Control Function in Manufacturing Business
Question
Purpose
In this project, you will understand the importance of the control function in a manufacturing business.
You will compare actual performance with desired production standards, measure progress toward
company goals, and address deviations in performance through corrective action.
Outcome Met by Completing This Assignment
Develop measures and assess outcomes against plans and standards to improve organizational
effectiveness.
How to Set Up the Paper
Create a Word or Rich Text Format (RTF) document that is double-spaced using 12-point font. The final
product will be 5-6 pages in length, excluding the title and reference pages.
Create a title page with a title, date, course number and section, your name, and the instructor's name.
Scenario
The following chart displays the results of the first year’s production of the, Lacks Tracks Cycles, an
electric-powered chopper-style motorcycle produced by Lacks Tracks Cycles to compete with Harley-
Davidson's Electra Glide. The metrics table below was created from data supplied by Lacks Tracks Cycles
five (5) plants. The purpose of the table is to provide data for management to decide what controls and
actions are needed to increase production efficiency.
You recently joined the Lacks Tracks Cycles' headquarters staff as a quality assurance associate. Your
manager has requested you to analyze the first year's motorcycle production results. This
information will be used by management to evaluate and improve overall production efficiency.
Lacks Tracks Cycles is known for producing high-quality products at reasonable prices. They plan to
compete against Harley's top-end model by developing superior production efficiency that will allow
them to price significantly below Harley Davidson's Electra Glide model.
The chart below lists the desired production standards and the actual production metrics for each stage
of the electric motorcycle's manufacturing process that must be completed to determine the
overall production efficiency at each of Lacks Tracks Cycles' five (5) production facilities.
A comparison of the production standard to the actual production outcomes using all the
relevant metrics allows management to determine which of its facilities is the most efficient producer of
the electric motorcycle. This knowledge will help Lacks Tracks Cycles' management team to determine
what controls need to be put into place at their various production plants to match the
production efficiency of their most efficient plant. More efficiency means higher production at lower per
unit (cycle) costs.
Metrics Standard Maryland Delaware New Jersey Texas Alaska
Total Cost to Manufacture (per unit) 13,500 15,250 14,100 12,750 16,000 14,250
Manufacturing Cycle Time (time to complete a single vehicle - in hours) 15 18 16 12
12 14
Yield (percentage of cars produced to specifications first time without rework) 98% 99% 97%
96.50% 97.50% 95.15%
Defective Rate/Recall Rate 2% 1% 3% 3.50% 2.50% 4.85%
Scrap Rate 2% 3% 4% 2.50% 2% 1.90%
Average Production Downtime 0.50% 1% 1.50% 0.75% 0.50% 0.75%
Training Time (hours per month) 8 6 3 5 7 4
Shipping Problems/Damage (per 10,000 units) 1 2 4 2 1 3
Safety Incident per Employee 1.50% 2.25% 0.75% 3% 2% 1.90%
Number of units manufactured per year 45,000 43,000 27,000 42,500 48,000 45,500
Utilization Rate (Capacity rate facility is utilizing during available production time) 81.82% 78.18%
49.09% 77.27% 87.27% 82.73%
Use only the BOLDED centered and left-justified headings to write your paper.
Introduction
Write an Introduction paragraph. The introduction paragraph is the first paragraph of the paper and will
describe to the reader the intent of the paper, explaining the main points covered in the paper. This
intent should be understood before reading the remainder of the paper so the reader knows exactly
what is being covered in the paper. The introduction is often written after the paper is completed. (Use
in-text citations, as needed, and include the references in the Reference section.)
The body of the paper will cover the following:
Controls
Explain what control means in a business setting. (Use headings below and in-text citations as required.)
Explain why Lacks Tracks must be concerned with the actual production metrics at its plants. (Use
headings below and in-text citations as required.)
Control Defined
Importance of Lacks Tracks Production Metrics


Solution
Control
Function in Manufacturing Business
Control function plays a vital role
in different manufacturing businesses because it helps address issues that are
likely to impact the production process’s efficiency. With control function, it
is easier for the business in the manufacturing industry to understand various
mechanisms that could be utilized in addressing key challenges impacting
production. Through control, manufacturing businesses can examine production
processes with the help of varying standards. For that reason, this paper aims
to carry out in-depth research that analyses actual production with the desired
target being the process of production as a whole. In order to come up with an effective
finding, there will be an overview of different strategies that could be used
to address deviations in the production process. Also, different measures will
be outlined to help evaluate the overall outcome of the production process. The
information in the highlighted scenario will be essential in the analysis
because it will help address the key issue of production.
Control Defined
The use of the control function in
any business is important because it helps address key issues likely to arise. For
instance, the production process control function is used to evaluate different
processes that guide management on actions that can lead them to achieve their
desired goals. Organizations can also use control as a guide in regulating key
activities of the firm key activities. By doing that, the firm is protected
from unforeseen issues that can impact the production process’s efficiency (Akdere, 2015). But for the
control process to be effective, it needs to be combined with other
functionalities such as organizing and planning. It is clear that implementing
controls in the company is a good idea because it helps ensure that the firms meet
their targets. In the process of manufacturing, controls can be used as guidelines
that can enable the firm to meet its needs and requirement.
Importance of Lacks
Tracks Production Metrics
Being given the mandate by the
manager to analyze the first year’s motorcycle production results, it is good to
assess actual production metrics that are likely to affect key functionalism
and operations of the firm. The assessment of production metrics is important
for the organization’s performance as it makes management understand
deficiencies that can impact a firm’s production. Also, the evaluation of other
key metrics at Lacks Tracks plays a significant role in giving the organization
the ability to address key concerns raised by the production team. The metrics
can also be used by different production plants compared to set standards
because they serve as key indicators of overall performance in most instances.
In most cases, it is easier to
provide an accurate definition of Lacks Tracks if you meet the desired target
through metrics. With the presence of controls, it is easier for the firms to
establish necessary mechanisms to address key issues likely to impact the
organization’s productivity (Wacogne,
2016). For instance, it is easier for the organization to develop
innovative solutions that can help address challenges that affect the entire
production process with the use of controls. For the above reason, it is clear that
the use of production metrics at Lacks Tracks is important because it helps
secure absolute control of the firm’s performance.
Metrics Table Plant
Performance Comparisons
Looking at the metrics, the five
firms have different overall performances based on their set of standards. For
example, the cost of each of the five plants used in the manufacturing process
varies because four of the five costs are higher than expected. Among the five
plants that have achieved lower production costs in New Jersey. It shows that
there are necessary adjustments to reduce the plant’s overall production costs.
Also, from the analysis of the five plants, it has been indicated that cycle
time in the majority of them is below the set standard. But the cycle time of
Delaware and Maryland exceeds the set standard, thus indicating the need to
reduce cycle time so that it can be easier to manage issues affecting the production
process (Wacogne, 2016). In
terms of yield, most of the plants are close to the set standards, implying
that only a few vehicles in the manufacturing process require reworks. It is
clear from my analysis that the recall rate is always lower if the yield is
higher, varying across the plants. Therefore, with the average yield being 98
percent, most of the plants have managed to maintain higher yields, which has
helped reduce the need for reworks.
In addition, the rate of scrap based
on average production deviates from 2 percent, which is the set standard. For
instance, Delaware has the highest scrap-off rate of 4 percent compared to
other plants. In terms of downtime, the maximum allowable has to be 0.5
percent, varying among the plants between 1.5 in Delaware and 0.5 in Texas. Based
on variations, it is true that downtime of the majority of plants falls within
the desired range. Another metric that varies among the five plants is training
time, where the standard time is 8 percent, but some plants like Delaware have
a minimum of 3 hours per month. Although from the analysis of the plants, the
issue of damaged units does not affect the majority of the plants, it is of
major concern. Regarding safety, the standard number needs to stand at 1.5
percent; however, most plants have reported safety incidents that exceed the
standard apart from Delaware. This indicates that review is needed to ensure
that the plants meet safety standards (Wacogne, 2016). On the other hand, the number of units produced
is below-set standards in the majority of the five plants. For instance, New
Jersey, Delaware and Maryland have below-set standards of units produced each
year and indication that management needs to work extremely well to make the
plants meet the set standards.
Total Quality Management
For the organization to address key
issues affecting its functionality, they need to seek total quality management
help. The use of TQM at Lacks Tracks will help the plants improve their
production process. For instance, with TQM plant-like, Delaware will be able to
address issues such as low utility and production. Having made my vital
analysis about the plants, the management of Lacks Tracks can use TQM to
develop necessary systems to enable the plants to achieve continued improvement
(Ross, 2017). The
organizations will be able to make effective decisions because all decisions
will be based on the actual data of firms. Lacks Tracks will also experience
improved communication, resulting in increased employee efficiency. For that
reason, it is true the enhancement of TQM at Lacks Tracks is important because
it helps in the overall efficiency of plants operations.
Conclusions
An extensive overview of Lacks Tracks
has been provided from the research and insights that key production process
control function management should be used. Also, there was a comprehensive
analysis of Lack Track’s crucial performance at different plants in the
research. Different key issues were understood from the metrics on how they
affect production efficiencies in specific plants. Having done a wide analysis
on metrics, it is significant that they provide a basis for comparison among
different production plants. It is also clear that total quality management can
significantly address key issues affecting Lacks Tracks.
References
Akdere, M. (2015). An
analysis of decision-making process in organizations: Implications for quality
management and systematic practice. Total Quality Management &
Business Excellence, 22(12), 1317-1330.
Ross, J. E.
(2017). Total quality management: Text, cases, and readings.
Routledge. https://doi.org/10.1201/9780203735466
Wacogne, I. D. (2016).
Article metrics: measuring the impact and importance of papers. Archives
of Disease in Childhood-Education and Practice, 101(3),
156-157.




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