Blitz Company Case Study
Introduction
A brilliant company that produces a diverse range of a product is prone to run in to trouble if the processes are not well designed, inefficient quality measures prevail and decision making is more prone to ad hoc basis rather than a standardized process. Blitz Company, an organization distinguished for its capability to cater the diverse needs of their customers, not only on basis of design features but also lot size, has been facing a cumulative number of issues. To name a few, these issues range from production bottlenecks to capacity utilization to inability to reach deadlines. The analysis has indicated that these problems are just not due to process designs and the methodologies applied in executing them but can also be attributed to a varying number of haphazard managerial decisions. In order to scrutinize these process design flaws and varying managerial decisions, it is prudent to first understand the process flow and then analyze the bottle necks in detail. The flow of this paper will be as such that I will start by first describing the process flow, then laying down the assumptions, followed by the analysis and production times of various machinery and their processes, then a look at the managerial flaws and finally ending with the recommendations.
Process Flow
The three main manufacturing steps at Blitz, preparation, image transfer and fabrication had quite a few processes within. Amongst them some of them were more common than the others; hence in order to draw the most common ones, we have neglected Epoxy painting, stake and soldering process. The processes now included are, photograph, inspect and shear, drill (location holes), KPR, touch up and inspect, Plate, etch, shear, drill, configuration (Rout was popular with small lot size whereas Punch press for larger ones), Drill holes (use manual for less than 100 boards otherwise use the Green pantographic) and then finally inspect and pack. Hence from a total of 15 steps we have
A brilliant company that produces a diverse range of a product is prone to run in to trouble if the processes are not well designed, inefficient quality measures prevail and decision making is more prone to ad hoc basis rather than a standardized process. Blitz Company, an organization distinguished for its capability to cater the diverse needs of their customers, not only on basis of design features but also lot size, has been facing a cumulative number of issues. To name a few, these issues range from production bottlenecks to capacity utilization to inability to reach deadlines. The analysis has indicated that these problems are just not due to process designs and the methodologies applied in executing them but can also be attributed to a varying number of haphazard managerial decisions. In order to scrutinize these process design flaws and varying managerial decisions, it is prudent to first understand the process flow and then analyze the bottle necks in detail. The flow of this paper will be as such that I will start by first describing the process flow, then laying down the assumptions, followed by the analysis and production times of various machinery and their processes, then a look at the managerial flaws and finally ending with the recommendations.
Process Flow
The three main manufacturing steps at Blitz, preparation, image transfer and fabrication had quite a few processes within. Amongst them some of them were more common than the others; hence in order to draw the most common ones, we have neglected Epoxy painting, stake and soldering process. The processes now included are, photograph, inspect and shear, drill (location holes), KPR, touch up and inspect, Plate, etch, shear, drill, configuration (Rout was popular with small lot size whereas Punch press for larger ones), Drill holes (use manual for less than 100 boards otherwise use the Green pantographic) and then finally inspect and pack. Hence from a total of 15 steps we have