Managing Operations: Streamlining Processes and Social Responsibility

This report provides a guide for streamlining operational processes and adopting socially responsible practices for Big Green Tractor, a tractor manufacturing company. It includes recommendations for cost-effective manufacturing, process analysis using tools like 5 Whys analysis and Fishbone diagram, and implementing green alternatives. The guide also covers industrial standards for chemical waste disposal.

Managing Operations

Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY..................................................................................................................................1
Creating an operational industrial streamline procedural guide..................................................1
Developing a socially responsible operational guide..................................................................7
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................11

INTRODUCTION
Managing operations is a procedure of managing all the activities which an organisation
conducts to enhance their revenue and profit making ability (Holweg and Pil, 2012). This is a
field of study which is concerned with designing and controlling the process of production. The
main aim of this report is to build an understanding about operational plans and controls and how
these are managed to by organisations. To fulfil this aim, case study which is selected in this
report is The Big Green Tractor. This is a tractor company which is based on the region of
Palembang, Indonesia. This company has faced a declining growth in recent years due to which
they intend to streamline their operations to be more efficient.
In this report, an operational industrial streamline procedural guide is prepared which will
help the case study organisation to be more cost efficient and be able to minimise defects from
the manufacturing process. Along with this, a socially responsible guide for the Big Green
Tractor is also developed which will provide green alternatives to traditional manufacturing
process.
MAIN BODY
Creating an operational industrial streamline procedural guide
An operational industrial streamline procedural guide is set of various elements which can
help operations of an organisation to be updated and organised so that effectiveness and
efficiency can be attained (Ingvaldsen and Gulla, 2012). A guide for Big Green Tractor is
developed including recommendations for cost effective manufacturing process, plans to reduce
defects and use of twenty first century tools (Streamlining Business Processes to Improve
Efficiency, 2014).
PROCESS MAPPING
The first step in the procedure of developing a guide for Big Green Tractor is to process
the map by following which, this company can streamline their operations. A process map is the
framework of all the activities which will be done while manufacturing the tractors. This
company must follow all the below recommendations for their manufacturing process.
Big Green Tractor is a tractor manufacturing company which has various sub processes
to be done which are purchasing, supplying, production, logistics and finally shipping. All these
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sub processes must be mapped accurately so that time and cost can be saved. These sub
processes which are part of manufacturing procedure of this company are:
Purchasing – First step in the process of manufacturing which must be mapped is
purchasing of raw materials (Chen, Yang and Tai, 2016). The Big Green Tractor company
purchases all the raw materials such as metals, plastics, wheels, ceramics, composites
nanomaterials and many more.
Supplying – This is the second step in which all the purchased raw materials are supplied
at production site such as factory. It is important to map suppliers as it is important to select an
appropriate supplier.
Production – Under this step, Big Green Tractor uses all their technological equipment
and produce tractors from the raw materials which were previously procured. It is important to
map every belt included in this production process.
Logistics – When the tractors are finally produced and tested, it is important to lodge
them to sites from where they can be sold such as business vehicle showrooms. This step is
important to be mapped as it helps in analysing the worth of the manufactured products.
Shipping – The last step of the workflow of Big Green Tractor organisation includes
shipping the manufacturing goods to the final users after realising the value for those products.
All the above steps are the sub processes of the operations of selected company which
are recommended to be mapped using a process map so that effectiveness and deficiencies in any
activity can be identified. All these sub processes can be mapped using Process flow chart, Swim
lane process map, Value stream map and finally SIPOC. All these process mapping tools are
recommended to use by Big Green tractor organisation. All these tools are applied below along
with their essentials:
Process flow chart – This map will help Big Green Tractor organisation to ascertain the
flow in which all their activities will be done. This process can be developed using software like
Microsoft Office or can also be hand created. A simple process flow chart for this company is
created below which is recommended to be created by this company so that they can acquire a
sensibility or their operations.
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Swim lane process map – It is a kind of process mapping tool which helps in creating
lanes for each sub process horizontally which are also considered as departments (Vogel, Reeder
and Minbiole, 2013). In context of Big Green Tractor organisation, a swim lane map is
developed below which is recommended for this company to follow. In this map five main
process of this company are horizontally placed which finally lead to delivering the product to
Customer.
Value stream map – It is a visual tool which should be used by Big Green Tractor
company after developing Swim lane map as this will help them to identify their process which
can easily quantified to ascertain time and cost invested in each process. This map is developed
below as a sample for this company which must be used by them. As seen in below image, every
process is given some time to complete by which total manufacturing time can also be computed.
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SIPOC – It is an another process model which is used by the organisation to record all the
resources which they are required to be complete in a particular process (Malnati, 2013). A
sample SIPOC process map is developed below for Big Green Tractor organisation which is
recommended to be used by the management of this company as this will help them to identify
all the resources which are required by them in all the processes.
All the above process maps are recommended to be used by the selected company as this
will help them to save cost and time in their operations and will ultimately lead to streamlining
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their processes. It is first process i.e., process mapping which will help and lead them towards the
direction of implementing effective tools and techniques which can actually streamline their
operations. But it is important for Big Green Tractor company to first identify and analyse all
their process before actually streamlining their operations.
ANALYSIS
This is the second step of the operational streamline process guide. Under this step,
organisation must use various tools to analyse their processes. It must be analysed that which
processes and resources require high costs and which activities are most time consuming. And, is
there any reason behind the high cost and time involvement. It is analysed that which are the
processes which often miss their completion deadline and how they are recouped. All these
questions should be answered by the Big Green Tractor organisation which will help them to
analyse their flaws and strengths. By considering the simplicity of the activities of this
organisation, it is recommended to this company to use 5 Whys analysis and Fishbone diagram
from which they can analyse all their processes.
5 Whys analysis – This model is an analysing model which helps an organisation to
answer some questions which can assist them to identify the degree of their effectiveness and
efficiency (Bortolotti and Romano, 2012). As Big Green Tractor organisation is a tractor
producing company and is operating in manufacturing industry. Few questions are recommended
to the management of this company which they must ask before implementing the streamlining
techniques in their procedure. These question are stated below:
 Why the supplier continuously increases their raw material prices?
In this question, management of the Big Green Tractor company should review the prices at
which they had procured the war materials from their suppliers in past and then compare it with
present prices and analyse the difference. Organisational management should review whether the
difference in raw materials prices is higher than usual and then they identify the reason due to
which their suppliers are providing them expensive raw materials.
 Why the circuit of manufacturing overloads?
In this question, management of the Big Green Tractor company analyse the period in which
their manufacturing belt or circuit becomes overloaded and then identify the reasons behind
those overloads. Most common justifications for the overloads must be considered which are
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high demand of tractors, less number of employees, inefficiency of some employees, inefficiency
of a conveyer belt and other external reasons.
 Why the raw materials procured are insufficient?
Under this question, management of Big Green Tractor company reviews all the necessary raw
materials and then identify which specific material are insufficient to complete the
manufacturing process. Once the raw materials which are insufficient are identified then reasons
behind that insufficiency must be analysed. Few common judgements for this insufficiency must
be considered primarily which are high cost of those raw materials, wastage of raw materials and
low supply of those raw materials.
 Why overall costing of the manufacturing process is higher than the competitors?
In this question, costs of manufacturing each tractor must be analysed and then compared with
the cost of manufacturing of each tractor of their competitors (Polak and Boughton, 2016). If any
deviation is identified, then reasons of that deviation must be analysed. It is important for an
organisation like Big Green Tractor company to have a cost efficient manufacturing process.
Recommendation for more cost efficient manufacturing processes:
In order to have a cost efficient manufacturing process, Big Green Tractor company is
recommended to reduce their material cost, analyse the supplier availability, control
manufacturing overheads, eliminate non value adding activities and reduce waste.
 Why growth rate of this organisation is declining?
In this question, Big Green Tractor company should identify the reasons behind the declining
growth of their company. The most common judgements to this situation should give priority to
be considered which are non sustainable processes, reducing brand image and revenue,
ineffective personnel and insufficient raw material availability.
The above 5 Why’s model is recommended to Big Green Tractor company for their
process analysis which should be used by them to streamline their operations.
STREAMLINE THE PROCESS
This is the third step in the procedural guide of streamlining the operations of Big Green
Tractor company. In this step, all the process which are identified and analysed before are now
polished so that they can be updated. There are various recommendations for Big Green Tractor
company to streamlining their processes which are stated below:
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Eliminating useless steps – Big Green Tractor company has five main process and
various sub processes. By the above analysis and process mapping, all the useless steps which
does not result in value addition must be eliminated so that company can get effective.
Elimination of such steps will also result in cost savings (Lee, Rho and Yoon, 2015).
Adopting other methodologies – Big Green Tractor company uses the method of agile
manufacturing which helps them to ensure flexibility in their operations. But this method also
results in using the longest path of manufacturing and also incurs high cost. For this, company
must use other alternative methods such as lean production in which they can manufacture and
test the product effectively which will also enhance the satisfaction of their consumers. This new
method of lean manufacturing is recommended to use with TQM technique by which all the
deficits in goods will be reduced and removed.
Using new technology – Big Green Tractor company is recommended to use new
technology which can help them to streamline their processes. It is recommended to this
company to use twenty first century’s tools such as deburring, surface treating, coating and
plating in finishing and brazing, soldering, diffusion bonding in joining.
IMPLEMENT
This is the last step to guide how to streamline operational processes for Big Green
Tractor company. In order to implement above streamlining activities, there are various
recommendations for this company which they must consider while implementing the plan for
streamlining. These recommendations are:
 Analyse whether the implementation process is running in the way it was planned and if
there are any deficits then identify the reasons for those deficits.
 Identify whether the contingencies which were planned before and occurring or not and if
yes then whether the contingency provisions are being used by the management.
 Analyse whether there are any problems or defects in the streamlining procedure and if
yes, then how they can be resolved (Nwabueze, 2012).
Developing a socially responsible operational guide
A guide to socially responsible operations is the document which includes all the industrial
standards which organisations has to follow while disposing off their chemical waste. Also, this
type of document includes all the green alternatives which organisations can use in place of their
traditional manufacturing process. In context of Big Green Tractor which is a tractor
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manufacturing company, an operational guide is developed below which will help them to adopt
green alternatives in their manufacturing process and also will provide recommendations to cut
down the use of pollutants from their manufacturing process:
Industrial Standards on disposal of chemical waste
There are various standards which are developed by governmental authorities for the
issue of chemical waste disposal. These standards vary according to the industry and the nation
in which organisation is operating. But there are few standards which are common for every
organisation having any kind of chemical waste in any nation. These standards are mentioned
below:
 The container in which chemical waste is being disposed must compatible with the waste
so that the waste such as acid cannot be spilled out of the container. For example,
chemical waste with includes acid must not be disposed using container of metal
(Merminod, Nollet and Pache, 2014).
 No food containers can be used to dispose any kind of chemical waste as with the illusion
of food container, the chemical waste can be mistakenly consumed. Example of such
kind of food container includes soda and water bottles.
 Before disposing off any chemical, it is important to appropriately label the waste. No
abbreviations, trade names or non common chemical names must be used while labelling
the chemical. In few region, an orange label is used to indicate the name of the chemical.
 The container in which chemical waste is stuffed must be tightly sealed and in any case
the caps of the container not be left off. This is a regulatory requirement which is
required to be followed by each and every organisation (Chemical Waste Disposal,
2018).
 Two types of chemical waste which are incompatible with each other must not be mixed
together so that injuries can be avoided.
 It is most important for organisation which disposes off their chemical waste, to dispose
such kind of waste only through Department of Environmental Health and Safety.
Chemical waste should not be dispose through normal trash or sewer.
 Unknown chemicals which are not known by their chemical components are not
acceptable to be disposed as they can harm the personnel of Department of
Environmental Health and Safety.
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 Normal waste which is contaminated through the chemical due to chemical spills must
also be considered as hazardous and be disposed using the procedure similar to disposing
of chemical waste.
 Employee who is responsible for chemical waste disposal must be trained on annual basis
so that any contingency can be avoided and operations of the organisation cannot harm
any labour or any other personnel (Kasprzak and Dubler, 2012).
Green alternatives to traditional manufacturing process
Traditional manufacturing processes involves various issues such as ineffective waste
management, high cost and time involvement and non sustainable practices due to which brand
equity and productivity of an organisation reduces. In order to cope up with these issues, it is
important for the organisation to use green alternatives to their traditional manufacturing
processes. Some of these green alternatives are stated as follows:
Direct digital manufacturing – It is an ecological alternative to the traditional
manufacturing in which software are designed by organisations which helps them to evaluate
carbon footprint in their manufacturing process so that it can be reduced. It creates a physical
path which integrates 3D CAD files which reduces the carbon footprint in the process.
Green concrete – In is an another alternative to traditional manufacturing process in
which fresh concrete is used. In this kind of alternative, instead of using a fresh or first-hand
concrete, organisation uses eco-friendly concrete which are developed from waste and residual
material. Such type of concrete also requires less energy and produces low carbon dioxide.
Energy audit – Organisation in manufacturing industry should conduct an annual energy
audit in which all the air leaks and fixtures must be identified so that they can fixed which will
lead to saving energy consumption (Green alternatives to traditional manufacturing process,
2019).
Renewable energy – Organisations must use renewable energy sources such as sunlight,
wind, rain, tides and biomass to manufacture their products instead of using fossil fuels (Lyons,
2012).
Recommendations to cut down the use of pollutants
Big Green Tractor organisation is a tractor manufacturing organisation which is currently
using traditional process to converting raw materials into finished tractors due to which their
practices have become non sustainable which is effecting the environment. This non sustainably
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has resulted in declining growth of this organisation. In order to streamline the manufacturing
process of this company, it is recommended to the management of the organisation to cut down
the use of pollutants by using the renewable energies and use green concrete which will consume
low energy.
Above guide of socially responsible operations should be used by Big Green Tractor
company along with guide of operational industrial streamline procedure so that sustainability
can be acquired by this company.
CONCLUSION
From the above report, it has been analysed that it is important for an organisation to stream
line their manufacturing processes in order to effectively compete in an industry. It is also found
from the above report that the most effective way to streamline the manufacturing processes are
to use the green alternatives by which brand image and even productivity of the organisation will
be enhanced.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Bortolotti, T. and Romano, P., 2012. ‘Lean first, then automate’: a framework for process
improvement in pure service companies. A case study. Production Planning &
Control. 23(7). pp.513-522.
Chen, J. H., Yang, L. R. and Tai, H. W., 2016. Process reengineering and improvement for
building precast production. Automation in Construction. 68. pp.249-258.
Holweg, M. and Pil, F. K., 2012. Outsourcing complex business processes: Lessons from an
enterprise partnership. California Management Review. 54(3). pp.98-115.
Ingvaldsen, J. E. and Gulla, J. A., 2012. Industrial application of semantic process
mining. Enterprise Information Systems. 6(2). pp.139-163.
Kasprzak, C. and Dubler, C., 2012. Aligning BIM with FM: streamlining the process for future
projects. Australasian Journal of Construction Economics and Building. The. 12(4). p.68.
Lee, D., Rho, B. H. and Yoon, S. N., 2015. Effect of investments in manufacturing practices on
process efficiency and organizational performance. International Journal of Production
Economics. 162. pp.45-54.
Lyons, R. G., 2012. Streamlining Digital Signal Processing. John Wiley & Sons.
Malnati, P., 2013. Commercial Trucking: Streamlining the Big Box. Composites
Technology. 19(3).
Merminod, N., Nollet, J. and Pache, G., 2014. Streamlining humanitarian and peacekeeping
supply chains: Anticipation capability for higher responsiveness. Society and Business
Review. 9(1). pp.4-22.
Nwabueze, U., 2012. Process improvement: the case of a drugs manufacturing
company. Business Process Management Journal. 18(4). pp.576-584.
Polak, J. J. and Boughton, J. M., 2016. Streamlining the financial structure of the International
Monetary Fund. In Economic Theory and Financial Policy (pp. 175-199). Routledge.
Vogel, J., Reeder, R. A. and Minbiole, B. A., Praxair Technology Inc, 2013. Gap fairing and
drag reduction method. U.S. Patent 8,506,004.
Online
Streamlining Business Processes to Improve Efficiency. 2014. [Online]. Available through:
<https://tallyfy.com/streamline-improve-business-process/>
Chemical Waste Disposal. 2018. [Online]. Available through:
<https://www1.udel.edu/ehs/waste/quick-guide.html>
Green alternatives to traditional manufacturing process. 2019. [Online]. Available through:
<https://smallbusiness.chron.com/making-manufacturing-processes-ecofriendly-
38937.html>
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