Donner Company (Case Analysis)
Donner Company started its operations in 1985 and developed specialized capability in manufacturing circuit boards for experimental devices and for pilot production runs. The company uses “Solder mask over Bare Copper” (SMOBC) technology which is a popular technology for denser circuit patterns and more reliable final product. Automated processes as well as manual processes are used to perform medium-duty, short-cycle, repetitive tasks. They promise a delivery within three weeks for orders less than 1000 boards and 5 weeks for larger orders.
While reviewing the company’s position prior to planning 1988 operations, Edward Plummer, President of the company found that the firm was experiencing production delays due to serious problems in productivity, quality and delivery of products.
Problems with productivity:
In the case it was realized that it was impossible to evaluate shop productivity as it shifted from one pattern to another without any pre-specified pattern. Different order sizes imposed different workloads on various operations. These variations stemmed from difference in order size, from orders by-passing some operations and from difference in circuit designs. The methods in use were far from ideal and there was a large scope for improvement in most of the activities, but it was difficult to adopt improvements because of the current pressure for output.
Problems with delivery time:
The company had a policy of shipping and clearing all work possible before the end of each month. Although the company promised that a delivery time of less than 3 weeks on orders of less than 1000 circuit boards and 5 weeks for orders of more than 1000 circuit boards, it was being observed that the shipments were constantly being delayed. Problems with product quality:
It was observed that the rejection rate had increased from less than 1% recently to around 3%. This was one major cause of concern for the company’s business. A rigorous quality standard could
While reviewing the company’s position prior to planning 1988 operations, Edward Plummer, President of the company found that the firm was experiencing production delays due to serious problems in productivity, quality and delivery of products.
Problems with productivity:
In the case it was realized that it was impossible to evaluate shop productivity as it shifted from one pattern to another without any pre-specified pattern. Different order sizes imposed different workloads on various operations. These variations stemmed from difference in order size, from orders by-passing some operations and from difference in circuit designs. The methods in use were far from ideal and there was a large scope for improvement in most of the activities, but it was difficult to adopt improvements because of the current pressure for output.
Problems with delivery time:
The company had a policy of shipping and clearing all work possible before the end of each month. Although the company promised that a delivery time of less than 3 weeks on orders of less than 1000 circuit boards and 5 weeks for orders of more than 1000 circuit boards, it was being observed that the shipments were constantly being delayed. Problems with product quality:
It was observed that the rejection rate had increased from less than 1% recently to around 3%. This was one major cause of concern for the company’s business. A rigorous quality standard could