Managing Operational Improvement: MQ Laser Cut - Semester T2 Report

This report examines the operational challenges faced by MQ Laser Cut, a manufacturing company, and explores how Lean and Agile methodologies can be implemented to improve performance. The report provides a detailed overview of the company's current operations, highlighting issues such as slow delivery times, order backlogs, and inefficiencies in the production process. It then delves into the principles of Lean and Agile, discussing how they can be applied to streamline processes, reduce waste, and increase customer satisfaction. The report analyzes specific strategies, such as the implementation of new automation equipment and workflow adjustments, to enhance productivity and efficiency. Additionally, the report considers the critical success factors for Lean manufacturing and the benefits of Agile approaches, including improved flexibility and responsiveness to market demands. The conclusion emphasizes the importance of adapting both approaches to achieve operational excellence and sustainable growth. The report also includes figures and diagrams to illustrate the concepts discussed and provide a visual representation of the company's layout and improvement strategies.

T2, Managing Operational
Improvement
MQ Laser Cut

Executive summary
Improve the Managing Operational in the manufacturing industries, and how the Lean and
Agile or some other approach help the Factory by the support and planning to increase the
performance, productivity in all exposures, low-cost product and delivery speed and further
steps. Each one has some different strategy let the organisation aim the right goal in a specific
time, some of them work inside the factory by squeeze the gap between the process like Lean,
and other prefer dealing with customers requirements like Agile and both get a great result.
The operational manager needs to prepare the company to get the best results by using Lean
and Agile and making a difference.

Contents
INTRODUCTION...............................................................................................................................4
Background of the organisation scenario..........................................................................................4
Discussion.............................................................................................................................................9
Conclusion..........................................................................................................................................10
Reference............................................................................................................................................12

INTRODUCTION
The report illustrates the difficulties that the organisation (MQ Laser Cutting ) in
manufacturing industries have. The scenario gives further information about this company,
besides what the operational management needs to deal in this manufacturing field. This
report will focus on Lean and Agile, and what means and implement it in this industry sector.
Also, the information will indicate the benefits that the organisation gain with both
approaches and how the operational manager deal and constraint on factory strategies in both
cases. In the end, the report discusses how to robust the process in this industrial field and
develop the performance, productivity and efficiency.
Background of the organisation scenario
QM small businesses classify to five department’s; the first section is the store that contains
sheet metal and new material delivered by the supplier, the second be the central section for
sheet metal laser machine (three fast Panasonic laser cutting machines plus Byloader device).
The third section will cover the press brake machine that bends the metal product and
welding processes together, and the fourth section cover ready to deliver products and the
final one will be the energy and Gas service (O2, Co2 and N2). QM has cooperative
teamwork in office and skill operator machine work three-shafts a day five days a week. QM
has difficulty in speed delivery and an overload order that keeps waiting list longer,
especially in the last three months of the year and starts to build-up, low efficiency and
productivity. For Customer response improvement, QM Operational manager needs to
rebuild a new strategy to nudge the organisation away from the crisis or lose the client's value
that has built this consideration, loss the connection and customer requirements will drag QM
performance curve down. They will add high responsibility on the operational management
team, and that will be the first issue that QM needs to fix it. QM has three forklift work full-
time, busy with a load on and loads off between three Byloader Devices and the new material
store and likely this operation chain this Forklift in a small area and limited dull jobs,
breakdown in one of them will need urgently act to protect the company from time bleeding.
QM Regular service to reduces break down risk. Each product that QM made through in
individual processing from the first assistant that a salesperson proved to include the design,
programming, material loading and Cutting, reshaping or bending, cleaning, and the last
processing the packaging team to making ready to deliver it. Groups of skilled people work
together in office and workshops to let the products meet customer specifications. QM
Operational manager needs to focus on Quality and how the production is on-specification
also minimise waste effort within the process. Even the speed and how to improve the short
customer waiting list time. Dependability and how QM keep on-time deliveries of products
and reduce disruption and rescheduled in the processes. Besides the flexibility and how the
operational manager improves QM ability to deal with a wide range of products, reduce the
price with the variety of the fastest growing and volume of products changed. Whatever QM
work with still the central gaol in the market will be the price and the cost that customers are
looking for by low processing, resource and delay/inventory cost. (Hill & Hill, 2017).
Lean and Agile approaches improving
The purpose of improving the operations capabilities of Organisation manufacturing,
operational managers need to work with two of initiatives approach, Lean and Agile the
popular ones used in this field, each one depends on many factors, QM Operational manager
finds more than a gap and spaces they can squeeze it and deduct waste in product or

production time in Lean, and save delivery time and shorter waitlist in Agile. (M. Hallgren, J.
Olhager, 2019)
Lean approach improving in Manufacturing and industrial field
Lean manufacturing is about eliminating waste (the non-value-added components in any
process) and satisfy customers. Waste identification and elimination are central to a lean
manufacturing philosophy. Lean implement for the Manufacturing industry depending on
Five principles, and each of them supported by some tools:
- The Stability, the performance of the production system, the Operational manager needs to
start with and understand QM ability and arrange that in his plan. There are many tools they
can work with like 5S, Visual Management, 7 Quality Tools and Standard Operating
Procedures (SQP 5), which will give him additional understanding about QM improvement
and his planning. Then work with
- The Manufacturing, and how can he use Just In Time (JIT), Take Time, Kanban or other.
- Continuous Improvement by using Kaizen, 5 Whys or Value Stream Mapping.
- The Quality and how can use Jidoka, Fail-Safe ( Poka-Yoke) or other to improve this stage.
- Policy Deployment will by the top of those Five principles of Lean House as some called.
Critical success factors
There are critical success factors for lean manufacturing, some of them internal like (Top
Management), (Training and Education), (Thinking Development), (Employees), (Working
Culture), (Communications ), (Resources) and (Business Planning) and others external
factors like (Customer focus) and (Government intervention). (Fig 1) show some of them.
(Alefari, 2017). QM operational manager has to steady these elements, the QM finance status
one of the essential components to start with to show QM ability to control the change and
make the balancing between the cost and improvement results. Also, Customer relationship
and how to keep them up to date with QM planning and the time that QM needs for that
change, besides involving a new customer with an attractive offer, keep the improvement in
the right direction. QM needs to keep the focus on the Suppliers relationship to increase the
variety of material sources.
(Fig 1) Lean manufacturing tools and practices

- QM Operational manager plan on the layout map as shown in (Fig 2), work in two
locations, the first add a new device (By Tower Compact Automation Laser)(BTCAL)
for each Laser Machine to increase the individual material store and feed the Machine
Automatic, this machine will cost the company and add more pressure financially, the
other advantage of this changed to release the tension from the lifting device from full
time as laser machine work to two hours/three time a day before each shift time to fill
(BTCAL) machine next stage of development, also reduce the accident in the workshop
by removing the people who are working on this area and last increasing the speed by
removing the extra wast time in this process. This improvement allowed the QM
Operational manager to run a third shift without any problems or pressure on Forks
lifting and fewer people in night shift. That will increase the working period from two-
shift 16 hours a day/5days a week to three-shift 24 hours a day/5 day a week. To go with
this change QM need to get an extra skills Laser machine Operator, and that will cost the
company or qualify some an exciting employee to fill this position by arranging them in
a training course under skills operator, the second option will be more preferably
because they have good background and procedures acknowledgement. The second
Location Improvement removes the inspection point from the end of processing to the
third. After a programmer in two-steps, the first one will be external to check the
product design with the customer and find the failure before lodged in the process to
safe the time and the material also to reduce the failure products expenses and build up
company committees and reliability. The second step will be internally looking after all
products have been using in the production line for fast response to any failure or
damage product to reduce the rejected product and save time.
QM and the Lean advantage
The lean approach will improve some procedure like:
- Increased Customer satisfaction, By reducing waste, the final product is delivered to a
customer with value. QM’s customers will find something changed in products cost and
processes of providing. (KUT, 2012).
- They were increased the productively, because of the focused improvements made to
processes to eliminate waste. The QM operational manager achieved the goal to improve
Figure 2: QM Layout: left the Existing process layout, and the right Improvised process layout

productivity by replacing the full-time job Lifting Devices to two hours/three-time a
day. (KUT, 2012).
- Meaningful change in an organisation’s attitudes, as great Implementing lean production
often demands a challenging. Keep all inspection in one step allow the QM teamwork to
reduce the failure products before inserted to the production line, also add third shift
time to increase the production and reduce the waiting time list. (KUT, 2012).
- The Quality, for all Lean process improvement initiative, quality as well enhanced. Start
the check and approval at the beginning of the processing in QM new strategy reduce
the damaged and faulty product and increase the confidence between the QM and the
customer also community culture. (KUT, 2012).
- Delivery time, another fundamental element of lean production is just in time
production, so excess inventory will be not maintained to fulfil customer orders. QM
extended delivery duration around the day also to meet companies that work 24/7 a
week. (KUT, 2012).
Agile approach improving in Manufacturing and industrial field
Agile manufacturing (AM) has been defined as the capability of surviving and prospering in
the competitive environment of continuous and unpredictable change by reacting quickly and
effectively to changing markets, driven by customer-designed products and services.
(Gunasekrana, 1999). Laser-cut one of manufacturing step some time found including in big
organisation as a car manufacturing and industry or other machines manufacturing as one
step of that company and work as one of the internal department of the project in the site, in
different situations as individuals company like QM as a small company work with many
other organisations. Whatever was the case, nothing changes in the procedures unless in
small case QM will be in touch with customers directly. The productivity and effectively will
be effect QM as an organisation need to work hard to survive, and the customers are looking
for the quality, expansive and in time of delivery as one of important element to keep
building relationships and improved. In general use Agile as an improvement approach in
manufacturing depends on the Strategies, Technology, System and the people. Each criteria
depend on sub classification as (Fig3) show. But the main elements for Strategy will be
Virtual enterprise, Supply chain and Concurrent engineering and some other more,
Technology and other factors like Hardware –tools and equipment Information technologies
and for System, Design systems, Production planning and control systems and System
integration and database management and last one will be the people and the effect factors
Knowledge workers, Top management support and employee empowerment and Training
and education (Jayachitra, 2008).

Still, Price, Quality, time delivery, and the flexible,
the Agile approach requirement needs to improve the capability, productivity and efficiency.
Organisation ability to change the design or processing to meet the market requirement in
short time with quality improvement and Just In Time delivery besides low expense products
that agile achievement and the goal for all the Organisation and the Customers. QM small
business share with other companies in their project and be a one-off external part of these
organisations in this case QM CAD designer and CAM programmers will be the critical
department in QM as they respond for all customers order and CAD design and drawing as
well as discussed and cooperate with customers for the right strategy also recheck all drawing
before the drawing and DXF file go-ahead for the production line. There is a plan diagram to
help management or project manager follow the map to improve or develop the production
line. For every organisation, there is some chart or diagram that covers the total of the
company plans. Each department has a specific diagram depend on their duties in the
organisation and for development will depend on the knowledge like DREAM simulation
platform (“simulation based application Decision support in Real-time for Efficient Agile
Manufacturing”, http://dream-simulation.eu/). And there are some diagrams to be more
apparent how the Agile development work as examples shown in (Fig 4,5,6) for Injection
Moulding Business Model
Figure 3, A Framework for the
Design of Agile
Manufacturing Systems
Figure 4, Injection Moulding Business
Process (IMBP), Package Diagram
Figure 5, Injection Moulding
Business Process (IMBP),
Requirement Diagram

QM more likely X-IMB unless QM has Laser Cut machines in one department and Press
Brake sheet metal in the second rather than two different sizes of injection moulding machine
and the same requirement. QM Operational Manager has to be more accurate to let his
development in touch with the market change whatever was the business small or big.
Discussion
In both cases, the organisation operational manager the person who can recognise what the
organisation need and he can start from the base that the company have as a database, the
finance, market situation, knowledge and people, and how can the manager use those
elements to support his plan, also each one of these approaches has the power point and the
weakness. It has also been discussed that basically, lean approach is used in manufacturing
companies as it enables in reducing waste. However, there are 5 principles of it which focus
on its performance. In addition, there are various tools which can be applied in lean such as
5S, visual management, etc. besides that, there are many success factors of this model which
can help firm to improve its performance both internal and external. It enhance working
culture as new process are to implemented. Furthermore, there is efficient utilisation of
resources which allow in increasing efficiency of firm. Also, it reduces government
intervention as well because waste is already eliminated. With that it becomes easy to
maintain balance between cost and quality. It is evaluated that advantage of lean in QM is
that it increase customer satisfaction. The final product delivered generate value. The
productivity of staff enhances as changes are made into operational process. It is because
weak areas are eliminated and improvements are made. So, it leads to saving time and cost as
well.
The use of agile approach in manufacturing industry has led bringing continuous
changes according to market. In this laser cut is best approach applied in car manufacturing.
Here, QM need to work closely in order to ensure that product are delivered on time. Besides,
changes are made into technology, strategy, etc. In this emphasis is made on technology,
supply chain so that there is no delay in delivering products. The use of agile method has
resulted in improving capability of firm. By changing design company is able to fulfil market
demand in time. Hence, goals and objectives are attained on time and with high efficiency. In
agile QM, CAD are required people who prepare design of production process. So, as every
Figure 6, Injection Moulding
Business Process (IMBP),
Back Block Definition
Diagram.

company work as per specific process of production. Therefore, accordingly duties and roles
are identified in it. Thus, having a proper framework has enabled in taking quick decision and
then working as per it. Moreover, main benefit of agile method is that it provide real time
data by which it becomes make changes. Also, it can be easily applied in business model.
Also, it is stated that both lean and agile are beneficial in manufacturing industry as it
helps in eliminating waste and improving efficiency. Furthermore, it gives various advantage
by finding out weak areas. This improve operational process and efficiency. In lean kaizen,
just in time, etc. are integrated that provide additional support to top management. Along
with that, cost incurred in production process is reduced as there is less wastage of resources.
So, value of product is automatically increased. Therefore, with continuous improvement
organisation is able to gain competitive advantage in market. But there is need to monitor
regularly on changes that are made in operations. This allows in giving insight whether it is
beneficial or not. Moreover, it is useful in measuring performance of overall process as well.
Also, productivity is improved as errors and faults are identified and eliminated. The delivery
time, another fundamental element of lean production is just in time production, so excess
inventory will be not maintained to fulfil customer orders. The technology used needs to be
capable with agile and lean so that improvement is made. Employees are trained to work as
per changes made.
Conclusion
The majority of organisations with a high level of technology and the knowledge in the
management enhanced to added advance approaches to improve the productivity, efficiency,
flexibility and just in time delivery, whatever the philosophy or the system depends on, Lean
and Agile both they can work together in some case to achieve the right goal that the
organisation management planning for. Reduce the worst processing and remove an
unwonted step in the Lean approach affect the QM process by improving the quality, just in
time delivery, customer satisfaction and more. For Agile the improvements reach the
organisation flexibility, reduce the production line's failure, up to date with market
requirements and more.

Reference
Reference list
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Alefari, M 2017, The role of leadership in implementing lean manufacturing, in K Salonitis (ed.),
ScienceDirect.
Gunasekaran, A 1999, ‘Design and implementation of agile manufacturing systems’, International Journal of
Production Economics, vol. 62, no. 1–2, pp. 1–6.
Hill, A & Hill, T 2017, Essential Operations Management, Google Books, Macmillan International Higher
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