Review: Operations Management and Improvement Plan at Jaguar

This report critically examines the effectiveness of Operations Management principles at Jaguar's Halewood plant, focusing on the implementation of Lean principles and Six Sigma methodology. It reviews Jaguar's efforts to enhance manufacturing processes, quality control, and worker engagement. The report includes a continuous improvement plan with recommendations for cost reduction through Total Quality Management (TQM) and the adoption of Agile Manufacturing and Mass Customization techniques. It suggests specific SMART action plans, such as implementing a Kanban process and leveraging information technology for flexible production, to further optimize operations and meet customer needs effectively. The analysis highlights the importance of continuous improvement as a philosophy, emphasizing waste reduction and employee empowerment to achieve operational excellence.

Operations and Project Management
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Introduction
Operation management is that area of management, which deals with the designing and
controlling the production in an organization. It helps to formulate production strategies and
thereby influence the business strategies. Project management is the knowledge, processes,
methods, skills and experience to achieve objective of the project.
This assignment will help to understand the definition of operation and its difference with the
process of management. It will discuss the different operational theories; it advantages and
applications in the operation of Jaguar manufacturing unit. The understanding will also help
to design a project in order to modify and improve the operation at Jaguar.
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Task 1: Report on the effectiveness of Operations Management principles.
To: Line Manager
From: Ana Da Silva
Date: June, 18
Subject: Review and critique of the effectiveness of Operations Management principles
and application of the concept of continuous improvement to improve efficiency at
Jaguar Halewood Plant
Executive Summary:
LO 1
Task 1A Conduct a review and critique of the implementation of operations
management principles within Jaguar.
An introduction to Jaguar
Jaguar is the manufacturer of luxurious car brands of Jaguar and Land Rover. It has its
headquarters in UK. Since the merger of Land Rover and Jaguar, all the facilities of both the
organization manufacture both types of cars.
An explanation of operation vs operations management
Operation is the manufacturing of product by utilization of raw material, in order to meet the
customer need. The process requires, processing, inspection, transport, and storage. Operation
management is about the administration of practices to convert material into goods and
labour into services. The process involves high level of coordination between multiple teams.
Another important function is to minimize cost to maximize profit of the organization. The
difference between operation and operation management is that operation is the process of
production and operation management is planning and controlling the process.
Operations as a concept
Number of theories has been proposed for effective management of operation and the most
used it the Taylor’s Theory of Scientific Management.
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Taylor’s Theory of Scientific Management states that, scientific management is the technique
of knowing what to be done in the best possible way and in low cost. In order to redesign the
work process to achieve a higher efficiency, a scientific study of relationship between people
and task is required (Hill, et al, 2014). “Time” and “Motion studies were designed by
Frederick Taylor in the late 1800’s to analyze and synthesize the work flow. The purpose of
the study was to motivate the workers for higher productivity.
 Time –This measures the time taken by a normal worker to complete a particular task at
normal pace.
 Motion- This is used to determine the best method to complete a repetitive work.
The principles of Scientific Management are based on four principles (Waring, et al, 2016).
They are-
 Replacing the usual rule of work that is “rule of thumb”, by scientific method
 Select, Train and develop each worker in a proper and scientific way rather than leaving
employees to learn by them.
 Collaborate with the labours to ensure the scientific method is implemented.
 Division of work between managers and workers is important. This was to facilitate the
managers to plan the work scientifically and allow the workers to concentrate on the
actual task.
Lean Production is the method of proper utilization of the resources minimizing wastage.
The focus is on quality of the work rather than only quantity (Timans, et al, 2016).The theory
deals with the waste created through overburden and waste created from unevenness in
workload.
Flexible specialization is competitive strategy where, re usable machines, multi skilled
labour and innovative executives are used to adjust to the changing business demand
Mass Customization is the technique that utilizes the low cost units to manufacture custom-
made products.
Agile manufacturing concept is used for unpredictable environment when the volume of
the production is low whereas the market demand is of high variability.
Operations Management
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Operational Management involves control over the quality and the quantity of the production.
Three types of control systems are used in operations. They are preventive controls,
detective controls and corrective controls. Six Sigma principle is a technique used to improve
the current product, processes and service of an organization. The aim is to streamline the
quality process without any deviation.
Figure 1: Six Sigma
(Source: Laureani, et al, 2018)
The common practices of most organization are Lean Six Sigma. The steps of 6 Sigma
process is to Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control (DMAIC).
Conduct a review and critique of the implementation of operations management
principles within Jaguar.
A massive global consumer research programme was conducted by Jaguar which needed to
develop its Halewood plant to manufacture the Jaguar X’ Type sports cars. To meet the
demands of the new age car, Jaguar set up a new Supplier Park. New assembly lines were
installed in Body Construction department. For the Trim and Final area, Press Shop was
fully refurbished. The Line operators in the plant were divided into small groups under a
Team Leader. Each line operator was given responsibility for identifying improvement areas.
Workers were given a “Green Book” which had operating principles required to improve the
business.
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Task 1B Review and critique the implementation of operations management in relation
to Six Sigma methodology and Lean principles
Figure 2: Total Quality Management and Lean Principle
(Source: Goetsch, et al, 2014)
Jaguar implemented number of Lean principles at its Halewood plant. First, it identified the
need of customers for the Jaguar X type sports car. That led to the development of the
manufacturing unit with installation of new machines. Old floor conveyors in the Final area,
were replaced by overhead conveyors, to improve production quality. 70% of the equipment
at the Paint shop was replaced with the Jaguar’s four-coat paint system to give the glossy
finish to the cars (Businesscasestudies.co.uk, 2018). The work culture also needed to be
changed to meet the production need. The company introduced ‘Halewood Vision’, which
discussed the principles of a “World-class” manufacturing facility. Thus, Jaguar not only
upgraded the machineries but also improved the workers culture by improving their
understanding about the required manufacturing process. One of the six-sigma principles that
Jaguar used was making decisions based on the customer feedback and research. Then the
operation team was divided into small groups to plan and mange the work better.
Though, the Lean Principle approach is applied in Jaguar, but scope is there to implement 6
Sigma principle of DMAIC at Halewood. It will help the organization to solve the problem
based on performance requirements, and characterization of the performance components.
This method will also help the organization to set realistic goals as per need of the business.
The goals need to be set as per the critical to quality (CTQ) requirements of the customer.
The DMAIC model also helps to see multiple perspectives before making a design of a car
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(Sharma, et al, 2018.) The requirements might vary from bolsters to engine and little change
might make a big difference to the customer. A prototype is generally made before further
details are added to the design. That helps to make necessary changes before large-scale
manufacturing is done, which helps to save cost of production. The final step in the 6 Sigma
principle is verification by internal and external customer before actual order for production
is given. Thus, DMAIC can improve the quality of an existing product at Halewood.
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LO 2
Task 1C Prepare a continuous improvement plan to include at least two justified
recommendations which could improve the operations function detailed in the case
study based on your review and critique of operations (500)
Explain Cost Reduction
The best quality attracts more loyal customer. Product quality is value of money for the
customer, creating right kind of product within right time and as per the standard set by the
customer. Quality also means a product should be devoid of any discrepancies or defects.
Manufacturing defects causes rejection of the product from the quality and if such product
reaches customer it breaks the customer confidence. The company needs to re produce goods
again and the whole lot of defected batch is wastage. This wastage of product is also leads to
financial loss for the company (Goetsch, D.L, et al, 2014). Thus, delivery of quality product
is important to reduce operation cost. Therefore, Total Quality Management (TQM) process
is adopted where every employee in production keep a check on the quality of the product
(Dale, B., 2015). The aim is, to improve the service to the customer with data and knowledge
continuously.
Discuss continuous improvement as a philosophy and describe the Lean principles.
[identify& explain the 7 forms of waste
Quality in production can be achieved by improving quality of service for the 100%
achievement of the quantity. Lean theory helps to understand the 7 wastes in manufacturing
set ups. They are overproduction, waiting at the distribution point, transportation time,
processing defect, unnecessary inventory, excess movement of the product and
manufacturing defect (Pyzdek, et al, 2014).Improvement of service at every step is required
and it is continuous process, which is achieved over time. The Continuous Improvement
philosophy is based on the identification and benchmarks the best practices in the industry
and installing an ownership of the process within the employees. In order to implement the
process of change Jaguar worked with RWD Technology UK Ltd. It was an external agency,
which helped Jaguar to create a new work environment at the Halewood plant related to the
continuous quality improvement (Businesscasestudies.co.uk, 2018). The earlier practice was
more hierarchical in nature at Halewood. The current strategy divided the team in small
groups of seven members. Each leader handled such small team and reported to operation
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manager. The earlier practice was to feed the employees with direction and they never had
role in decision-making. The new approach increased the ownership of each employees and
the role of team leader is to help if any employee face problems. Thus, the system reverted to
bottoms-up decision-making. It addressed the working relationship with the managers and
employees. Jaguar workers enthusiastically accepted this new approach as a result the
commitment level of the employees increased and productivity improved. These changes
made the Halewood plant as Centres of excellence for the company. By 1990, 30% of the
work places in Jaguar achieved the status of excellence (Businesscasestudies.co.uk, 2018).
3. Continuous improvement plan
Jaguar has already adopted the Lean approach to develop its plant at Halewood. The
company can also adapt the principles of Mass Customization and Agile Manufacturing
techniques to convert the site for low-cost manufacturing unit. While still controlling the cost
and quality the Agile technique helps an organization to address to the customer need with
minimum time consumption (Qin, et al, 2015). This also helps an organization to remain
competitive. Therefore, in the evolution of operation methodology, Agile technique is given
the highest importance. Below are some SMART action plans the organization can adopt.
 Agile Technique- Kanban process can be used to deliver the job “just-in-time” with
the current workforce. A pilot project can be started with the Paint Section where
errors can be rectified easily and organization will not lose financially. The workload
can be prioritized and reprioritized according to the urgency of the product. The
whole process should take two days to implement and validate (Ross, et al, 2017).
Prioritization will need guidance from the team leader and the process is achievable. It
is realistic, as it address the thinking process and improve understanding of the
process. In due course employees will learn the system of prioritization and help to
deliver job in time.
 Mass Customization Concept can be used to improve productivity in the plant. It
involves information technology, flexible process and organization structure, to
manufacture product at the cost of any mass produced item (Pollard, et al, 2016).
Quality check, in the Paint Section can be done with the use of Artificial Intelligence.
Installation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) guided techniques are the future to any
production plant. This can be achieved within 4 months of time and it will not disrupt
the existing workforce.
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The smart Objective for Jaguar is to develop a small team within two days in the Paint
section to help them prioritize the work as per the need of the customer.
Installation of AI can be done within 4 months in the Paint Section to eliminate any
defects on the painting of the glossy finish.
Task 1D Analyse the effectiveness of the continuous improvement plan using
appropriate theories, concepts and/or models.
Jaguar Land Rover plant at Halewood earlier had stocks piled up on the production floor,
which made the workplace cluttered. With the installation of new technology, Teams can
now press a signal button to call for fresh stocks whenever required. This process helps in
waste management as described in Lean Theory. Workers can now work in healthy
environment with more spaces to move. Proper place of stock also made rooms for new
machines. Thus, overall efficiency of the plant has improved. Storing materials at specific
place resulted in less chances of damage to the goods.
A “Visible Management system” has been devised at the plant where every employee can see
the other department and understand the whole process of car making
(Businesscasestudies.co.uk, 2018). As a part of the process, A Control Board has been
installed which reveals the production target for each production department and the
performance of each department according to the set target. This also helps the managers to
understand the problem and address the problem quickly without any time waste. This
process is termed “gemba” which is derived from the Japanese word, meaning, “to go and see
(Businesscasestudies.co.uk, 2018). It not only improves the understanding of different
functions and department within the plant but also help to solve the problem by discussions.
This process is a part of Agile technique that Jaguar Land Rover has implemented.
Mass customization is a becoming more popular in automobile industry. The direct feedback
from customers also gives a competitive edge to the auto manufacturers. The revolution in
Information technology has made business more customer friendly and helps organization
with real time data. Through technologies like Cloud Car and Connected Car diagnostics,
Jaguar Land Rover is able to collect real-time data from vehicles. These smart technologies
provide valuable information to help increase productions through efficient processes. The
company launched the Range Rover Velar, in March 2017 (Businesscasestudies.co.uk,
2018). This new generation vehicle has Blade’ system installed. This innovation helps the
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organization to anticipate and deliver the services as per customer’s individual need. The
Range Rover Velar is thus, a symbol of design excellence, modernity and elegance .This
clearly put Jaguar Land Rover ahead in the competition.
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Task 2
Task 2 A
A typical project comprises of a project life cycle, which in turn is made of 4 major stages.
These include project initiation, project planning, project execution and project closure. There
are certain activities that are specific to that particular stage of the project life cycle and it is
important to follow and incorporate the same to any project that is being conducted. The
significance and applicability of each of the stages can be described as follows.
Stage 1 Project Initiation
The project initiation stage of any project provides an outline of the various circumstances
that surround the development of the project that is being planned to be executed. With
respect to given case scenario, the expansion plan of John and Jane in the hospitality sector,
would require the restaurant to make a substantial amount of financial expenditure, to ensure
that the expansion plan is successful. The main motive of the project is to increase the
business activities, so that the organisation is able to further raise their profits.
Stage 2 Project Planning
Once a project rationale and objectives are decided, it is important to develop suitable plan
that would comprise of all the stages that are a part of the project. It should outline and detail
every stage and aspect of the project, to ensure that all the different elements of the project
have been incorporated. At this stage, it is important to have an idea regarding the different
measures that are to be employed, to ensure the success the project.
Stage 3 Project Execution
The project execution consists of conducting the activities in due course of the project with
completion of the intermediate tasks. In the present case of the hotel construction business for
John and Jane, the project execution will be construction and designing the hotel as the
construction plan and interior designs selected, along with the promotion and campaigning
for the publicity of the hotel and growth of the business.
Stage 4 Project Closure
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