Operations and Project Management

This report discusses the operation management of Bakkavor, a food manufacturing company, and the HS2 project, a high-speed railway in the UK. It covers principles of operation management, analysis of Bakkavor's operations, and the relation of operations to other business functions. It also explores continuous improvement plans and recommendations for Bakkavor. The report provides an overview of the HS2 project and its importance to the national rail network.

UNIT 16- OPERATIONS
AND PROJECT
MANAGEMENT

INTRODUCTION
Management and operation are that part of company without which it cannot function
properly. This is crucial for the company to have effective operation management because it is
responsible for the success of the company (Soares, Soltani and Liao, 2019). The present report
in its first part will discuss about the operation management of company Bakkavor. This is a
company which was established in 1986 by Agust and Lydur Gudmundsson for manufacturing
and exporting seafood.
The current report will discuss about the principles and analysis of the operation
management of the company. Also, after analysis the plan for improvement will be made. In the
second part of the report the HS 2 project will be discussed. The High Speed 2 is a high- speed
railway in UK. The report here will discuss the project plan of HS 2 and in accordance to that the
WBS and Gantt chart. In the end the different methodology of project and effectiveness of the
PLC of the project will be discussed.
PART 1
Introduction to Bakkavor
The company is an international food manufacturing company which is specializing in
preparing fresh food products. The company deals in a wide variety of food products like soups,
vegetables, desserts, pizzas, salads, ready meals and a wide variety of different foods. The
company employs around 17000 people within UK and the major customers of the company are
grocery retailers in UK. The vision of the company is to lead the way of bringing good tasting
freshly prepared food to the consumers all over the world. The purpose of the company is to
produce the innovative and successful food in accordance to the latest trends of quality and
freshness.
Operation and operation management
The operation is the department within the company which is responsible for the decision
taken for all the activities relating to the production like inventory management, distribution,
supply chain management and all the other related activities (Godhania, Ramanathan and
Ramanathan, 2019). The operations of Bakkavor includes the designing and maintenance of the
system which are used in order to produce the foods. On the other hand, operation management

is the function of operations department in managing all the activities which assist in the whole
production process.
It is the responsibility of operation management to ensure that the inventory is provided
on time, all the machines and equipment are updated and good to use. Also, the operation
management of Bakkavor includes proper planning, organizing and controlling of the whole
process of production so the good products are produced (Papachristos and et.al., 2018).
Implementation of principles of operation management
The operation management is having a crucial role in proper management of the products
to be produced by Bakkavor. Thus, for effective management of the operations of the company
there are certain principles which can be applied for effective operations. These are as follows-
Lean syncronisation- This is a principle which help the company in manufacturing its
product and services by focusing on the minimization of the waste and maximization of the
productivity and profitability. There are many different types of waste which can occur at time of
producing the goods and services like excess inventory, over production, unnecessary
transportation, defects and many other types of waste. Thus, lean principle focuses on removing
all these defects and smoothening the flow of production. Here, Bakkavor uses this for
minimizing the food wastages which is currently the biggest issue. In production of fresh food
some of the wastage occurs and thus, for its minimization the company is following food waste
hierarchy and prioritise the destination of waste.
Six sigma- This is a principles of operation management which focuses on the
improvement of the product. Here the major focus of this principle is on the increment of
consumer satisfaction by improving the quality of the products and be elimination of the defects
in the process of production. The main objective of using this principle is improving the quality
of the food products used by Bakkavor for producing food. For instance, if Bakkavor is planning
to change some raw materials then first it will try to find the quality of the goods and then will
design a plan for its use in the production. Then it will produce a small sample to ensure that the
other raw material is good for the final product and if not then some changes will be made after
testing of sample (Yang and et.al., 2017).
Analysis of operation management of Bakkavor
The operation management of Bakkavor includes a wide range of series of steps which
the company need to follow in order to manufacture the food products. The manufacturing of

food includes the process of transforming the raw materials into finished goods by applying
some process. Once the raw material is finalised then they are undergone through many different
stages like washing, heating, chilling and freezing and then drying. After then the ingredients are
prepared and the product is formulated ad then after in the end packaging of the product takes
place (Jones, Noppen and Lettice, 2016).
In this production process three important things are taken care by Bakkavor that is
minimization of food wastage, taking care of environment and safety and quality of the food. By
taking so much care also there are many a times problems come and the operation of the
company suffers. The use of lean and six sigma principle in operations of Bakkavor improves the
quality of the food and also ensures on time manufacturing of the food products. Thus, it can be
concluded that the operation management of the company is effective and efficient in meeting
the objectives of the business.
Relation of operations and business functions
The operations of the company are related to the other business functions of Bakkavor
because of the fact that no function of the business can run without operation function. Thus, it is
related to other business functions like HRM, marketing, finance and all the other functions. For
instance, the HRM function of Bakkavor will provide the operation department of company with
the human resource to work on the operation process. Also, the finance department will provide
the finance to the operation department then only they will proceed with the operations for the
company. Thus, it can be inferred that the operations are related to all the business functions.
Also, if the products will not be produced then the marketing department of Bakkavor will not be
able to market the products of the company and the sales department will also be hampered.
Continuous improvement and principles of lean
In the highly competitive market it is very important for Bakkavor to focus on continuous
improvement so that the company is in the competition. Thus, for this Bakkavor can use the
principle of Kaizen which mainly focuses on continuous improvement.
Kaizen- This is a strategy which mainly focuses on continuous change for better or
continuous improvement. Under this strategy every employee of Bakkavor works together and
tries to improve the manufacturing process. The manufacturing process is improved because of
the fact that this tool focus on improving quality and focus on change for good. Thus, this will
increase the manufacturing process. This is majorly because of the reason that within the external

environment there are many frequent changes taking place and for success it is very necessary
for the company to adapt to those changes.
Principles of lean- For the effective implementation of lean principle in Bakkavor it is
very necessary for them to apply the principle of lean in effective manner. The major principles
of lean manufacturing are discussed as follow- Value identification- This is the first principle id the identification of the value which the
consumer is expecting from the products and services of Bakkavor. Here the needs and
requirements of the consumer are identified as the company is producing to satisfy those
needs. Thus, those values are considered as it leads to fulfilment of those needs. Mapping value stream- In this the process of satisfying the value will be designed by the
company (The 5 principles of lean, 2020). This is majorly because of the reason that there
are many different ways in which the company can go for attaining the value of
consumers. Creating flow- This is another principle wherein the flow of the inventory is created in
accordance with the type of value map created above (Esfahbodi and et.al., 2017). Also,
this flow ensures that there is no defect in whole process of production and the process
goes on smoothly. Forecast demand- After the flow of work is created the next step is to establish a pull
system. This system ensures that the goods and services are produced when there is the
need or demand of them. This is majorly because of the reason that if there is no demand
of the food then it is useless to manufacture the goods and services.
 Seeking for perfection- This is the last principle under which Bakkavor tries to
continuously improve in accordance to the changes taking place within the business
environment. This is because if these changes are missed then the consumer will not like
the food products of the company.
Improvement plan
As the environment is dynamic and frequently changing thus, there is requirement of a
continuous improvement plan for the development and growth of Bakkavor. Thus, for dealing
with these changes it is very necessary for Bakkavor to follow the steps of six sigma for
continuous improvement and are discussed below-

 Define- This is the stage wherein the company defines the problem or the change which
they need to adapt to implement within the production process for continuous
improvement. In this stage Bakkavor found that the quality of the raw material used by
them is not that good and this is hampering the overall quality of the food products. Here
the problem or the change is defined and the scope of project in accordance with the
required change. Measure- Here the defining of the change or the problem some measures are found with
help of which these can be addressed. The measures are the strategies which company
can use in order to improve the working (Atkinson, Tallon and Williams, 2019). Analyse- After listing out all the measures which can be taken place for implementing the
change or solving the problem the next stage is to analyse all the alternate measures
available to the company (O'Donnell and et.al., 2018). Here the pros and cons of every
alternate measure is being critically analysed by Bakkavor and the option having
maximum benefits will be selected. Improve- This is the stage wherein the selected option or the alternate is being used by
the company for improvement. This is the stage wherein Bakkavor implements the
selected measure of improvement. For instance, if the company has selected a high-
quality raw material then it is implemented in the production process to know the
improved output. Control- This is the last stage of the continuous improvement plan wherein the company
tries to control all the elements of the production into one direction. This is majorly done
in order to ensure that all the work is being accomplished in the same direction only.
Continuous Improvement Plan
Problem- the major problem was the quality of the raw material used was not good and this
damaged and reduced the goodwill of the company.
Objective- the major objective of Bakkavor is to improve the quality with help of applying TQM.
Actions
1. The major action taken was to implement the strategy of TQM which aims at increasing
the overall quality of the company and its products.

2. Another action taken was to set some high standards which are high from the actual
required standards. This is done because the high standards will motivate the employees
of company to achieve them.
People involved- in this the whole team of operations will be affected and involved as they are
responsible for managing the quality of the products and services.
Time- this will take a little time because first the new raw material of other quality will be tested
by producing a small batch of production. Then itr it will be good then the material will be used
by the company.
In the end it can be said that this continuous improvement plan will help Bakkavor in
getting success as this method covers all the aspect of improving the company and the level of
production. Thus, this is a plan which will always help Bakkavor in increasing the company in
the direction if growth and development.
Recommendations
With the above analysis it can be evaluated that managing the operations is very
important for the company in attaining the business objectives and success. Thus, for this it is
important for Bakkavor to have continuous improvement and upgradations. Thus, for improving
the operations of the company some of the recommendations are as follows-
The major recommendation for the company is that they must focus on the long-term
plans of the company rather than focusing much on the short-term goals. This is majorly because
long term goals yield more profits and growth.
Another recommendation is to focus on the quality and for this use of TQM that is total
quality management is recommended to the company (Filimonau and Gherbin, 2017). This is
pertaining to the fact that this approach focuses on the managing of quality as a whole company.
PART 2
Overview of HS2 project
HS2 is high speed railway project in UK, partly under the construction of work. The
company is taking approval from parliament for their first section in 2017 with clearance work
being with undertaken for the line and stations. For another section company is wait for approval
while some sections will have remains with design of project (Jabbour and et.al., 2017). The
company is building that will be the backbone of the national rail network. HS2 project recently

make some changes in network system by using technology for providing better customer
services. This is new product is at cutting edge network system. The designs of new network are
based on technology and effective market research with the help of research and development.
Business case with importance of project
The enhancement of new design is more important and effective for business in today
dynamic due to changes in needs of customers and for protecting customers. Protection of
customers are more important think. This creates wonderful design of network system. With the
help of this, management is able to track system and people through using technologies for
delivering better services. This brings innovation in their project and attractive facilities are
retained customer.
The project is target business and market which is target audiences for this is new product
line will be the small and at larger scale in the UK and other countries in which they are operates
their business. The company have effective and valuable costs which is provide benefits to
customers in effective manner. This help to attract more customers for business.
Cost and benefit analysis of HS2 project is, company get benefit from rental services,
sales and income from the sales after rent. The company have a cost is construction cost,
purchasing cost, sales and staff cost and financial cost.
Project plan
The project life cycle is works with 4 stages which are represented the path was
following the organization for reason to conduct the project since starting to end process of work
(Dinwoodie, 2018). The steps in life cycle of project of HS2 project are as follows: Initiation phase: This is first phase, at their objectives of project sets with proper reason
of development of new product and service which is improving network system by
technology for better customer services. HS2 for investigating objectives, final
recommendations brought out with respect to launch new network system with clear
understanding of goals and risk carrying (Reeve and Eduljee, 2019). Planning phase: this phase provides for solutions which are made for stakeholder of HS
2 in details and plan carry the steps for meet the objectives of changes in network system.
In respect of that resources are identified with development of project. Here is outline the
task with activities of work. Prepared estimated budget for analyse the cost included for

labour. Finally, manager take proper documentation for managing the quality for
planning and controlling the measures required for completion of project. Execution phase: Here, management is design actual project plan for working. Project
manager is maintained and develop clear communication among people of team. The
employees will perform the task in order to complete the project. If manager is found any
problem in plan then they are modified plan as per requirement.
 Closing phase: This is the final stage which is deliverable that is network system in the
documents relating to market and project which are provided to business (Salter, Salandra
and Walker, 2017). HS2 business can terminate suppliers’ contract and communicate
stakeholders project is been closed. The result is analysed that is what went right and
what went wrong during project.

Work break down structure

Project methodologies, tool and leadership for project
For the current project here is selected PRINCE 2 method for the process based on
methods for effective management of project. This includes some stages which are as follows: Start project is developed and make changes in network system is identified project is
viable or not. Initiate project is determined risk with project implementation for making changes in
network system. Further, quality and communication management with employees. Direct project involves process of decision making for the project and they need
authority to initiate employees for working. Control stage, in this manager allocate work and task to others.

 Managed product delivery of network system and with bring control of management and
manager. Manage stage boundary, manager provide overview of performance and update project
plan. Then, helped to employees.
 Close project is ready to deliver at market place (Mishra and et.al., 2019).
Tools:
 Gantt chart
 Reports
 Resources management
 Plans and schedule
Leadership style:
For making changes in network system of HS2, leaders use democratic style of
leadership. This is a leadership style under which the leader will ask for suggestions from the
team members but the final decision will be of the leader only. Only ideas ad suggestions will be
taken from peers and team members.
Balanced scorecard:
Operation performance measures have been broadening in their scope. It is more
important and measurable stage where company is requires proper balance between activities are
very important for business. This retains traditional financial measures but tells story of the past
events. With the help of this HS2 measures their financial performance.
Benchmark:
This also important, for the project company HS2, used this tool to understand the actual
entails. This helped to get fastest actions for continuous process of comparison. Under this some
financial targets are set so that the actual performance can be compared with the standard
performance. Also, for this customer internal process is also used to compare the actual
performance with the standard and to find out the deviation among them.
Effectiveness of PLC
The project life cycle management model is more effective and valuable for business
which is critically evaluated there.
A) importance of PLC in execution in HS2 project.

 This help to improve structured approaches so that project development and introducing
new project of network system get delivered in effective manner.
 This help to provide and fix the responsibility of every team member that is which work
is to be performed by which team member.
 With the help of this pre planning and decision-making is effective and quick.
B) Critical analysis of different theories, concepts for large and small scale.
The PRINCE2 method is used for larger project. This is used in wider organization and
industry for improving the communication among team members. On the other side, agile model
is used for small scale organization.
C) Techniques for ensure quality and tenure.
Cost saving technique is effective and valuable, which is increase cut costs and decrease
wastage by having resources that have needs to perform. This technique is help to analysis
demand of customers. For analysing quality of product, here is used TQM technique to lower
cost related to manufacturing of the product and also it reduces the wastage from the businesses.
This help to make better quality of products and services (Gunasekaran and Subramanian, 2018).
D) Practical and theoretical frameworks.
PLC is prepared with practical and theoretical implementation because some part of
project carries practical work and another with theoretical. Design and paper work, allocation of
work is related with theoretical work. On the other side, practical framework is implementation
of changes in system through employees.
CONCLUSION
The present report discussed about the operation and operation management along with
the principles used by the company like lean manufacturing, six sigma and others. Further the
discussion highlighted the principles of lean and the continuous improvement plan of the
company. In the next part the HS2 project was discussed and its business case along with its
project plan and the effectiveness of the PLC.

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