Machine Inefficiencies and Supply Chain Risk Management in Australian Steel Manufacturing Firms

This research report explores the impact of machine inefficiencies on the supply chain process in Australian steel manufacturing firms. The report identifies the causes of machine inefficiencies and provides recommendations for mitigating the risks. The report is relevant to steel manufacturing firms seeking to maximize profits through minimizing the time wasted in repairing damaged machines.

Running head: SUPPLY CHAIN RISK MANAGEMENT 1
Supply Chain Risk Management
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RESEARCH QUESTION DEFINITION REPORT
The research question is in relation to supplies chain risk management and it seeks to determine
whether the supply chains of Australian steel manufacturing firms are exposed to risks in the
existing global business network and I have identified a specific engineering risk which the
machine inefficiencies as a risk in supply chain management during the production process of
steel is can affect the whole supply chain of steel products to the target market (Brindley, C.,
2017). The question is framed as; Does machine inefficiencies affect the supply chain process of
steel in the Australian Steel company? And the hypothesis was that machine inefficiencies which
is a common risk in manufacturing industries is a major setback in the supply chain management
and strategies to mitigate this risk should be put in place by the industry because when the
machines stop to function, the whole production process stops and this affects the amount of
steel products available in the market from the company hence the company might lose its
customers to other competing firms within the same industrial setting(Zhao, L. and
Huchzermeier, A., 2018). The relevance of the research question is to help steel manufacturing
firms to maximize profits through minimization of the time wasted in repairing the damaged
machines which might be critical in the production process.
Machine inefficiency refers to the situation where the machine fails to operate normally as
a result of damages in some parts. When the damage occurs then we conclude that the machine is
inefficient (Keilhacker, M.L. and Minner, S., 2017). Damages might be in the following ways:
Motor malfunctioning; this is where the motors that runs the conveyer belts crucial for the
continuous flow of raw materials stop to function hence stopping the whole productivity process

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Wear and tear; this is where some of the parts that are crucial for the operation of certain
machine parts wear due to friction and lack of oiling
Break downs; this is a common setback inmost of the manufacturing firms where machines break
down hence whole process has to be delayed for repairing to be done.
Clogging, some parts may be blocked such as the oil filters hence the machines over heat
and stop to function hence delaying the manufacturing process in the firm.
Research Methodology.
According to Welman, C., Kruger, F. and Mitchell, B., 2005, a good research methodology
should be adopted by the researcher to come up with findings hence this part deals with the
methodology adopted for the study by the researcher. It includes the research approach and
design, the geographical area where the study was undertaken, description of the respondents of
the study selected by the researcher, tools and methods of data collection, variables studied, pilot
study and the statistical techniques used for analysis and interpretation of the data.
Data collection instruments
During the research to establish whether machine inefficiencies affect the supply chain process
in the steel industries in Australia the following instruments are going to be used to collect the
data (Neuman, W.L., 2013).

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Questionnaires
According to Kothari, C.R., 2004, use of questionnaires is one of the methods of data collection
in research hence I am going to design five hundred questionnaires which I will issue to
employees in various steel manufacturing firms in Australia where I shall be able to obtain the
feedback of the employees regarding the effect of machine inefficiency on the supply chain
management process. This method fits in my research question of whether machine inefficiency
affect the supply chain management process because it is going to give various individuals
opportunity to give their views on the same.
Interviews
In order to obtain the views as to whether machine inefficiency affects the supply chain
management process in the firms I am going to interview the mechanical departments and the
procurement departments of various firms which will enable me to makes conclusions and
recommendations regarding my research question. This method is important regarding my
research question because I will be in a position to obtain the feedback from the mechanical
engineering experts who really know various machine inefficiencies with their effects in the
manufacturing process which further affects the supply chain management process in the
organizational products.

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Pilot study
This is a preliminary study of the universe to ascertain the feasibility of the research instruments
to be used for the study (Kırılmaz, O. and Erol, S., 2017). The pilot study will enable me to
determine the structure of my questions in the questionnaire to make it more clear and
predictable and informative. This is vital to my research question of whether machine
inefficiency has an influence in supply chain management process in steel manufacturing firms
in Australia, because it is going to help me identify contracting issues in my questionnaire and
delete them and after reframing the questions this will enable me to obtain good responses from
the respondents.
Experimental analysis
I am going to conduct an experiment regarding the effect of machine inefficiency in supply chain
risk management where I will visit the firms that are operating without machine inefficiencies
and record how the production units are together with the supplies they make to the market and I
will also be able to identify the supply chain from the manufacturer to the consumer and record
the efficiency as a result of smooth flow of operations. I will also visit a firm that has always
been experiencing problems in supply chain process and determine the efficiency of the
operations regarding to the regularity of its supplies and how the supply chain management
process is affected as a result of the slow production. This is significant in my research because it

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shall enable me to make a clear conclusion regarding the impact of the risk of machine
inefficiencies to the supply chain management process within the organization
Data Collection procedure
According to Kumar, S. and Phrommathed, P., 2005, a clear procedure should be established
for data collection hence during my research I will use the following research procedural
methods to collect the relevant data required for the formulation of analysis and conclusions
regarding my research.
Data mining
I am going to request journals for various manufacturing firms and establish the machine
inefficiency trends and the causes and how the whole scenarios affected the supply chain
management process within the organization by comparing and contrasting various results from
different firms in Australia. This research method is of significance in my research because it
will enable me to make clear conclusion about the effect of machines inefficiency to the supply
chain management process as a result of affecting manufacturing of the goods (Kırılmaz, O. and
Erol, S., 2017).
Surveying
I am going to create a survey regarding my research question in the various survey websites
where it is going to be accessed by many in Australia both the retired and the current employees
who will be in a position to give their views regarding the same (Fan, H., Li, G., Sun, H. and
Cheng, T.C.E., 2017). This method is significant because I shall obtain feedback from not only
the workforce from various firms but also from retired employees who once worked for the firm

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Research findings
From my research I found out that most of the steel manufacturing firms in Australia suffered the
risk of machine inefficiency due to the following:
 Lack of a planned schedule of service and maintenance of the machines which is very
crucial because risks may be identified earlier and mitigated
 Most of the steel manufacturing firms absorbed mechanical engineering students who
worked without closer supervision hence most of the machine problems are caused by
such cases due to the risk of negligence among the attaches
 Most of the firms never had enough spare parts in the store to replace the worn-out parts
resulting to the break downs hence delay in the manufacturing and as a result there are
usually few final products to be supplied in the market.
 Most of the steel manufacturing firms do not have policies regarding negligence by
employees that usually result to machine break down hence employees may do it
intentionally to achieve a specific target.
 Machine inefficiency leads to profit loss for the organization as a result of reduction in
supplies in the market.
 Machine inefficiency is caused by lack of proper training and development of the newly
recruited mechanical engineers who lack specific skills for machine risk assessment and
taking the precautionary measures to mitigate the risk

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Research conclusion and recommendations
Machines are the important organization asset that facilitate production in any given industrial
setting. When the machines break down the manufacturing process is hindered hence only few
products will be supplied hence shorter market chains from the supplier to the consumer
affecting the supply chain management process since some parties in business may not be
involved hence with time they may quit the business hence minimizing the market covered by
the organizational products. Risks that might lead to machine inefficiency should be mitigated
before they result to losses by following the mitigation strategies laid within the organization.
From the experiment analysis that I was able to carry out among the several firms, I was able to
establish that when firms mitigate the risks involved in the production process which machine
inefficiency is one of the risks under my study, the supply chain management process will be
efficient hence continuous production due to a wide market and availability of the products to the
consumers(Hugos, M.H., 2018). Firms that had no machine inefficiencies were thriving better
than those firms that experienced frequent break downs.

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References
Zhao, L. and Huchzermeier, A., 2018. Supply Chain Risk Management. In Supply Chain
Finance (pp. 39-55). Springer, Cham.
Brindley, C., 2017. Supply chain risk. Routledge.
Azadegan, A. and Jayaram, J., 2018. Resiliency in supply chain systems: A triadic framework
using family resilience model. In Supply Chain Risk Management (pp. 269-288). Springer,
Singapore.
Fan, H., Li, G., Sun, H. and Cheng, T.C.E., 2017. An information processing perspective on
supply chain risk management: Antecedents, mechanism, and consequences. International
Journal of Production Economics, 185, pp.63-75.
Kırılmaz, O. and Erol, S., 2017. A proactive approach to supply chain risk management: Shifting
orders among suppliers to mitigate the supply side risks. Journal of Purchasing and Supply
Management, 23(1), pp.54-65.
Keilhacker, M.L. and Minner, S., 2017. Supply chain risk management for critical commodities:
A system dynamics model for the case of the rare earth elements. Resources, Conservation and
Recycling, 125, pp.349-362.
Behzadi, G., O’Sullivan, M.J., Olsen, T.L. and Zhang, A., 2017. Agribusiness supply chain risk
management: A review of quantitative decision models. Omega.
Hugos, M.H., 2018. Essentials of supply chain management. John Wiley & Sons.

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Kumar, S. and Phrommathed, P., 2005. Research methodology (pp. 43-50). Springer US.
Kothari, C.R., 2004. Research methodology: Methods and techniques. New Age International.
Neuman, W.L., 2013. Social research methods: Qualitative and quantitative approaches.
Pearson education.
Welman, C., Kruger, F. and Mitchell, B., 2005. Research methodology (pp. 35-40). Cape Town:
Oxford University Press.