Production and Operation Management - Essay Example

Operation and Supply Management MGT 300 August 16, Case Study Introduction of the Case A small garment manufacturing company engages in the different processes of design, pattern design, sewing, and assembling. It has just been established and is new in the industry. It has been operating for six months and sells its garments to a large shopping center where consumers have diverse preferences and manifest a variety of purchase buying behavior. The owner of the garment manufacturing company, Priscilla Brown, contracted a designer from external sources and would usually provide different sketches on a monthly basis. Based on these, the owner selects particular designs to be made on a weekly basis. Ms. Brown also selects the kind of clothing material to be used for the particular chosen design. She employed 10 female workers to work on the rest of the process. Pattern design is done manually by one worker before grading, measurement of fabric, cutting and finally, sewing and assembling. For clothes requiring intricate designs such as patching or needlework, one female worker, Karen Smith, who specialize on this area does the final touch and inspects the garments made prior to pressing and packaging. The first few months of production have been smooth and productive. On the seventh month, there had been returns sent by the shopping mall due to defects. Apparently, some garments were not inspected thoroughly and exhibited the following defects: “open seams, wrong stitching techniques, non- matching threads, missing stitches, improper creasing of the garment, erroneous thread tension and raw edges” (Ahmad, 2011). Ms. Brown questioned Karen Smith and was determined to investigate the cause of increased defects. If not corrected immediately, the garment company faces a greater dilemma of revoking their contract to supply garments with the shopping mall. Statement of the Problem There were apparently high levels of returns for garments that have been delivered to the shopping mall. The person authorized to inspect, Karen Smith, also tasked with doing the intricate final designs of patching and needlework. Likewise, no other person counter checked the quality of the garments prior to packing and delivery to the shopping mall. Research Objective The objective of the research was to investigate the cause of the surge of defects on the garments that was already delivered to the shopping mall. The contract to supply garments was usually based on the agreement that no significant defects should be exhibited that would cause returns. Defects of more than 20% in one batch of deliveries would be subject to full return and refund. If the next batch would contain defects of more than 10%, the contract would be revoked. Another objective was to review the manufacturing process to determine ways of minimizing the defects noted and to ensure high quality of garments are consistently delivered. Comparative Key Processes in the Manual to the Actual Practice The process manual clearly indicates that after sewing, Karen Smith, is tasked to inspect the garments prior to packing. Upon closer inspection, Ms. Brown discovered from interviews with the sewers that most of the time, Karen Smith was overloaded with final details of patching and needle work demanded from the chosen designs. As such, with full confidence, she delegated the sewers to closely inspect their works. In this regard, the following flaws in the operations process were noted: (1) The inspector and the person doing final touches on the garments are the same. Increased volume of work to be done leaves little time for inspection. (2) There was no clear policy in the procedures manual regarding any sanctions for violating adherence to high quality standards of the product; (3) There were no clear policies on inspection for the garments or in accurately identifying accountability (which sewer creates the most mistakes and defects); (4) All designs and pattern making are still done manually; (5) Roles and responsibilities for employees are integrated and lumped together, especially for the critical role of the inspector; (6) No code of conduct and employee discipline has been included in the manual. Deviation The deviation noted therefore was the apparent lumping of responsibilities for Karen Smith, as the person authorized to do the final work on the garments, and at the same time perform the responsibility of inspection. Another deviation was that Karen Smith asked the employees (sewers) to do the inspection themselves. Since the manufacturing process was done in such a way that they specialize on identified pattern parts (sleeves, collars, buttoning, etc.) which are repetitive and monotonous, workers seem to exemplify laxity in adherence to high quality. Further, without clear cut policies on sanctions for violating quality and performance standards, workers become bored and demotivated. Likewise, since inspection was delegated to each one, the appropriate inspection of the final product was actually non-existent. There are some processes which could be reviewed for possible computerization, such as the design through computer-aided design (CAD) and CAM for computer-aided machine where “the cutters, sewers, graders and markers control the process of development” (Ahmad: Recent Developments, 2011, par. 1). Using computer aided design or machine could minimize errors. Likewise, the following advantages were noted: “(1) the expense and time is reduced in a considerable manner when compared to the laborious manual work of designing; (2) designing can be done from anywhere as the designers are able to control the process from remote locations as well; (3) the data can be easily stored, transmitted, and transported through computer files; (4) digital swatches can be saved on floppy disks, zip disks, CD-ROM or hard drive thus saving space. Moreover they can be easily organized for fast and easy retrieval; (5) the designs can be easily customized and personalized as corrections and editing can be done at any time without significant delays or cost increases; and (6) the designers don't need to produce swatches all the time as they can now see how a particular fabric or garment looks in different colors and shapes on computer screen itself” (Ahmad: Recent Developments, 2011, par. 3). Conclusions and Recommendations From the foregoing, Priscilla Brown should do the following: (1) create a more comprehensive policies and procedures manual that includes a code of discipline and employee behavior, complete with a program for rewards and penalties; (2) seriously evaluate the need to use CAM/CAD in the manufacturing process to minimize errors; (3) delineate responsibility of Karen Smith, to either focus on the final work in the garments or inspection. The inspector must focus on seeing to it that there are no errors in the garments made; and (4) the inspection and quality control officer could inspect in two phases: randomly during processing (cutting, measuring, sewing, etc.) and after the garments have been completed, prior to packaging and delivery. By ensuring that all the garments manufactured conform to the highest quality standards imposed by the customers, would Priscilla Brown be assured that their business is ready to compete successfully in the market. Work Cited Ahmad, G. (2011, April 3). The Step-by-step Process of Garment Manufacturing. Retrieved August 13, 2012, from gulnazahmad.hubpages.com: http://gulnazahmad.hubpages.com/hub/A-Step-by-Step-of-Garment-Manufacturing# Read More