The Management and Control of Quality - Assignment Example

Project Management Answer 1a Design capa is referred to as the maximum theoretical output given by a system in a particular time frame. Also termed as design rate, design capacity can be defined as the maximum amount of time that a company is capable of doing within a particular time period (Geng and Jiang, 2009). As far as the case of Bramwell is concerned, the curtain manufacturer’s current design capacity is 20,000 kg of tailoring. Effective output on the other hand is the work that a company is capable of doing within a certain time frame under certain constraints such as materials mishandling, quality issues and delays. Also sometimes referred to as capacity management effective output is the output that is anticipated from a system under operational constraints (Geng and Jiang, 2009). In case of Bramwell, the management prefers to work at 80% of its capacity. This means that the managers have accounted for all possible constraints and have reduced their effective output to 80%. Therefore, the effective output is 80% of the design capacity which is 80% of 20,000 giving 16,000 kg of tailoring. Actual output is the real output that is measurable (Geng and Jiang, 2009). In the case of Bramwell, the actual output has reduced to 60% from the company’s effective output. Therefore the actual output is 60% of 16,000 which is equals to 9,600 kg of tailoring. Utilization can be defined as the ratio between actual outputs to the design capacity of a particular company (Geng and Jiang, 2009). Therefore, considering the case of Bramwell, the utilization is 9,600/20,000 which is equal to 48%. Efficiency can be referred to as the ratio between actual output and effective capacity (Geng and Jiang, 2009). In case of Bramwell, the efficiency is 9,600/16,000 = 60%. Answer 1b Considering the fact that Bramwell is attempting to expand its operational base by 50% it is extremely important for the company to adopt appropriate strategies in order to manage actual output, utilization and efficiency. The underlying reason behind this fact is that with an extended operational base it is imperative for the managers to manage its inventories and raw materials and allocate them appropriately among the workforce to ensure that resources are utilized effectively and efficiently within the operations. This will not only enable the company to optimize resource utilization but will also allow them to prevent inventory wastage. Therefore, from the point of view of an HR manager it can be said that the lead strategy and match strategy associated with capacity management needs to be adopted at the earliest. By adopting these strategies the company will not only be able to allocate its raw materials appropriately but will also be able to manage its workforce according to requirements (Stevenson and Sum, 2009). Adopting a lead strategy will allow the managers to be prepared for any abrupt increase of demand in the market. Leading strategy is an aggressive strategy which enables managers to add capacity in expectation of a rise in demand. The underlying goal of this strategy is to lure customers from the rival companies by providing them with enhanced services thereby reducing the service lead time by a substantial degree. To reduce the service lead time, it is important for the organization to achieve economies of scale and scope. One way of doing that is to ensure that the workforce is distributed on the basis of skill sets possessed by individuals. In addition to that the company will also have to bring down the stock out costs. Reducing the stock out cost will enable the managers to plan their inventory holdings appropriately thereby allowing them to reduce inventory holding costs (Vlachos, Georgiadis and Iakovou, 2007). The workforce has to be provided with proper training and development in order to impart necessary skills in them which will enable them to manoeuvre their working methods in such a way which leads to the achievement of operational efficiency. It is extremely important for the company to incorporate technology and make sure that the workforce adapts to these technologies appropriately. By doing so, the organization can channelize the efforts given by the workforce in the right direction. In addition, the managers have to be very adaptive to the changing circumstances in the market. This is where the relevance of a match strategy lies. By adopting match strategy the managers will be able to add capacity in smaller amounts I anticipation to the varying demands in the market. This is more of a moderate strategy which will enable the managers to control production outputs on the basis of fluctuations in demand. Adding capacity in smaller amounts means to manage workforce and inventory resources appropriately across all production levels and departments. It is enormously important for the HR managers to make an accurate estimation of exactly how much hours are required per year in order to operate in full capacity. This will enable HR managers to determine workforce as well as machine requirements both during situations of high and low demand. There is also scope for the implementation of adjustment strategy whereby managers will have the option of adding or reducing capacity in large or small amounts so as to rise and fall in consumer demands (Krajewski, Ritzman and Malhotra, 2012). This is arguably the best strategy that is aimed towards preventing inventory wastage and workforce underutilization. Answer 2 Quality management plan The quality management plan has been separated into four cycles: quality planning, quality control, quality assurance and quality improvement. During the quality planning phase, the quality management team will be responsible for determining the optimal level of quality for this project. Customer feedbacks can be obtained in order to set a benchmark for quality. In the quality control phase, the quality management team will be required to thoroughly monitor the project process and deliverables (Evans and Lindsay, 2011). They will have to ensure that project processes and deliverables satisfy the predefined benchmark. One of the most prominent and reliable measures of enhanced quality project deliverables is customer satisfaction index. In addition, the quality management team will also have to ensure that the project processes meet the criteria set by the project quality standards and the stakeholders’ expectations (Dale, Van Der Wiele and Van Iwaarden, 2013). Thereafter comes the quality assurance phase. During this phase, the quality management team will be entirely responsible for determining whether the quantification of quality is appropriate by assessing the performance of the project team daily (Evans, 2011). This will enable the project managers to make sure that the project outcomes satisfy the expectation of the customers. Lastly there is the quality improvement phase where the quality management team will endeavour to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of the project during the time when the corrective activities such as requests for modifications are identified. In this phase, project managers may have to bring upon slight modifications in the project management plan or the quality management plan (Evans and Lindsay, 2011). The major importance of the quality management plan is that it helps project managers to make sure that the project outcomes do not deviate from it required purpose by any means. By implementing such a robust quality management plan Bramwell will be able to enhance its brand image thereby benefiting from an increasing customer satisfaction level. Risk management plan Having a risk management plan in place is possibly the most significant prerequisite within a project management strategy. This is precisely because of the fact that a project is exposed to multiple external factors which may prove to be a barrier in the pathway towards the conclusion of the project. Thereafter an inappropriate risk management plan may jeopardize the project outcomes thereby resulting in loss both in terms of time and money. Therefore, in order to formulate a proper risk management plan, the project manager in Bramwell will first have to identify the risk factors that the project is exposed to. Given the fact the management of Bramwell is planning to extend the company’s operational base by 59%, the first and foremost that the company is exposed to is inadequate availability of raw materials. Therefore, in order to nullify this risk factor, the managers have to ensure that they have s robust network of followers who follow lean management principle in their supply chain management plans which will enable them to distribute right quantity of raw materials at the right time and at the right place. Another risk factor that Bramwell is exposed to is the distribution of deteriorated quality of raw materials (Levin, 2014). In this case, the management has to appoint a highly skilled and experienced quality management team who would be majorly responsible for keeping track of the inventories that are being delivered by the suppliers and subsequently received at the company’s warehouse. The quality management team will have to inspect the raw materials thoroughly in order to make sure that there are no discrepancies associated with it. Presence of inadequately skilled workforce is another risk that the company is likely to get exposed to. Considering this risk factor the management in Bramwell will have to have in place proper training and development programs through which necessary skills can be imparted to the workforce which in turn will enable them to hone their skills and enhance their efficiency. Unavailability of funds is another big issue which may stall the business expansion operations (Kerzner, 2013). In this case, the mangers have to make sure that they pool up funds from multiple resources in order to keep their funding options open at all cost. Consideration of the risk management plan enables a company to be adequately prepared for any adverse issue thereby making sure that a project is devoid of any barriers and risks. Communications plan It is imperative for the managers in Bramwell to establish a robust line of communication between the junior level executives, the middle managers, the senior managers and board management. In that way they will be able to ensure that information is being channelized across every functional department and at strategic and tactical level. Smooth flow of information and knowledge proves to be extremely instrumental in the organizational decision making process (Kleijnen, et al., 2011). The following is a project communication plan for Bramwell: Stakeholder responsible Stakeholders type Reporting requirements Format requirements Favoured medium of communication Frequency CEO Internal Business expansion objectives Documented report, spreadsheet for budget analysis an allocation, ppt. presentation, project tools for project timeline In person group meeting Once during the commencement of the project Project manager Internal Team member collaboration and coordination individual team responsibilities, work breakdown structure, project deadlines Ppt. Presentation Group meeting in person Once in two weeks Team leaders Internal Weekly progress report Documented report and ppt. presentation Group meeting in person, Skype and email Once a week Accounts manager Internal Weekly fund inflow and outflow, fund requirements Spreadsheet with analysis and ppt. presentation Group meeting in person Once a week Team members Internal Individual progress Ppt. presentation and documented report Group meeting in person Twice a week Filed supervisor Internal Site supervision report, site issues and others Documented report Telephonic conversation, email and or weekly group meeting in person Once a week Reference List Dale, B. G., Van Der Wiele, T. and Van Iwaarden, J., 2013. Managing quality. New York: John Wiley & Sons. Evans, J. R. and Lindsay, W. M. 2011. The Management and Control of Quality. 8th edition. Cincinnati: South Western Cengage Learning. Evans, J. R., 2011. Quality management, organization and strategy. 6th edition. Cincinnati: South Western Cengage Learning. Geng, N. and Jiang, Z., 2009. A review on strategic capacity planning for the semiconductor manufacturing industry. International Journal of Production Research, 47(13), pp. 3639-3655. Kerzner, H. R., 2013. Project management: a systems approach to planning, scheduling, and controlling. New York: John Wiley & Sons. Kleijnen, J., Dolmans, D., Willems, J. and Van Hout, H., 2011. Does internal quality management contribute to more control or to improvement of higher education? A survey on faculty’s perceptions. Quality Assurance in Education, 19(2), pp. 141-155. Krajewski, L. J., Ritzman, L. P. and Malhotra, M. K., 2012. Operations management. New York: Pearson Education Limited. Levin, G., 2014. Project Quality Management: Why, What and How. Project Management Journal, 45(5), pp. 3. Stevenson, W. J. and Sum, C. C., 2009. Operations management. Boston: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. Vlachos, D., Georgiadis, P. and Iakovou, E., 2007. A system dynamics model for dynamic capacity planning of remanufacturing in closed-loop supply chains. Computers & Operations Research, 34(2), pp. 367-394. Read More