Executive Summary
This report focuses on the Turnaround at the Preston plant case study. Preston plan is a facility in Preston, Vancouver, with most of the company’s production being precision-coated papers for specialized printing applications. The facility employed cutting-edge coating machinery that enabled highly accurate coatings to be put into purchased rolls of paper. The report highlights the most significant events, the benefits of establishing control in the operations, and the strategic quality conformance based on the case. The conclusions and recommendations are derived based on the analyzed course of action for the operations management.
Operations Management Business Report
Operations management is the activity of planning, controlling, and supervising manufacturing engineering processes and service delivery. The case study establishes that operations management is critical in a commercial organization since it aids in the efficient oversight, control, and supervision of products, services, and employees. This report evaluates the most significant events, the impact of established control, and strategic quality conformance for the company. The analysis is based on the most significant events that define the company’s experience in operations management.
Most Significant Events
In the case study, several circumstances contributed to the Preston plant’s decision to relocate. First, Rendall Corporation bought the factory even though it made losses each year. Rendall was unimpressed with what they discovered in the factory, and it appears that they did not conduct a thorough analysis of the plant’s general operations and management prospects. The case reflects that the emergency at the Preston Plant peaked when even the customers recognized the source of the problem. Yet, the organization’s directors had no notion of what steps to take to combat the crisis. The failure to identify the cause of the problem means that there were failures in the operations management of the company.
The second occurrence was that HP requested that the facility competes on a contract for a new ink-jet platform. The operations management’s major worry with HP’s observations and comments was that HP continued to complain about quality standards. However, the operations management team’s attitude was ignorant when it came to investigating the matter (Nimeh et al., 2018). Even though reports were generated for each batch shipping, it appears that the Preston team did not pay a lot attention to the information as the HP team has done. Such events exposed the company operation management as unable to effect delivery on their responsibility.
Establishing Control
The company seems to have gained control after the operation management took responsibility for the firm’s running. As previously stated, the value of accepting responsibility for the creative cycle is related to the significance of selecting the appropriate authority technique (Ivanov et al., 2021). Such strategies describe the nature of the company’s execution in the recovery stages. As a result, it is reasonable to believe that controlling the company’s processes suggested that the organization could finally organize its operations and make sound judgments (Effiong et al., 2020). The control is also significant since it indicates that the company’s procedures were eventually highly impacted by its innovator, its supervisors, and the various personnel. Such opportunity implies that the Preston Plant eventually cultivated accurate information on the executive’s technique. Such a sense of control within the firm’s operation management has several benefits.
Benefits of the Established Control
For instance, the company is considering taking control of the operations aids in reducing expenses for the company’s activities. The reduced expenses from the size of the operation boost the chances of future income generation and the development of new items (Suryanto et al., 2018). The favorable financial prospects assist the organization in retaining the best people required to improve the quality of services in the future. The establishment of control also guarantees a sense of reassurance from the providers’ point of view (Wang et al., 2017). In most management operation procedures, with control over the development cycle, the stages of data acquisition, management, and sharing were faster and more productive (Dubey et al., 2019). As a result, another significant benefit of maintaining command over the company’s performance was enhancing the information available to managers within Preston.
In this case, the established control seems to have several advantages that define the company’s prospects. For Preston’s facility, quality control was critical in developing a reliable organization that provides products that meet or exceed consumers’ expectations. In any typical firm, its operations management control serves as the foundation for a productive firm that minimizes waste and works at high productivity levels (Mangla et al., 2018). An effective quality control system lowers the cost of product production. Decrease in raw-material, semi-finished, and finished-goods waste, large-scale manufacture of high-quality products, and the expense of reworking poor items are kept to a minimum.
Strategic Consequences of the Improvements
When one considers the Preston Plant’s steps to resume normal operations, one must admit that maintaining control over its functional cycles provided the organization’s leaders with immeasurable benefits beyond the scale of operations. In this case, none of these benefits can be termed long-term, but the effects of such an approach to management can be long-lasting. The majority of the positive outcomes brought about by using the new system are currently in effect. When discussing the long-term advantages, some characteristics should be included, such as the organization’s improved position and the company’s ability to attract additional representatives. There are also benefits associated with strategic quality conformance within operations management.
Strategic Quality Conformance
In the setting of Preston firm Strategic quality planning is a fundamental approach to performance assurance and enhancement plans at the organization’s highest levels that are linked to business objectives. Strategic quality management is not treated as a distinct process by the organization but rather as an essential component of strategic business planning. The vision and purpose statements of the organization, precise goals and priorities, and action plans and performance measures to assist the company in measuring success are all essential components of such a strategy. Operation managers must ensure that each of these critical components is included to establish a strategic plan to benefit the small firm.
Conclusion
Understandably, working on cost-cutting measures was always going to be difficult. For the company, the first objective was to determine an adequate amount of operational costs. To determine what an ideal procedure might look like, the organization effectively conducted a zero-based evaluation. In retrospect, as the management recognizes, lowering headcount had a more substantial influence on cost than the payroll savings data indicate. The management was cautious about being upfront, ensuring that everyone understood whether or not they would be affected. The corporation spent a lot of going around presenting its perspective.
Recommendations
It is advised that the Preston plant use a sequential flow pattern throughout the process. The materials should be moved through the process in a logical order, from point to point. A U-shaped form is commonly used in facilities, particularly manufacturing (Ivanov & Dolgui, 2020). The procedure begins and concludes at the facility’s entrance. This configuration enables a manager to view the process in a tiny, contained location, making it easier to control. The approach also makes it easier for staff to communicate with one another. The company should also minimize work retracing during the process. Sending pieces back into the process might generate confusion since tracking the part becomes complicated; it can also control the movement of other parts in the operation.
References
Dubey, R., Gunasekaran, A., Childe, S. J., Blome, C., & Papadopoulos, T. (2019). Big data and predictive analytics and manufacturing performance: Integrating institutional theory, resourceābased view and big data culture. British Journal of Management, 30(2), 341-361.
Effiong, S. A., Asuquo, A. I., & Enya, E. F. (2020). Discretionary accruals and going concern of manufacturing companies. International Journal of Scientific & Technology Research, 9(2), 2976-2983.
Ivanov, D., & Dolgui, A. (2020). Viability of intertwined supply networks: Extending the supply chain resilience angles towards survivability. A position paper motivated by the COVID-19 outbreak. International Journal of Production Research, 58(10), 2904-2915.
Ivanov, D., Tang, C. S., Dolgui, A., Battini, D., & Das, A. (2021). Researchers’ perspectives on Industry 4.0: Multi-disciplinary analysis and opportunities for operations management. International Journal of Production Research, 59(7), 2055-2078.
Mangla, S. K., Luthra, S., Mishra, N., Singh, A., Rana, N. P., Dora, M., & Dwivedi, Y. (2018). Barriers to effective circular supply chain management in a developing country context. Production Planning & Control, 29(6), 551-569.
Nimeh, H. A., Abdallah, A. B., & Sweis, R. (2018). Lean supply chain management practices and performance: Empirical evidence from manufacturing companies. International Journal of Supply Chain Management, 7(1), 1-15.
Suryanto, T., Haseeb, M., & Hartani, N. H. (2018). The correlates of developing green supply chain management practices: Firms level analysis in Malaysia. International Journal of Supply Chain Management, 7(5), 316.
Wang, J., Wu, P., Wang, X., & Shou, W. (2017). The outlook of blockchain technology for construction engineering management. Frontiers of Engineering Management, 4(1), 67-75.