UTS Engineering: Operations of a Manufacturing Company - Report

This report delves into the operations engineering of Tesla, focusing on the design of a new product, the 'Sedan Model X,' utilizing De Bono's Six Thinking Hats for product design. It provides a detailed analysis of the manufacturing process, including a floor plan and value stream map, and addresses functional management aspects such as stock control, inventory, and supply chain management. The report discusses facility changes and offers suggestions for improvements, including maintenance activities, waste reduction, and workforce training. The report highlights the application of the Six Thinking Hats technique, a design review checklist, and discusses improvements to optimize the process of production. The report also discusses the design considerations for the new product, and the impact of the new product on the existing manufacturing plant and its operations.

UTS: ENGINEERING
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SUBJECT NAME: Operations Engineering
SUBJECT NUMBER: 49989
ASSIGNMENT NUMBER: Individual Assignment 1
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Operations Engineering
Assignment
Designing, Managing and Improving the Operations of a Manufacturing
Company
Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology
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Executive Summary
This report focusses on designing a new product for Tesla Motors and the product is
called ‘Sedan Model X’ which is a sports utility vehicle and is the quickest SUV in
production. The report makes use of De Bono’s Six Thinking Hats to design the product and
makes critical analysis of different factors of production and gives a thorough design of
production unit’s functioning. The report presents a detailed floor plan and value map stream
of the unit.
The report also discusses various the management level functions like stock control,
inventory and supply chain management. There is discussion about the changes to be brought
in the functioning of the facility. Final part of the report deals suggestions for improving the
functioning of the production facility like developing maintenance activities, reduction of
wastage, and providing necessary training to the work force.
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Table of Contents
Contents Page No.
Executive Summary 2
Introduction 4
New Product Design 4
Functional Design 10
Functional Management 15
Functional Improvements 18
Conclusions 22
References 22
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Introduction
Tesla Motors is now called Tesla, Inc. and it is an American company involved in the
manufacture of automotive, solar panels and energy storage systems. It was founded in 2003
by Elon Musk with its manufacturing plant at Fremont in California, USA and headquartered
at Delaware, USA. It also has two subsidiaries Solarcity headquartered at San Mateo which
manufactures residential solar panels and Tesla Grohmann Automation headquartered at Pr ¨u
m, Germany, which specializes in creating automation solutions. At present there are 33,000
employees working for Tesla. Elon Musk is the chairman and chief executive officer, JB
Straubel is the chief technology officer and Deepak Ahuja is the chief financial officer.
In February 2008 it unveiled the first electric car (Roadster) in mass production and
then an electric luxury sedan in June 2012 named Model S, which has been the company’s
best-selling car till date. In September 2015 it unveiled a crossover SUV named Model X and
the Model 3 in July 2017. Its aim is to offer affordable electric car to the masses. Tesla has
sold over 2250 Roadsters in 31 countries and has sold over 211,000 electric cars worldwide
as of march 2017.
At first De Bono’s six hats technique is applied to so as to solve the problem of
designing the new product and then the functioning of the production facility is discussed
using Kanban plots and floor plans. The report then discusses about how the functions of the
plant is managed and provides suggestion to improve the functions of the plant in-order to
optimize the process of production.
New Product Design
 De Bono’s Six Thinking Hats Technique
In-order to help improve parallel thinking this technique was developed by Edward de
Bono and it helped in the process of thinking together (Karadag, et al. 2016). The six hats
represent six different colours and each colour is for thinking in a unique style as
mentioned here (Kivunja, 2015). White hat helps in the gathering of accessible data,
yellow hat is for distinguishing the advantages that could be accomplished (Sheth, 2012),
green hat is for imagination and includes advancement in the item, black hat is for
disparities in the item with the goal that a more reasonable item is created (Taie and El
Kamel, 2013), blue hat is for dealing with the objectives and manner of thinking lastly the
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red hat implies feelings or the nature that the new item would work (Dhanapal and Ling,
2013). ‘Model X’ is the latest product brought out by Tesla, Inc. ‘Model X’ is made on
the same platform as that of Model S with the difference being that it is going to be a
sports utility vehicle making it a new segment for battery powered electric cars. The
detailed model is as follows.
Yellow Hat
 The concept is not new but if the performance of model S is replicated then
there will be no competition in the market.
 Since it is an electric car powered so it could get increased government
subsidies.
 Such a car would produce lower emissions and thus would not contribute to
pollution, thereby saving the environment.
 All the infrastructure is already available only thing is designing the new body
and integrating it with the recharging system.
Green Hat
 It could be used to promote awareness about saving the nature and promoting
electric powered vehicles for mass production.
 Provide a market segment of electric SUVs.
 Design the internals of the SUV as per the requirement of the customer.
 Organize car rallies to show the performance of the car not just as a small
distance passenger carrier but also as a long distance reliable vehicle.
Black Hat
 Since it a new idea there might be technical issues with the system which must
be addressed to at the earliest.
 The size of the car if increased will attract additional taxes.
 The weight of an SUV will be greater than that of the existing models therefore
it may require more power to run more load.
 More power to run more load means the battery may not last longer than
required.
Blue Hat
 All the equipment for manufacturing Model X is available.
 The design of the SUVs body should be finalized because such a concept
hasn’t been tried before for which proper research has to be carried out.
 Research should be carried out on whether creating an SUV would require the
entire design of the car to be changed.
 Research should be carried out on the present market scenario whether such a
product would work or not.
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 Checklist of the Design Review
The progress of ‘Sedan Model X’ project is evaluated using a design review checklist as
shown below.
Operations Queries? Yes/No Opinions
Production Whether fresh equipment is
required for manufacturing
Model X?
Yes Equipment for fixing the body and
accessories for connecting to the
battery circuit.
Does the other equipment
require a replacement?
No It is seen that all other equipment
is in working condition.
Are the designs for
manufacturing model X
ready?
No A number of designs have been
made but nothing is finalized as
the testing is still under way.
Whether there is a
requirement for changing the
floor plan for manufacturing
the new product?
Yes The floor plan should be changed
so as to integrate the new design
and connected accessories to the
system.
New floor plan design is
ready or not?
Yes The design for the new floor plan
is updated but the new equipment
has not arrived till date.
Storage More storage room required
or not?
Yes The connecting accessories have
increased therefore the storage
space requirement will be higher.
Whether there is an
availability of a new storage
unit?
No New storage units are not
available but are ordered and their
delivery is awaited.
Whether there is space to
accommodate new storage
unit in the facility?
Yes Floor plan has been revised to
integrate the new storage unit into
it.
Red Hat
 People might take more time to acknowledge the technology due to which
initial sales might be lower.
 Model X would be a hit among technology lowers and environmentalists.
 With reduced emissions it could make the world a better place to live in.
 Older customers who are sceptical about the new technology might not accept
it right away.
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Could the storage units be
used to store the already
available ingredients?
Yes No new ingredients are required.
There is only an increase in the
quantity of ingredients.
Supplier Whether there is a
requirement of new
components to be used for
manufacturing the new
product?
Yes New components are going to be
integrated into the new product.
Are the existing suppliers
providing the new
components be procured?
Yes Our existing chain of suppliers are
capable of supplying the new
components.
Whether the quality of
components supplied by the
existing suppliers up to the
mark?
Yes Rigorous quality checks have been
carried out to verify the quality of
the components via regular audits.
Are the suppliers capable of
supplying the right quantity
on schedule?
Yes Our suppliers have always
supplied the right quantity as per
schedule.
Are alternative suppliers
available in case the existing
suppliers fail to deliver on
time?
Yes In case the existing suppliers fail
to deliver on time alternative
suppliers are available but we
have to get into agreement with
them at the earliest.
Human
Resource
Is there an increase in the
requirement of manpower?
Yes Skilled supervisors and labourers
are required.
Has the procedure for
recruitment completed?
Yes The required candidates are
selected but their joining order has
yet to be distributed.
Distribution Whether the distribution
network has to be updated?
No If there is an increase in demand
our existing network of could take
care of it efficiently.
Is there a requirement to
reduce the delivery time?
No There is no need to delay the
existing delivery periods.
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Sales and
Marketing
Whether a new marketing
strategy required or not?
Yes For promoting the new product, a
refreshed marketing strategy is
necessary.
Has the marketing strategy
been finalized?
No Our marketing team is currently in
the process of developing an
effective plan.
Finance Whether there is a scope for
earning profit with the new
product?
Yes Model X is going to make profit
as per our financial analysis.
Whether there is going to be
an increase in the cost of
production?
Yes There will be additional cost for
the staff, new components and the
new body.
Is the financial risk
assessment carried out?
Yes The amount of financial risk
involved with the project has
already been made.
Will there be enough cash
flow to maintain regular
operations in case the Model
X fails?
No As per our financial assessment
there will not be any short term
crisis if Model X fails.
 Summary of the Design Review Outcome
New equipment is required for carrying out the manufacturing process of Model X. Fresh
orders for procuring new equipment, components and new body has been and the
necessary changes that has to be incorporated in the floor plan has been carried out. New
storage facility is required for storing the new equipment and components space for the
same is allocated outside the work area and the new storage unit has been ordered (Oahl
and Beltz, 2008). All the new components required for manufacturing Model X could be
supplied by our existing suppliers.
New staff recruitment process has been completed and their joining orders have to be
issued as soon as possible. The new products could be effectively distributed using the
existing distribution network. A new marketing strategy is under development for
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promoting Model X. Financial analysis indicates that the new product would earn profit
rather than losses and is therefore going to be a success in the market.
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VALUE ADDED TIME: 1010 min
NON-VALUE ADDED TIME: 2021 min
TOTAL PRODUCTION TIME: 3031 min
VALUE ADDED TIME AS % OF TOTAL PRODUCTION TIME: 33.32%
Dispatching
the final
Product
Final
Inspection
and Quality
Check
Polishing
the body
and extra
accessory
fittings
Testing and
Quality
checking
procedures
Placement of
seats and
inner
Console
Attaching wheels to
the Engine Shaft
Finalizing the
Chassis and its
painting
Melting all
the Metals
Raw Material
Procurement
and Storage
Placing the
Engine in the
Chassis
Weighting
the Metals
Preparation
of
Equipment
PLANNING AND SCHEDULING
TESLA, Inc.
DELIVERY
DELIVERY
ORDER FORECASTING
CUSTOMERS
S
ORDER FORECASTING
SUPPLIERS
ORDER FOR MODEL X
ORDER FOR COMPONENTS
Preparation of
seats and inner
Console
Preparing
the Engine
moulding
the
metal to
Designed
Shape
Preparing
the
Wheels
1540 min
22
min
12
min
12
min
12
min
27
min
12
min
22
min
22
min340 min
55 min55 min150 min140 min180 min140 min95 min150 min45 min
Functional Design
Figure 1. Value Stream Map of the Manufacturing Process
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 Avoiding Wastages by Identifying, Categorizing and Recommending
Actions to avoid Wastage
Lean thinking is the process adopted to reduce wastage and to improve the manufacturing
process. Another way of reducing wastage is by making good use of the unutilized skills
of the work force (Akpolat, 2013) (Nicholas, 2011). Different types of wastages
generated during the manufacturing process of Model X is as follows:
 Wasting the skills of the employees.
 Stock Wastage.
 Wastage due to transportation.
 Damages.
 Increase in the movement involved in manufacturing process.
 Time Wastage.
The waste structures, main driver and prescribed moves that ought to be made to
anticipate wastages are talked about in the accompanying table.
Forms of
Wastages
Examples of the
Wastages
Root Cause of the
Wastages
Actions Recommended
Damages Mishandling easily
breakable items like
mirrors and
instrument console
during the
manufacturing process
Proper care not taken
during handling of
easily breakable items.
Instructions to be given
to handle all items with
care and providing well
trained staffs for
handling such items.
Scratches or dents in
body parts
Unscheduled increase
in quantity of
manufacturing.
Manufacturing should
be scheduled
accordingly by
conducting proper
research so as to
increase or decrease as
per demand.
Time
Wastage
Breakdown of
machine
Machine wear and tear Regular maintenance
should be carried out.
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