Definition of operations management
Operations management can be defined as the process of maintaining, controlling, and improving the activities of the organization that are needed in order to carry out the production of goods as well as services to be availed to the consumers. This kind of management has always been connected with the activities carried out in the process of manufacturing but can also be carried out in the provision of services.
This form of management concentrates on organizing, controlling, and coordinating processes to come up with products and services so that they can be distributed. The main activities involved in operations management include the creation of the products, development of the products, production of the products, and distribution of them. This indicates that operations management considers the overall operations carried out in the organization. The activities that are associated with product and service management (that also concerns operations management) include: – control of the quality of the product, storage, controlling of the inventory, and logistics, among other activities.
In operations management, there is putting of much focus on how efficient and effective the processes are. This implies that operations management involves the measuring and analyzing of the processes that are internal. The nature of the way operations management is practiced in any particular business organization is greatly dependent on the business organization’s product or service (McNamara, 2009).
The activity of determining and evaluating operations is normally carried out through the business review process. The monitoring of effectiveness as well as efficiency may be carried out by applying the ISO 9001 systems. Alternatively, this can be carried out by applying management techniques of total quality.
Evaluating the benefits of using quality techniques/quality models
The quality management techniques, in most cases, are referred to using the term total quality management (TQM). This is a philosophy of management that tries to bring together the total functions of the organization. These functions include, among others, customer service, marketing, production, finance, and design. This bringing together of the organizational functions is meant to put focus on satisfying the needs of the customer and meeting the objectives of the organization. The basic concepts of TQM include customer focus, prevention of defects, continuous process improvement, and universal responsibility (Mutt, 2010).
TQM is a management approach by which employees in an organization together with the management get to engage in bringing about development in production of the products on a continuous basis. This method brings together tools of management and quality geared towards realizing an increase in the business and bringing down losses that result from practices that cause wastage (Hashmi, 2000).
Total Quality Management looks at a business organization as several processes brought together. It holds the idea that there must be working hard by the organizations to bring about improvement in these processes on a non-stop basis by including in this processes the workers’ experiences and knowledge.
More so, Total Quality Management entails putting focus on the customer. Every activity carried out in the process of production has to put very much consideration on giving value to the customer who uses the product that is being produced. This calls for seeking to discover what exactly the customer wants and makes sure that the process avails this. This is the starting point for bringing about improvement in the quality of a product. Whenever the customer requirements are not very complicated, finding out about these requirements can be carried out by interviewing the customers in order to clearly get what they actually want.
On the other hand, in the case where the product is not simple, this will require an analysis that is detailed pertaining to the requirements of the customer needs to be carried out. The most appropriate tool that can be used in this case is the “Quality Function Deployment Matrix.” An accurate determination of the requirements of the customer is a very significant feature in the process of controlling the quality of the product.
It is quite clear that it is less costly to correct a fault in making the identification of the requirements of the customer at the time when the product would not have been produced than at the time when the product will already be on the market. Therefore, taking more time and putting in more effort to find out the right customer needs at the beginning before the product is produced is time and effort that would have been well utilized.
Some of the business organizations that have achieved success in carrying out the implementation of Total Quality Management techniques include SGL Carbon and Ford Motor Company among other companies.
Meaning of Just In Time (JIT) and How it Would be used to Improve an organization’s Efficiency
“Just In Time” can be defined as a strategy employed in inventory management whereby raw materials and other components used in the manufacturing process are brought from the supplier at a time just before they are required to be used for manufacturing.
According to Anon. (Just in time production: 2010), JIT is a system of production that is a “Pull” system. This implies that an indicator for the right time when the product is supposed to be manufactured is given by the actual orders. Demand-pull makes it possible for an organization to only manufacture the products in terms of quantity and the appropriate time. This, in turn, implies that the quantity of raw materials and components, as well as work in process and the amount of the finished goods, can be held at the minimum level possible. This calls for keen planning in the flowing of the resources and the schedule through the process of manufacturing.
In the current times, those organizations that are advanced employ scheduling software in production that is sophisticated to carry out planning of production for every phase including making orders for the right stock. There is the exchange of information with customers and suppliers to assist in ensuring that each and every detail is right. This is done through the Electronic Data Interchange (EDI).
The suppliers deliver the supplies to the line of production at the right time when these supplies are required. “Just In Time” has its advantages as well as disadvantages. The advantages include;
- By the firm holding minimal stocks, this means that there will be lower storage space that will be required and this in turn will bring down the costs associated with rent and insurance.
- There is also a minimizing of the working capital that is held in stock. This comes about as a result of obtaining the stock only at the time it is required.
- The possibility of the stock going bad, expiring or turning out to be obsolete is very much reduced. This greatly minimizes wasting of the resources.
- The accumulation of the finished goods that have not been sold (that may come about as a consequence of the unexpected variations in demand) is evaded since the production of the commodities is well planned for depending on the available orders.
- Very little time is used up on examining and working again on other people’s products because the concentration is on having the job “right first time”.
On the other hand, the Just in Time (JIT) has some disadvantages. These disadvantages include;
- Since the products that are produced are supposed to meet the available demand depending on the orders placed, there is no extra stock of products that are finished that can help in meeting the demand that can arise, which was not expected. This demand that is not expected may be going hand in hand with higher prices of the product.
- The manufacturing process is very much dependent on the suppliers. In any case the supplies are not availed at the right time, there is a delay of the entire manufacturing process, causing much inconvenience.
- In case there are some mistakes made in the production process and faulty products are produced, this can bring in so many inconveniences since there is very minimal stock set aside for making corrections on the products.
How the car industry would benefit from “Just In Time”
According to Susanto (2003), the main goals of “Just in Time” are getting products of high quality at a low cost and the production of these products at the right time. Another goal is to do away with stagnant stocks and wastage. Although many of the implementations of JIT have the same goal and functions, the strategies that are employed may vary among the industries or companies. A firm in the car industry is supposed to choose the correct strategies and methods by bringing down the obstacles pertaining to the firm’s suppliers.
By employing the JIT, the production target of the firm in the car industry can be met within the shortest time possible. The bottleneck brought about by the handling of materials, the time required for assembly, and the logistics that are inbound can be avoided. The common procedure where the components have to be supplied by several suppliers and be made, filled in the container and then programmed for delivery and then eventually delivered by trucks is a common process that is established to bring about a lot of inefficiencies. This is because each part has to be handled by human beings on a continuous basis, and this brings about damages and quality that is not perfect.
With the implementation of the JIT system that is developed, there can be a minimization of the production lead times, improvement in the quality of the product, and a boost in how the firm can respond to the demands of the customer. More so, there can be a dramatic reduction in the cost of transport and the costs associated with handling. Minimal space requirements will also be achieved. These can be realized especially in the case where the JIT system is supported with sophisticated aerial tunnels linking the firm with the suppliers (Susanto, 2003).
Reference List
Anon., 2010. Just in time production (JIT). Web.
Hashmi, K., 2000. Introduction and Implementation of Total Quality Management (TQM). Web.
McNamara, C., 2009. Operations Management. Web.
Mutt, N., 2010. Quality management techniques and core concept. Web.
Susanto, L., 2003. Just In Time in Ford. Web.