Professional Documents
Culture Documents
04/14/2014
Monika Kotowska
Christina DiPietro
Melissa Moreira
Jennifer Viernes
Samantha Chavanga
2
It is with no doubt that the distribution centers and manufacturing environments are
changing and companies are looking for better opportunities to optimize people, processes and
technology. Therefore, developing a competitive supply chain based on speed, innovation, and
quality, to deal with unpredictable market conditions has become a vital part for most
organizations.
Oak Hills facility is a unit of The Oil and Gas Services Company (TOGS) that produces
testing equipment used in old and gas exploration. Oak Hills is currently experiencing an
industry-wide recurring slump. Their current lead-time of domestic order for the testing
equipment lies in between one to two weeks, with international orders yielding up to three
months. Urgent requirement lies within the high costs associated with keeping the exploration
idle – costing an average of $50,000 to $100,000 per day. In intending to reduce their lead-time
to one week, as well as to increase operational efficiency, Oak Hills also plans to enhance
customer service with the help of lean manufacturing techniques. Oak Hills level of inventory is
much higher than necessary because of the high demand volatility and lack of vendor
management.
The main issues that Oak Hills facility is facing are, employee related concerns, worn out
machines, workload on quality department, the lack of quality checkpoints, and process
inefficiency. All of which need to be solved before implanting the lean system. The lean system
will help improve the processes and quality of the facility as well as lessen the wastage.
However, employees are the key to this change; we need to change the current work environment
to help boost the employee morale. Furthermore, machines and systems need to be updated in
3
order to reduce waste of raw material and to save time and manpower. The management and
employees at Oak Hills need to work together and communicate with one another in order to
QUESTIONS
1. What are the specific quality problems Oak Hills is facing, and how will they influence
There are four main quality problems that Oak Hills is facing are - Employees related concerns,
employees regarding current lay-off’s due to the economy issues, which has diminished the
employee morale. Additionally, issues of unfair bonuses pools are awarded on team basis, which
employees are cross functionally trained, and are sometimes forced to assist other employees to
Damaged machines: Oak Hills has been utilizing old worn-out machines for years in
which are not up to par with current levels. This results in waste of raw materials and employee
turmoil at work level creating negative impact on the company’s expenses and employee
confidence.
Workload on quality department: The quality control department has been overloaded
due to the fact that all seven units that are being used by the company are being started
simultaneously, and all assemblers have to bring in their first boxes of the batch for quality
assurance checks. Operating in this form will jeopardize the success of the quality control
department and will result in many faulty products which in return can destroy the image of the
company.
4
Lack of quality checkpoints: Oak Hills has a lack of quality checkpoints in which the
company is not able to monitor the direction or the production of work in progress. The company
does not perform quality checks when packing the products; this is only done during assembly.
Therefore when products reach the customer in bad condition, Oak Hills cannot assign the faults
Oak Hills must ensure that these major issues become resolved before executing a lean
system. Lean systems put into consideration a practice of zero wastage with improvement in
processes and quality. The key individuals to conduct this change are the employees; in the
current situation it might not be easy for the employees to accept the issue at hand easily --
management must understand that quality is not for specific individuals only but both for the
employees and management and help created an easy transition to guide employees into using
convert the current system to a lean system? Think about this from both a short-term and
a long-term perspective.
The changes that need to be made in the manufacturing environment are as follows:
between employees and the management. For the company to conduct the lean system they have
to make sure that the management and all the employees are able to embrace lean views and the
technicalities of the system. Management has to implement a proper information system that
Connect with customers/suppliers: While Oak Hills is considering reducing the lead-
time to one week, it is very crucial for the company to make sure it has constant communication
5
with its suppliers and customers. The company should have real-time data on drilling projects
and the various project information of their internal customers such as E&E and Triangle. This
not only sorts their short-term problems, but will set them up for the long run.
Structure every activity and simplify the workflow: This procedure is very important
in the sense that it focuses attention on production processes of the company. The productions
manager should establish a proper system through which orders can be placed directly to avoid
Begin improvements: There are many improvements that the company has to consider,
improvements like the quality of the product, reduction of raw materials, and product wastes. It
goes into line with the lean system viewpoint that dictates zero wastage.
For Oak Hills to maintain excellence and process development that aligns with the lean
system in long term, the important aspects is change that has to be put into place by leadership
and create lean system thinking. The company has to be positioned in the lean system processes
3. How will the implementation of lean system impact employees, and what can be done to
Implementing a Lean system does not dictate a specific result only outcome; it focuses on
changes within all dimensions of the organization. This system begins with compliance and
changes in overall views by the organizations employees, therefore, impacting internal sectors of
Team Dynamics:
Lean systems require multifunctional teams with rotational team leadership in order to
include all involved. Currently, Oak Hills has established this system in its shipping department
6
comprising a team of four men – the deliverer, assembler, assistant, and packer. However, some
implementing to this system must occur. It is stated that although rotational duties exist amongst
individuals, overall bonuses were team based, negating the fact that these members are involved
in more than just one team. Rewards must then be considered for not only teamwork, but
according to each task a single employee is responsible for successfully executing. This will
create more productivity from its employees while reducing stress. Furthermore, in order for this
throughout the firm in its entirety, having all employees possess multifunctional skills.
Employee education/communication:
To achieve superior results and to entice a smooth transition, employees must receive
appropriate education and training. Without this, employees will fail to posses skills needed to
create value within the organization. Another major factor needed at Oak Hill, is trust and
communication among team members and supervisors. Currently, no such connection exists
between all departments. Rumors of impending mergers and lack of communication from
must be aware of all issues and opportunities that exist within the company, and be able to
Overall, Oak hills management must implement these changes in methods including and
involving all employees. Communication seems to be the leading factor to which failure seems
to plague operations. Oak hills must keep all employees informed about changes and benefits.
The implementation of Lean system will enable employees to become relieved of the stress by
rush orders, and will create benefits and rewards as incentives to all employees for maximizing
4. At what stage in the development of a supply chain is Oak Hills, and what can be done to
It is evident that a proper supply chain network does not yet exist at Oak Hills. Large
volume foreign orders yielding lead times of up to three months, as well as many erratic
Exploration and Extraction unit (E&E) domestic orders leading to rush jobs seems to be a
continuing occurrence for Oak hills. The current relationship with the Exploration and Extraction
unit (E&E) is scarce, preventing any accurate demand forecasting opportunities causing Oak
hills plant an inventory turnover of only five times annually, prompting high inventory holding
costs, delivery costs, and overtime pay associated with expediting orders. In addition, Black
Dome, a manufacturing company supplying Oak hill its sensor board needs, lacks in on-time
delivery creating late deliveries and rescheduling problems for Oak hills and E&E.
In order to repair these issues and strengthen the supply chain connection between all
involved, Oak hills must adopt a practice of supply chain integration, using proper direct
communication channels providing Oak hills with information concerning any current or
impending projects by Exploration and Extraction unit (E&E). This will enable forecasting
demands of testing instruments, and reduce all costs associated with rush orders as well as the
amount of raw material inventory held onsite for unexpected orders. In addition, Oak Hills
enlists of Materials Requirements Planning System (MRP), but must utilize this system entirely
to schedule and manage with Black Dome the production planning and requirement planning to
5. For Oak Hills, what is the connection between demand management and the supply
chain?
prioritizing demand when supply is lacking. Proper demand management facilitates planning and
use of resources for profitable results. Oak Hill is facing issues with the constant demand that
issue that Oak Hills is not updated with information of current or upcoming projects of its
customers causing them to deal with rush order jobs. In order for them to complete orders on
time, they must keep inventory levels high causing increased holding costs. Other than holding
costs there are other issues associated with the demand unpredictability of Oak Hills orders such
Lean system is powerful in reducing waste but Oak Hills must manage supply chain
communication on its own because lean manufacturing does not guarantee to fix the demand
dilemma. Supply chain management can be used in this situation by creating a production
schedule. If Oak Hills receives details of its clients including Exploration and Extraction unit
(E&E) projects, it can then schedule the production process, leading to decreased inventory
costs.
6.What should Oak Hills do? What problems might occur in implementing your
Implementing lean manufacturing can solve some of the issues involving the production
process, but it can raise some issues within the company as well. One factor to be considered is
that it is normally difficult for people to accept change. The way to get people to accept change
is by communicating to stakeholders, clients, and employees the benefits of a lean system before
9
implementing it. Once they have knowledge on the topic, this will allow them to accept the new
change. Another problem that needs to be considered is the cost of implementing the lean
system. Changing the process and techniques will cost money but management will need to be
convinced about all the profits that will occur if they accept lean manufacturing. In the end, Oak
Hills will encounter some issues while implementing the lean system but these issues can be
Conclusion/ Recommendations
Based on the analysis, the Oak Hills facility needs urgent and strategic solutions to its
challenges: the findings show that the facility’s product lines are not well managed due to little
information about the current and impending Exploration and Extraction (E&E) projects, the
costs of inventory holding and overtime pay is contributing to high overhead costs. The
employee morale is low, hence poor customer service; demand is unpredictable, poor
management of quality and workflow in the production system. There is wastage due to defects
in the production system, caused by worn out machinery. The problems are not only in the
production process, it is clear that the employees are not properly motivated due to poor
communication, and a poor reward system. Employees should be aware of what is going on, they
should be properly trained, and they should be compensated based on their input and
effectiveness; this will increase employee morale, as well as their productivity levels.
In order to have a smooth transition into the lean system, it advisable that management
communicates the change to all the stakeholders in the supply chain, including employees. Oak
Hills facility has little knowledge of upcoming projects of the E&E units in its supply chain; the
public relations and marketing departments should employ supply chain integration to ensure
that they are in directly contact with the project managers of their customers and everyone in the
10
supply chain. Using this information, they can be able to plan better for real time drilling
projects, thus reducing the number of rush orders (demand management). The MRP system
should also be implemented in the ordering of cases from Black Dome and Precision Milling to
reduce the inventory holding costs, and the delays that occur. The worn out machinery in the
production process, especially the assembly presses should be refurbished or replaced. This will
Reference
<http://www.pearsoned.ca/highered/divisions/text/cyr/readings/ShankarT3P2R3.pdf>.