Operation of the Final Assembly Line at the Mini Oxford Plant at Cowley - Coursework Example

Operation of the Final Assembly Line at the Mini Oxford Plant at Cowley Operation of the Final Assembly Line at the Mini Oxford Plant at Cowley Introduction The success of business organization is determined by various factors, which are with inclusion of the managerial approaches applied and the operational management strategies used by the companies. The mechanism of applying the methods as employed in the management determines competence of the operations of a firm, and this is confirmed by the fact that in situations where the management style is not effective, the transactions in the organization are poorly performed. The operational management has been considered to be a fundamental tool that aids in the determination of the direction to which an organization takes. Research has shown that the most efficient the operational management of the firm, the more industrious and productive a firm becomes. This report aims at analyzing the operations of the final assembly line at the Mini Oxford Plant at Cowley, and this will be achieved through evaluation of the applicability of various operational management theories and the managerial approaches used in the firm. Being an international organization, Mimi Oxford Plant needs to have defined operational processes and managerial strategies that enable organizations in meeting the needs of the targeted groups. To arrive at an evidence-based conclusion regarding the operations at the firm, various themes will be integrated to explain some theories that are significant in understanding the operational process of the organization. The delivery lead time will be assessed in the report, and this will allow for concrete conclusions and recommendations to be fostered to aid in the improvement of the operational processes of the firm. The recommendations made are based on the strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities realized in the company with a focus on enhancing the performance of the firm. Final Assembly Process at Mini Oxford Plant at Cowley Mini Oxford Plant is owned and managed by the BMW that is a UK based Manufacturing Limited, and the major activities involved are manufacture of motor vehicle and motor spares. It is part of the Plant Hams Hall which is responsible for the production of engines, and Plant Swindon that is responsible for body pressing and where sub-assemblies are constructed. There are various models that are produced by the firm, and these are with inclusion of Morris Marina, Austin Ambassador and Austin Maxi among other models like Rover 75. The quality of the motors manufactured by the industry is great, contributing to its consideration as one of the most recognized motor manufacturing companies in the automobile industry along Toyota Company (Johnston & Clark, 2008: 24). It is essential to understand the general functionality of operations management before considering the operational processes at the company. Operation management is understood to be a body in the management that is responsible for overseeing, designing and controlling various processes in an organization. Some of the processes that are overlooked by the operations management are with inclusion of invention and redesigning of commerce operations that are involved in the production of goods and services. It is through integration of effective and efficient operations management that organizations are able to use few resources, meet the consumers’ requirement and achieve the organizational goals and objectives. Production management of organizations, especially those that involve different manufacturing lines helps in determination of the real-time data associated with jobs and orders that are placed by clients and other companies in the same industry. The operations management within the production line also helps in determination of the labor, materials and product shipment linked to the company’s production line (Slack, et al., 2010: 36). Such an aspect immensely helps in the improvement of the performance of the organizations because managers are able to evaluate the expenditures and link them to the outcomes from the operations of the company. On the other hand, the manufacturing operations management helps the operators to manage the industrial and process control technologies that play a significant role to the quality and quantity production within the industries. It has been observed that the operations management takes responsibility in ensuring that the quality and compliance operations are effective and efficient through adherence to the standards and specifications for operational processes and procedures. Being a motor manufacturing organization, Mini Oxford Plant’s most functional activities are linked to engineering and applied sciences, an indication that most of the personnel are individuals with skills, creativity and knowledge of technology that is required for quality production of the motor products the company deals with. Considering the operational strategy and management of Mini Oxford Plant, it is evident that most of the processes of the firm are controlled and managed by BMW assemblies where steel body panels are moved to Oxford for welding through the use of powerful processes into recognizable unpainted products. For quality products to be attained, the company subjects the bodies to chemical cleaning where paint is applied, where approximately half of the bodies or products to be used the following day are assembled as inventory. It is observed that the engines and transmissions from the organization are manufactured at the firm’s Hams Hall Plant that is located in Birmingham. Approximately 800 motor vehicles are assembled every day, and this places the company in a better position in the automotive industry. According to the theory of constraints, the principal purpose of the operation management is to control the operations within an organization, and ensure that success is attained at the end of a specified period of time. Such implies that the operations management in businesses is determined by the managerial skills and strategies that are used by the organizations. The operational management of Mini Oxford Plant integrates cross-functional and interdependent nature of organizational processes in their supply chain to improve the performance of the organization. Despite the easy to view the theory of constraint (TOC) in a different perspective from the operations and organizational practices, evidently, the ideas and concepts highlighted in the theory significantly helps in meeting the objectives and production goals of the organization. The fact that operation management is the management of the supply chain logistics of firms regarding the contemporary measures attributed to performance of cost time and quality suffices to show that there is need to have a defined and comprehensive plan in the Mini Oxford Plant as a way of ensuring all operational measures of the company are focused on improving performance. The operations management of the organization focuses on the delicate administration of the internal issues affecting the business organization and the ability of the body to produce and distributes its products and services in the motor vehicle industry. The OM of the company integrates various measurements and analysis of internal processes, that directly or indirectly affects organizational performance. The company’s operational management is tailored to achieve the particular needs of the organizations, the targeted clients as well as the critical concerns of the community. According to the operational approaches used by the company, optimization of resources is not attained through the use of generic approach that is easily reached by all firms in the motor industry (Slack, et al., 2009: 29). Optimization in the company is achieved through the utilization of comprehensively analyzed and evaluated techniques and processes that are established and implemented by the operations managers and other members of the firm. The operational processes of the company need consideration of various factors during their planning, and these are with inclusion of the technologies that require involvement into the activities of the enterprise to attain competence and proficiency. The supply chain management of the company entails control of all the information and resources flow with the operations of the company. Such implies that the operational management is responsible for the management of supply and distribution of all the companys products (Kumar, 1989: 112-121). It is confirmed by the operational activities and the operations management strategies that are applied by the company that the fundamental issue for successful supply and distribution chains is application of effective full-scale coordination between the parties that are involved in operations of the company. From the Mini Oxford Plant operations viewpoint, the configuration of the supply and distribution networks integrates smooth and reliable parameters that aid in ensuring that the suppliers and production facilities are effective and efficient for successful implementation of the objectives of the company (Jones & Robinson, 2012: 27-31). The strategy used for distribution in the company includes issues such as pull or push strategies and the direct shipments among other such as cross docking and third party logistics. The management inventory of the company includes the optimal capacity of raw materials and finished goods that are needed to satisfaction of the clients and the workers of the company. The operational management of the company includes three fundamental activities, and these include the strategic level, the tactical level, and the operational level. The primary focus of the operations management and the companys supply chain management to avoid disruptions in the flow of the resources and finished products that the company deals with (Gunasekaran, Patel & Tirtiroglu, 2001: 71-87). According to the operations management theory which was developed by the manufacturing and production companies; it is the operations management of a company that is responsible for the economic batch quantities, line equalization, and stock control. Regardless of the observation that it is very hard for the companies in the production and distribution industry to meet directly with the customers, the operations management ensures that the communication approaches that are used to pass information and data between clients are effective and efficient. Quality is the most significant tool that the operations management of Mini Oxford Plant values in its operations, and this contributes significantly to the performance of the organization. Delivery Lead Time The delivery lead time is considered to be the difference between the initiation and the period when the process is executed. In distribution and production industry such as Mini Oxford plant, the delivery lead time is considered to be the difference between the placement of an order and the time when a new vehicle from the organization is delivered. From the supply chain management viewpoint, the delivery lead time for the organization is the period of the time when customers or clients place orders and the time when delivery is made. According to the observation made by the company, it takes approximately 30 minutes before the planned “on assembly” time, which is the real period time when a vehicle rolls on to the final assembly line, and a new sequence is established. The products from the company are delivered by the supplier to liberation docks purposefully placed around the external walls of the assembly hall as close as possible to the point of setting up (Cousens, Szwejczewski & Sweeney, 2009: 357-385). The transportation of the products from the company is made in a faster way, and this allows the company to achieve its delivery lead time objective. According to the operations management of the company, the delivery lead time of the products and services offered by the company needs to be as low as possible. Such is with consideration of the fact that the trailers are removed when empty by passing tug returning to the loading dock. Conclusions and Recommendations In the main, the operations management of Mini Oxford Plant is very critical in the sense that it integrates various procedures that help in the attainment of competence and proficiency in the organization. Ideally, it remains entirely the responsibility of the operations management to integrate and address various issues regarding the performance of the organization. According to the case presented, the managers of the organization have diverse responsibilities in ensuring that the processes within the operations management are effective and efficient (Silva, 2013: 31-36). Below are the recommendations that can be implemented to improve the supply and distribution of spares and finished motor vehicles: A. In improving the purchase practices, the organization needs to apply various methods of procurement and purchasing practices such as buying of various physical materials from suppliers at low cost through the use of convincing power. Getting assistance to services from network and system assistance, and/or external consultants is another positive approach of improving the supply and distribution processes. B. In improving the quality of management, the operation management needs to ensure that the products and services offered by the company continually meet the standards of quality that is set by the organization initially. This is achieved through integration of Total Quality Management and the Continuous Improvement Quality Management principles and procedures. C. Product and service management of the organization can be improved through inclusion of appropriate processes in the creation, development, production and distribution processes. D. The inventory management can be enhanced through inclusion of practical, cost effective a timely inventory management procedures. References Cousens, A., Szwejczewski, M., & Sweeney, M. 2009. “A process for managing manufacturing flexibility.” International Journal of Operations & Production Management, 29(4), pp.357-385. Gunasekaran, A., Patel, C., & Tirtiroglu, E., 2001. "Performance measures and metrics in a supply chain environment." International journal of operations & production Management 21, no. 1/2: 71-87. Johnston, R. & Clark, G. 2008. Service Operations Management – Improving Service Delivery (3rd ed). New York: FT Prentice Hall, pp. 24 Jones, P. & Robinson, P. 2012. Operations Management (1st Edition). London: Oxford University Press, pp. 27-31 Kumar, A. 1989. Component inventory costs in an assembly problem with uncertain supplier lead-times. IIE transactions, 21(2), 112-121. Silva, L., 2013. “Supply Chain Contract Compliance Measurements” Master thesis (work in progress), Finland: Aalto University,. Pp. 31-36 Slack, N. et al (2009). Operations and Process Management (2nd ed). New York: FT Prentice Hall, 29 Slack, N. et al (2010). Operations Management. (6th Edition). New York: FT Prentice Hall, p. 36 Read More