Industrial) manufactured 20 There are many activities that are undertaken by directly using natural resources. Take, for example, the cultivation of cotton. It takes place within a crop season. For the growth of the cotton plant, we depend mainly, but not entirely, n natural factors like rainfall, sunshine and climate. The product of this activity, cotton, is a natural product. Similarly, in the case of an activity like dairy, we are dependent on the biological process of the animals and availability Tertiary (Service) of fodder etc.

The product here, milk, also is a natural product. Similarly, minerals and ores are also natural products. When we produce a good by exploiting natural resources, it is an activity of the primary sector. Why primary? This is because it forms the base for all other products that we subsequently make. Since most of the natural helps develop products we get are from there sectors agriculture, dairy, fishing, forestry, this sector is also called agriculture and related sector. The secondary sector covers activities in which natural products are changed into other forms through ways of manufacturing that we associate with industrial activity.

It is the next step after primary. The product is not produced by nature but has to be made and therefore some process of manufacturing is essential. This could be in a factory, a workshop or at home. For example, using cotton fiber from the plant, we spin yarn and weave cloth. Using sugarcane as a raw material, we make sugar or guru. We convert earth into bricks and use bricks to make houses and buildings. Since this sector gradually became associated with the different kinds of industries that came up, it is also called as industrial sector.

After primary and secondary, there is a third category of activities that falls under tertiary sector and is different from the above two. These are activities that help in the development of the primary and secondary sectors. These activities, by themselves, do not produce a good but they are an aid or a support for the production process. For example, goods that are produced in the primary or secondary sector would need to be transported by trucks or trains and then sold in wholesale and retail shops.

At times, it may be necessary to store these in godsons. We also may need to talk to others over telephone or send letters (communication) or borrow money from banks (banking) to help production and trade. Transport, storage, communication, banking, trade are some examples of tertiary activities. Since these activities generate services rather than goods, the tertiary sector is also called the service sector. Service sector also includes some essential services that may not directly help in the production of goods.

The background of the case is that a company performs garbage pickup from construction sites. Often the construction site wants them to leave a bin there or sometimes they simply pile up the garbage and the company’s employees load the material into the garbage truck. Typically a truck full of garbage at the depot costs $200 per truck to empty. The company charges $350 per load, so there is little profit especially when taking overhead into account (labor and the cost of the truck).

The owner wonders how other companies seem to be making so much money. One day he owner finds a lot of old refrigerators and metal fencing at one of the pickup locations. He has heard that there are some companies that pick this up for free and resell the material to companies looking for scrap metal. Being entrepreneurial and worried about his business, he investigates. He finds that he is able to make an additional $200 per shipment of scrap metal, making his new profit $550 per load!

He gets excited and starts to think about what other opportunities may be out there with similar reverse supply chains. Some additional problems that this company have are elated to what its profit really is for each of its transactions, what challenges this company would have to look at alternative materials and markets and what the current competition is for his company’s type of business and lastly what approaches this company should take to ensure it was successful.

Cause – The main cause behind many of these questions the company is asking itself and problems that it is currently having with profitability lay in the appearance that the company has not built itself a good business plan for any step of the company. A business plan helps outline what you need to start a business, but it also helps you prepare for your future and any issues along the way. Your business plan should clarify why you exist, who your customers are, what products or services you provide, how you plan to create and deliver your products or services, and where your business is going.

It looks like the owner has started the company with only a small idea of what is possible within their industry scope and has not thought through all the steps that they should take on in order to be a marketable, profitable and long lasting company. Little thought has gone into who the customers are, what equipment is required, what process would be the most profitable and how to market themselves to the correct customer base. The whole business is based on a reverse logistics model and inserting themselves into this construction supply chain as the provider of reverse logistics systems to their construction customers.

It is astounding to see that the owner has not fully considered how to best provide benefit to their clients and maximize their profitability through these services. To hear that the owner has heard that some companies” pick up materials for free and resell them clearly shows that the company has not identified the biggest opportunity for profitability in this type of business. Stating that their new profit could also be $550 per load is also strange in that there appears to be very little understanding of accounting related to determining profitability and cost of overheads.

Based on the example provided, any revenues would have expenses of the cost of the truck (including initial purchase, fuel and any maintenance), the cost of the person driving the truck, the cost of the arson piling the garbage into the truck (if this service is required) and the cost paid at the depot for disposal. There can be further costs related to equipment or training required for their people to be on a construction site including Personnel Protective Equipment and any certifications required to handle waste.

Many of these elements would be considered if the company took the time to consider what the actual business plan for the company is and whether this would lead to a profitable organization. Analysis – When looking at the market space that this company is attempting to play in, the following information shows that there indeed is a market for these services. Within the industry there is a name for the materials that are left over at a construction, renovation of demolition site. These items are called construction & demolition materials (C&D).

The most common materials are concrete, wood, drywall, asphalt shingles, asphalt pavement, metal and cardboard. These materials typically make up 70 to 95 percent of the discarded material at a residential or commercial site. In the past these items were often discarded but are actually liable commodities that can be recycled into new products or used in many new ways. When perceived as waste, disposal of C&D materials is often viewed as simply part of the cost of doing business, and recycling and reusing these materials are sometimes overlooked as management options.

Recycling can benefit a construction business’s bottom line, it benefits the environment and a construction company’s recycle policy can be a contributing factor to them being awarded a project. Concrete can be recycled into many markets that currently use crushed stone. Because concrete is commonly recycled, numerous concrete recycling facilities exist across the country. Asphalt pavement is heavily recycled currently and is commonly crushed and recycled back into asphalt, either in-place or at a hot-mix asphalt plant.

Asphalt shingles can also be ground and recycled into hot-mix asphalt. Clean, untreated wood can be re-milled into lumber or chipped or ground and used to make engineered board, boiler fuel and mulch. Common metals found at a construction, demolition or renovation site include steel, aluminum, and copper. Construction sites frequently generate large amounts of cardboard waste when new appliances and materials are delivered to the site in cardboard boxes. Markets are well-established for metals and cardboard.

Local metal scrap yards or recyclers that accept these materials are likely easily accessible. Gypsum in drywall can be removed and recycled into many markets that commonly use gypsum, including new drywall manufacture, cement manufacture and agriculture. All of these items should be materials the owner should investigate as to whether the local construction sites are enervating these materials and whether there are local resources available to buy and recycle these materials from construction companies or the pickup company.

Another factor to review is whether recyclers accept mixed loads of materials, or if it is more profitable to separate the materials, which can be done onsite by placing the materials in separate boxes or piles. When developing a business plan, an important first step is to look for the local resources currently available. Contact local and provincial waste regulators and learn what is and is not permissible to recycle. Many rabbinical or local officials have lists of local recyclers and their locations that they can share with you.

These local recyclers should be contacted to determine what they take and what these conditions of payment are. They may also be able to share guidance for best recycling practices in your area. It is also possible to research local waste haulers through this method to better determine the level of competition there is for the types of garbage pickup services that they provide. One key factor within the market space for recycling materials is the importance of these recycling orgasm to today’s construction environment.

There is increased interest in constructing green buildings and this has generated more interest in recycling C materials. Providing knowledge of how to recycle C materials can make a company a vital asset to a green building project. The most common method of green building certification in North America is through the Green Building Council. The Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LED) certification process requires that the building attain points for various green attributes, including energy savings, trials usage, indoor environmental quality and efficient water usage.

Certification is granted during the construction phase. Points are given for reusing materials, using materials with recycled content and recycling the waste that is produced at the construction site. Different levels of certification can be attained depending on the number of points the building gains. Even if LED certification is not the goal of the building owner, committing to recycling a certain percentage of the materials generated at a Jobless can be a great marketing tool and can give a construction company an edge over its competition.

Since green building certification grants points based on recycled amounts, implementing a tracking system will aid companies in attaining LED points for recycling. Some contractors have their waste haulers report the amount of material that is currently disposed and recycled from their construction sites. That way, contractors can evaluate how they can increase the amount of material that is recycled from each site.

Another example of how a company can differentiate themselves in this space is by providing services that eliminate the need for transporting and disposing of materials by recycling onsite. For example, waste concrete can be ground and used as fill, and clean wood, drywall, and cardboard can be ground and used onsite as a soil amendment. New, smaller, portable grinders can be relatively inexpensive and safe to use at Jobless. Some of these machines can be hitched to pickup trucks, while others are attachments for excavators.

Some challenges when looking at all of these options are related to having the appropriate equipment for providing the potential services demanded by the customer base. There can be significant overhead costs attached to these equipment purchases. Availability and cost of labor will also be a key factor in decisions. If the appropriate research is not done up front, including discussions with the potential customer base, investments can be made in equipment and people that does not drive the revenue to cover the costs.

Before Jumping into a specific market area or activity, the owner must ensure that the demand is there. Solution – The owner of this garbage pickup company needs to wake up and do his research with a goal to developing a complete business plan. Currently the owner is thinking of only kicking up garbage from construction sites and disposing them, which does indeed save the construction company these reverse logistics efforts, but clearly misses out on the big picture of what is possible in this service space.

The customer base which is construction companies, are being driven very heavily toward recycling their materials for various reasons. They can reduce their hauling and disposal costs by keeping valuable C&D materials out of landfills. The substitution of recycled C&D materials in place of virgin materials in new products and processes results in substantial energy savings and greenhouse gas reduction. Recycling C&D materials equates to green building points.

As green building becomes increasingly popular, proven knowledge about the benefits of green building-?and green building practices-?is likely to boost construction business, since many customers are now looking for this service. Using recycled materials in new structures and recycling C&D materials produced during construction can help you achieve the LED certification that construction company customers want. All of this leads to a very strong potential market for the services that a garbage pickup company can provide.

The company can offer sorting of the products on the site, the company could offer onsite recycling, the company can ensure that they track the materials so that their customers can obtain the maximum lead points and market themselves as a green construction company. The pickup company can also very finely determine what their charge should be to the construction company based on their knowledge of what the recycling company will pay for materials. This can allow them to maximize profit while remaining at an appropriate marketable cost to the construction companies.

They could provide flexible, scalable services at the appropriate cost. The owner needs to talk to the customer base and find the niches that will allow them to compete. Work through the business plan, identify what they can afford to invest in, develop the relationships with customers and clients, market themselves appropriately and then work the plan. There is little question that reverse logistics is a growing concern in the construction industry when it comes to C&D materials. The market is there for garbage pickup companies who can show the greatest value.

Riordan is a leading future 1000 manufacturing company that is an industrial leader in the field of plastic injection molding (Riordan, 2004). Riordan Manufacturing China plant acts as a decentralized unit of Riordan Manufacturing (Riordan, 2004). I have created a proposal package that will address the new process design that focuses on all phases of manufacturing the electric fans from determining the number of parts and components to the materials needed in production. It will include a new process design for manufacturing Riordan electric fans. The proposal will incorporate an analysis of the current production process.

This analysis of the process design will provide information to remove bottlenecks. The production forecast will encompass the implementation plan of lean production, which will include a Gantt chart. Finally, a cover letter that details the coordination of aggregate operations planning and TQM processes. Material Requirement Planning (MRP) The Riordan Manufacturing China plant has applied the material requirement planning, which encompasses controls systems from the order entry through scheduling and inventory control. The MRP system is used to schedule materials, parts, and components for raw material that should be ordered or produced.

The MRP provides the China plant with information about what is needed to complete a specific number of units during a specific period. The present process of the Riordan Manufacturing electric fans is located primarily at the China plant. Riordan Manufacturing purchases the polymer plastics from local distributors. The China plant uses the material requirement planning to determine the quality and timing of the assembly units. The raw materials are first received at the receiving department. These materials are drawn upon for production in the molding process to produce fan blades and housing.

These finished goods are stored in a finished good stockroom. Individual buyers and contracted third parties pull inventory from the finished good stockroom. Trimming from the molding department are used to make other products. Inventory, which has been sold, and ready to be shipped are transferred to the package department. Finally, the shipping department packages the electric fans for distribution. Riordan Manufacturing needs to consider the supply and demand during the electric fan production process. Currently, Riordan is only experiences a 93% customer satisfaction in delivery of the electric fans in a timely manner. New Process Design

The current bases for Riordan Manufacturing China plant operation is the quality and quantity of electric fans produced. The inventory based on forecasted production is stored in the finished good stockroom. The forecasted inventory has not been an accurate measure of the stock that Riordan should have on hand to meet the customers demand more than 93% of the time. The new process recommends that Riordan seek out additional manufacturers of electric motors in addition to its current supplier to increase the likelihood of possessing adequate inventory in stock. This new process will increase the efficiency of their scheduling and delivery.

The stock on hand will be slightly increased but a reduction in polymer plastics would help offset the cost of increased inventory. The China plant can reduce the polymer plastic because the buyer can obtain it from a local buyer. Supply Chain According to Chase (2005), “Supply chain is applied to the total system approach to managing the entire flow of information, materials, and services from raw suppliers through warehouses to end users” (Chase et al. , 2005, p. 406). Riordan China plant should reconfigure their supply chain process to be more competitive and marketable.

By reconfiguring how they are linked to their suppliers could provide Riordan with the competitive advantages, which have been shown to be the characteristic of successful companies. Like many other companies, Riordan can achieve significant competitive advantage by the way they configure and manage their supply chain operation (Chase et al, 2005). Riordan should consider outsourcing as a one means of improving the supply chain. Outsourcing is an approach to push the responsibility and decision making to other companies, which are a part of several components of the supply chain.

Company’s find that outsourcing can provide some relief to a company whom is experiencing a shortage of resources. Outsourcing could allow the company to focus on the core process of the business while providing the flexibility needed during varying demands. Supply chains management concentrate on inventory processes to complete the orders that are requested (Chase, 2005). The movement toward a just-in-time inventory system (JIT) could provide Riordan with continuous improvement in efficiencies to its fan production process. Riordan will take the stance of eliminating all cost that does not add value to the product.

The China plant will be able to have their parts arrive at each workstation at the optimal time to complete the process in a more efficient manner. Riordan will establish areas in their production that are linked, which will provide a beneficial balance of flow of material throughout the production process. Production Forecast The production forecast for the China plant accounts for both the electric motors and plastic polymers, which are essential components of the electric fans. The inventory for the electric fan is projected by taking the average sales over the last three years, which is used to project the fourth year.

Riordan Manufacturing assumes history will repeat itself within manageable units (Riordan, 2006). Riordan Manufacturing has not forecasted their scheduling, production, and delivery effectively. Riordan should consider the implementation of lean production to establish an optimal price while reducing cost and waste. Implementing a lean production process is ideal for the China plant because the concept states that nothing produced until needed. Developing closer relationships with the suppliers could result in a reduction in the delivery time.

The implementation of lean production is considered a good strategy to respond to the market needs. Implementation Plan Riordan will need to begin by developing a production plan that specifies what the customers’ demands are. The forecast of future demands will need to be established. The implementation of the just in time lean production system will be the bases for the forecast. Production planning includes decisions that will affect production and inventory. Riordan current labor force could be affected with implementation of the new process design.

Riordan plan implementation will begin with the formation of the project teams. The team will be establishing the tasks and duties. The teams will choose which tactic, tools, and software that could be utilized such just-in-time inventory and MRP software packages. The final task will be troubleshooting and quality control. Riordan will need to identify any problem or bottlenecks in the process that need to be addressed or redesigned to establish the more optimal outcomes. The new process will allow Riordan to achieve its goal of at least 99% customer satisfaction from the current 93% customer satisfaction.

In addition there are other information that includes SOOT analysis, competitors and the countries in which Sony operates in. The Entry Strategy has information on strategies used by Sony Corporation to enter different international markets. The Entry Restrictions informs about the trade barriers that Sony Corporation faces as it enters the international market. Political, Cultural and Economic Conditions of three major markets of Sony section informs about the sort of markets Sony operates in and the status of those economies.

Under Extrinsic and Intrinsic Motivational and Hygienic factors/rewards section there is information on different strategies used by Sony as a company and the theories they follow and believe in. The CARS program sections informs about the different CARS activities that Sony is involved in. The Marketing Mix section contains valuable information on fps and product life cycle. The MIMIC campaign informs about the different tools Sony uses to reach its ultimate consumers. Finally two contingency strategies are included in the contingency strategies section. Company overview: Introduction:

Sony Corporation is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Canon Imitation, Tokyo, Japan its diversified business is primarily focused on the electronics, game, entertainment and financial services sectors. The company is one of the leading manufacturers of electronic products for the consumer and professional markets. Sony is ranked 87th on the 2012 list of Fortune Global 500 Vision, Mission and Values: A. To establish of an ideal factory that stresses a spirit of freedom and open- mindedness, and where engineers with sincere motivation can exercise their genealogical skills to the highest level; B.

To reconstruct Japan and to elevate the nation’s culture through dynamic technological and manufacturing activities; C. Promptly applies highly advanced technologies which were developed in various sectors during the war to common households; D. Rapidly commercialism superior technological findings in universities and research institutions that are worthy of application in common households; E. Brings radio communications and similar devices into common households and to promote the use of home electric appliances; F. Actively participates in the reconstruction of war- imaged communications network by providing needed technology;

As we all know, the world constantly changes, and thus, the business environment does also. As technology changes and people’s thinking changes, so must the business organisation. If a company does not keep up with its competitors who do find ways to improve their processes, it may not last too long. Lean, flexible and agile are newly developed concepts to help the organisation succeed in such a competitive environment. Lean, flexible and agile in manufacturing

Lean Production, also as the Toyota Production System, is initially promoted by Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The driving force behind this adoption is to provide value to its customers in the form of high quality, low cost, and on-time delivery. Primarily, lean production integrates product design, supply, distribution, manufacturing, accounting, marketing, and management under an umbrella of concurrency. Other related topics are identified as political, legal, and social concerns.

Key areas of lean production are improving quality and eliminating waste, which including five principles:

1. Build products that meet customer requirements at the exact rate of customer orders;
2. Practice just-in-time techniques for obtaining, using, and distributing resources;
3. Think of workers and machines as separate and don’t tie one worker to one machine;
4.  Let machines wait for workers;
5. Design a system that signals visually or audibly any variation from standard in the operating system.

Lean production is described as being different from mass production in that it uses half the factor inputs – half the human effort, half the manufacturing space, half the investment in tools, and half the engineering hours to develop a new product in half the time. Also it requires keeping far less inventory on site, produces fewer defects, and enables a greater and ever growing variety of products. Implementing lean production therefore means eliminating waste in the production system, be it in the form of materials, labour or plant capacity.

However, lean production is not an alternative to mass production but is a means of enhancing it. Mass production means simply the manufacture of items in large numbers, thereby exploiting economy of scale principles. In fact the waste elimination concepts of lean production can equally be employed in other production systems including projects, batch production (in job shops) and continuous processing. Thus, in theory, leanness is an over-arching concept that is compatible with any production system and complement.

However, in practice, a difficulty arises from the use of ‘labour productivity’ as a measure of leanness as is often advocated by the lean production proponents. This naturally presumes a high level of automation, which in turn increases the company’s fixed costs, making it less sensitive to changes in demand. By adapting Lean Production methods, many companies are improving cycle times, speeding the response to customers, reducing inventories and set-up times, increasing total business productivity, developing highly trained workforces, focusing on reduction of waste.

This concept has been so successful that it is frequently imitated, and the approach has been applied in the areas of Product Development, Service Delivery, and Business Management Systems. Flexibility is a feature of the company’s production system. It is the inherent ability to adjust or modify its resources deployment according to new or changing demands in the market. In the current competitive environment surrounding manufacturing industries, a defensive approach responding to the pressure for survival is through making the human resources, machinery and other facilities flexible.

When consumer preferences are unknown, manufacturing flexibility is exploited to both adjust to market demand and to gain information about this market. As the name implies, flexible specialisation overturns the industrial commitment to standardised products, and does so by producing smaller batches of differentiated goods through the use of general-purpose flexible machinery and new forms of work organisation. It includes design flexibility and production flexibility. Design flexibility is the company’s ability to introduce new products and modifications to current products.

Production flexibility is the company’s ability to change the product mix within short lead times, such as day to day. One aspect of flexibility is to switch workers between tasks. This may be horizontal – switching between different tasks of the same basic nature (switching between different assembly jobs, for example) – or vertical, in which workers accumulate different types of tasks, such as production work, quality control and maintenance. Flexible manufacturing facility is another aspect of flexibility.

It is an integrated framework to analyse trade-offs between benefits of flexible technology facilities and higher investment costs. In general, the term `flexible manufacturing’ has been used to describe new forms of industrial organisation which differ from mass production and are strongly oriented to a rapidly changing market, which means combining the craftsman ability to make customised products with the economy of the assembly line. Mass production is an attempt to produce a single good at the highest possible volume to reduce costs through economies of scale.

Flexible production is the effort to make an ever-changing range of goods to appeal to specialised needs and tastes with tailored designs. The mass producer thus runs its factory through a hierarchical system of management, adopting strategies that deskill the work force, and require dedicated, single-purpose equipment. By contrast, a flexible firm adopts strategies that require a highly skilled work force operating with minimal supervision, general-purpose machinery, and close co-ordination with other producers. Below is the summary comparison between mass production and flexible production.