Cover Story: Quality Improvement Initiatives Thumb Rules
Sudden Spike in Manufacturing Demand Five Tips to Survive
____ X-Ops Conducts Burnout 2016
Opsession February Issue This is the ninth issue from Volume two of Opsession, the monthly newsletter of X-Ops. The newsletter was introduced last year by X-Ops with the intention of covering all the activities and events that took place during the span of a month.
Around the World with Operations Management
Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar Volume#2
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Around the World with Operations Management ASEAN is Refining Supply Chain Networks Increasing wealth and an emerging middle class will present new opportunities for U.S. shippers in the ASEAN marketplace comprising the nations of Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. But as recent research indicates, significant logistics challenges remain in getting the entire bloc fully integrated. Inventories in many emerging markets are old and don’t meet current investment grade standards. This could be “good news and bad news” for potential developers. As countries continue to witness more consumption and a strong rise in e-commerce, the current trend for modernization and development of industrial inventories is set to accelerate. The recently-formed “ASEAN Single Shipping Market” lays out a strategy to create an efficient ocean shipping network to facilitate the movements of goods throughout the ASEAN community and around the world. Analyst in the region also warn that delays in government spending and failure to invest
optimally in logistics infrastructure could hamper freight movement, thus lowering Thailand’s productivity—and have a negative impact on all of those closely aligned nations comprising ASEAN. Sampat Padhi and Anuja Verma
from CSX Intermodal Terminals to Ports America Chesapeake, consolidating management of the operation and enhancing service through Ports America’s on-dock handling and operational expertise.
Three Ports Building for the Future The Port of Oakland, which recently welcomed the behemoth 18,000 twentyfoot equivalent unit (TEU) mega-carrier “Benjamin Franklin” last month, has not lost sight of the need to improve its infrastructure for more conventionalsized vessels serving the region’s exporters—nor have the independent operators who manage its terminals. On the East Coast, Ports America Chesapeake and CSX Intermodal Terminals announced a new agreement designed to immediately enhance the competitiveness of the Port of Baltimore and position it to capture additional freight business through more efficient service. Ocean cargo gateways on West, Gulf, and East coasts are addressing infrastructure needs with customized solutions. The new agreement transfers operational responsibility for the intermodal container service at the port
Indian manufacturing continues expansion
sector
The Indian manufacturing sector grew for a second month in a row in February, pulling away from a difficult spell in November when it shrank. The Nikkei-Markit purchasing managers’ index for manufacturing came in at 51.1 in February, unchanged from January’s reading. A reading above 50 indicates the sector is expanding, and this is therefore the second month in a row above that expansionary threshold.
U.S. Imposes 266% Duty Imports of Steel from China
on
This is the second time since December that the U.S. government has penalized foreign steel producers, including Chinese mills, for selling the metal in the U.S. at unfairly low prices, or dumping. The government imposed tariffs of 266% on imports from China, with goods from Brazil, India, South Korea, Russia, Japan and the U.K. also subject to duties. Shipments from Brazil will face 39% penalties, and South Korean producers will face taxes of as much as 6.9%. Besides the fates of the individual companies, the tariff debate is landing in a campaign season where trade looms as a potentially major issue. The campaign is renewing focus on the U.S. trade deficit with China averaged $1 billion a day in 2015.
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Quality improvement initiatives – Thumb Rules Modern manufacturing processes can be improved using a number of quality improvement tools. Some of the most popular quality improvement methodologies are six sigma, lean manufacturing, total quality management etc. But implementing these methodologies in the workplace can at times become complicated and confusing. The problems faced with regards to quality improvement can range from choosing the most appropriate tool to judging the very feasibility of the whole quality improvement initiative. This article aims to resolve these problems through five simple rules of thumb which can be easily understood and implemented by anyone responsible for quality improvement. Before stating the five rules/guidelines however, it must be noted these rules will be beneficial only when one rule is implemented without compromising the other four. The five rules are mentioned in the following points: Make things easier for the operator A process that is easy to perform takes less time and involves fewer errors resulting in fewer delays and defects. This can even be achieved by reducing the risks associated with worker health
This article aims to resolve problems on quality through five simple rules of thumb.
and safety. The whole point of this rule to help the operator perform his/her job with greater focus and efficiency. Focus on making the end product better The central focus of any quality improvement initiative is the end product. The end product can be improved by adding new features, improving quality of raw material or components or by improving the assembly process. The resulting increase in cost of manufacturing is often offset by savings from low after sales service and warranty claims. However, one must avoid over processing as a means to improve the product because this may
make the whole initiative financially unviable. Doing things faster In manufacturing sector time is money. A faster throughput can significantly reduce per unit costs and break even time. In mass production even saving a few seconds can lead to significant overall savings. But faster throughput should not be achieved by over exerting the workers because this may lead to shoddy product quality and work place accidents. Instead, simplifying the processes and increasing the ease of working through automation can be used to reduce processing time. Reducing the cost of production Low cost of production leads to cheaper goods which in turn can help companies improve both top line and bottom-line. Cost of production can be improved through reducing wastage, better inventory management, skilled workers etc. But the only catch here is that the cost reduction should not happen at the expense of any of the other four rules. Therefore, the necessary cost reduction measures should only be approved after a complete cost analysis. Improved safety Any process improvement that jeopardizes workplace safety is not worth the improvement in savings or quality. The potential blowback from a workplace accident can be significant enough to wipe out all the gains achieved through the quality improvement initiatives. Therefore, workplace safety must always be given the highest priority when going for such initiatives.
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Burnout 2016 Burnout, an automobile based quiz is one of the most awaited events by XOps wherein students get chance to showcase their inherent passion for automobiles and unleash the automatter not only in technical arena of automobiles but also on topics like brands, personalities, popular culture, motor sports, social media campaign, taglines and many such areas. This time X-Ops had opened the quiz for the top-tier B-schools all over India. The quiz comprised of two main rounds – The Prelims and The Final Round. The Prelims was an online round wherein the quiz contained all sort of questions on automobiles. It as a team event wherein a team comprised of two members. The quiz duration was 30 minutes with 40 questions which tested the candidates speed along with accuracy. The final round was an on-campus quiz event. There were 5 rounds
Five teams had qualified for the final round, 4 teams from XIMB and 1 from IIFT Delhi. But unfortunately the IIFT Delhi team could not turn up for the campus round. On the other hand, one of the waitlisted team from XIMB got confirmed for finals.
Burnout 2016 Results
After a tough competition in the final rounds two teams finally emerged as winner and runners up.
Winners Ambarsish Sarangi and Mahesh Prasad
We congratulate the winners, Ambarsish Sarangi and Mahesh Prasad and the runners up, Gourav Upadhyaya & GVS Deepak.
Runners up Gourav Upadhyaya & GVS Deepak
The winners would be felicitated with prizes very soon. The winners would be given a prize money of Rs. 3000 and runners up Rs. 1500. X-Ops would also be handing out certificates to them. Burnout proved to be a success with the number of people turned out to attend the event in the campus, also as per the feedback, students appreciated X-Ops for this initiative and look forward to X-Ops for further such quizzing events.
An automobile based quiz that helps in unleashing the automanner.
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Sudden Spike in Manufacturing Demand – Five tips to survive In recent times, we have seen the problems arising from the sudden spike in manufacturing demand. The U.S. automaker ‘Ford’ is one such example where it cut short its summer break to boost production to overcome this situation. Another example is when the RBC Canadian Manufacturing Purchasing Manager’s Index (PMI) rose from 49 to 49.8. But is it possible to take advantage of the upside without over committing? Here are five ideas that can be implemented to effectively take advantage in such situations. 1.
Your top performers should be enlisted: To manage a spike in work is not a small feat. Enlist your top performers to assess all the projects you have, and out of that what needs to be put aside and what needs to be done right away to make space for new projects. Their inputs should be taken seriously and unreasonable deadlines should not be imposed. Solicit their ideas that how would they fit
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the work in the current schedule. Your speciality should be embraced: It can happen that certain sectors of the industry are recovering but your peers won’t be able to handle it. So don’t just jump in. Try to figure out what can cause the least disruption in the factory. Return to your specialties and pick the projects that are most profitable for you, because it’s not the work, but a good work that matters. Wrong kinds of projects should be avoided: Sometimes even the right market and the right client won’t be offering the right project. Refrain from taking project just to fill the ledger. Instead, you should insist on the work that your current team and current equipment can address easily. Avoid stretching projects that require heavy investment from your side to generate a return. Instead cash in on the
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demands that can be fulfilled easily by your factory. Your recognition practices should be revisited: After determining the type of projects that your factory is going to take up, you should look at your recognition practices. You should put in place systems to recognize people who are putting extra hours or extra efforts to learn new skills to cash in on the new business. Even a handwritten note or a simple ‘thank you’ would be fine, but you need to make them know that you understand and appreciate that they are putting extra efforts.
5. One-off incentives should be developed: Workers do expect to share in the spoils. Develop one-off rewards that are aimed to achieve specific and tangible production goals. Then, make good when workers do. If you are offering incentive pay, add it to the next paycheck. If you are offering a gift card, give it that night itself. Be as timely with your rewards as you are with the recognition. This will motivate the workers and they will see themselves as not just a member of the line, but a contributor to the business.
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Editorial Board:
Opsession Monthly
XIM, Bhubaneswar
EDITOR: DESIGN:
DIVYA PRAKASH RAKSHA ARYA
COORDINATOR:
DEBIDUTTA SAMANTRAY
TEAM:
ANUJA VERMA DIVYA PRAKASH MANINDRA JHA RAKSHA ARYA SAMPAT PADHI