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
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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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