To achieve a definite objective, every business, irrespective of its size and scale, has to manage and control its entire operations. This definite objective is to earn maximum profit. Management is the backbone of any wholesale manufacturing business. Many examples can be traced back from the recent history where effective management helped certain companies reach and stay at the top and many were thrown out of the market due to the lack of expertise in management.
Manufacturing business is quite a huge one and only expert management can do well at this. Expert management means that the entire functions of management like planning, leading, organizing and controlling has to be conducted by top managers having great expertise and command over what to do, how to do and when to do. Robert H. Johnson said: “Make your top managers rich and they will make you rich.”
Expert management of the following resources will Industrial Engineering Online Degree help you become successful in your business.
Management of capital:
Manufacturers should manage the capital properly as it is the only money with which they will start their business and once it will be invested poorly they will end up with nothing to invest or manage anymore. They should devise a proper capital plan to decide about how much money would be needed to buy facilities, machineries and raw materials and also how What Is Analytical Industry much expense will occur on advertisement, over head expenditures, marketing and distribution of wholesale supplies. Remember! You should manage your capital adequately and keep some portion of it for the future contingencies as no business starts making money instantaneously. You have to pay to the suppliers of raw materials before you make any sale.
Management of labor:
Human force is a key resource so managing it appropriately is direly important. Over staffing and understaffing should be avoided. A balanced labor with sound knowledge and experience should be preferred. Their wages, appraisals, development and training has to be managed by the competent staff. Their duties, transfers and responsibilities should be clear cut to them and they should be paid fairly based on their actual performance and without any discrimination.
Management of materials:
Don’t forget to manage your materials efficiently as your business reputation is based on what you procure to supply ahead. Choose wholesale suppliers that are authentic and reliable and provide only quality materials to you. Monitor your expenses spent on materials and the amount required for converting them into final products. Your materials cost should be cut short to the extent that brings maximum profits to you. But remember this does not mean you can compromise on quality.
Management of machinery:
Manufacturers should manage the running, repair and maintenance costs of their machinery. Also, consider the amount of expense and if taking machinery on rent is more cost effective, you should go for it. Otherwise purchase it as an asset. Besides that, day to day expenses and working capital should also be managed properly otherwise these …
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Electronic Technology And Fleet Management
With today’s tight profit margins in the motor carrier Objectives Of Industry Analysis, it is essential to utilize every tool available to minimize costs. Efficient fleet management is essential to control labor and other expenses. Advances in technology can help trucking companies to control labor and regulatory expenses.
Electronic On-Board Recorders are one electronic tool that is gaining wider acceptance within the trucking industry. Although their mandated use has been delayed due to Congressional wrangling, many motor carriers are voluntarily adding EOBRs to their fleets. Changes in hours of service rules for truck drivers necessitate accuracy in logging driver’s work and rest hours to avoid penalties. EOBRs simplify tracking driver activity.
The use of EOBRs has many other applications in fleet management. Since the final standards for government-mandated logs have not yet been written, motor carriers are experimenting with various units already available. Software and applications are currently available to use with smartphones, laptops and other communications systems. One benefit is the ability to more accurately monitor driver behavior while cutting compliance staff expenses. The more efficient electronic data recording systems require less staff time to manage and analyze.
Computerized records also allow for better management of available driver hours. The real-time recording of driver availability allows for more efficient scheduling of loads and drivers. By matching available loads with free drivers, it is possible to increase productivity without violating hours of service rules.
Most EOBRs are also equipped with GPS and other truck-monitoring functions. With these devices it is possible to not only track driver location but also Industry Analysis Business Plan vehicle speed and fuel usage. Access to real-time metrics allows for better supervision of driver behavior and can help with evaluations and raises.
Because many EOBRs can be integrated with existing monitoring and communication systems, they can also be used to log vehicle inspections, fuel taxes and permit fees and surcharges. Integrated data is useful for creating IRP and other reports. Automated fuel tax reports save time and stress for both drivers and motor carriers.
Even the wide availability of 3G and 4G smartphones can help improve fleet efficiency. Thanks to the advancements in cellular phone technology, it is possible for drivers to be connected to the internet in huge swaths of the nation. Drivers on standby at pickup points or on mandated rest breaks can access the web and download files and records. Motor carriers can offer safety and other training videos online so drivers can use down time productively. Being able to easily contact loved ones by phone or online may help ease the aching loneliness of life on the road. Happier drivers are less likely to quit which helps control training costs for new drivers.
Thanks to innovations in technology, it is possible for motor carriers to more efficiently manage their fleets from afar. As federal standards are finalized, it is possible that even more of the complex paperwork requirements of trucking will be moved online. Simplified record-keeping is a good thing for …
Industry Trends in People Management
As the HR Electrician Truity moves into 2012, new trends are emerging. These trends focus more on the people and impact organizations profitability. Business managers must move with times and adopt trends that will smoothen up the operating environment. It is important for the organization and its managers to understand the trends to adapt to the global changes and thrive. This is especially important in the field of human resource management as people are the most important asset for an organization and proper handling is necessary to minimize performance loss. Here are some of the important industry moves that will shape the future in the coming years.
• Technology. We live in a globalized and a connected world. People are using mobile phones, tablets that allow them to be continuously in touch and communicate across the traditional boundaries. HR Harvard Lean has been slow in adapting to the latest technological developments. But now it has become important for them to leverage these technological advancements. The technological moves like the use of virtual employees and non-traditional offices to help the company run more effectively. Leveraging and moving with technological trends require you to identify the platform your organization is most comfortable with. Ask what you want. Is it going to be an enterprise platform or a simple mail and web based system? The whole idea of having such a platform is to connect people with information.
• Global Market. The recent recession wasn’t just limited to few countries. The economies are interconnected and inter-dependent. A slight tremor can lead to complete disorder. The strategies can no more be isolated and big economies sit together and formulate a systemic plan and discuss mutual issues. It is here that HR industry must move with times and allow their companies to compete with other global firms. The trend of industry outsourcing has impacted the developing world in a big way and HR moves must not ignore the fact that workers can now be contracted for projects etc.
• Flexible Offices. The future is about being flexible. Among other things, the word ‘flexible’ will also apply to working conditions. The technology advancements has allowed the HR industry to allow and move towards implementing flexible offices. The employee doesn’t have to move out and suffer in the unbearable traffic conditions any more. “Relax and work from home” is the new age mantra. Among several other things, it allows the worker to maintain his/her work-life balance and keeps them motivated. Such a strategy must complement an organizations business strategy.…
What Are the Main Advantages of Lean Management?
Lean management has become one of the most common practices for propriety processes. However, there are also other non-manufacturing firms that execute this technique into there business. This is because they have discovered that there are many advantages of lean management that they can benefit from when they are able to successfully implement this. Lean processes have been known to have existed for quite some time now and many are interested in lean office. This is due to the recent increase of usage in the services sector for this type of management method throughout the globe. Now, many manufacturers and also the business owners discover that there are several advantages of lean management. They learn about these through the use of lean analysis and also when they are already applying the principles to their own company.
In order for you to really be inspired with its use, you should know the most common lean manufacturing benefits, which are actually several. Most businessmen are facing numerous challenges in their company every single day and it always helps if they are able to take advantage of some of the lean manufacturing benefits. For those who have problems with missed order dates, limited capacity, Types Of Service Sector delivery cost and time problems, high product costs and similar difficulties, lean manufacturing is definitely for you. Lean can have a positive impact on your firm immediately but of course, results will vary depending on how you are able to implement the practice. Regardless of that, there are typical improvements and savings that you can take advantage of with the help of lean office.
Among the advantages of lean management is that you can reduce the lead time by 50 to 90 percent as well as the floor space requirements from 5 to 30%. Work-in process is also reduced up to 80%. In the meantime, lean increases the first pass yields up to a hundred percent while throughput is hiked up to 80% and productivity can go all the way up to 125%. Employers, managers and business owners can gain the knowledge about the important relationship between waste and profit. Knowing this also has a lot of benefits.
With the help of lean management, you are able to improve your customer focus. There is virtually zero dissatisfaction in the customers’ side because your products or even your services do not have the so called waste factor. Customer input and their feedback guarantee quality and their satisfaction will support your sales figures. Leadership is also one of the advantages of lean management which promotes zero misalignment when it comes to profit. If there is a good director or a manager who will supervise every activity excellently, there is a great chance that organizational development will improve quality, speed and cost.
Aside from that, lean provides benefits for the whole organization when it comes to team based operations. These will have a reduced overhead through the elimination of bureaucracy How To Overcome Bargaining Power Of Suppliers and …
The Art of Industrial Project Management
A project can be defined as an endeavor to do something new to bring in a change, enhance an existing situation or setup a new venture. Since doing something new is always considered as a change it become important that this happens smoothly. Since changes or innovation are very unlikely to happen with ease if taken lightly therefore it becomes imperative that this activity is performed systematically and with complete care.
In other words we can say that doing a project systematically means ‘project management’. And as the term suggests industrial project management is a technique of working for the betterment of a new or improved industrial venture in an organized way. For a project to be successful it needs to be handled in the right phases in addition to being supervised by experts. Since corporations think of expanding every now and then to beat the never ending competition it becomes almost next to impossible to manage projects and initiatives on your own.
To make your job easier there are several consultancies these days that specialize in industrial project management. This would mean nothing but shedding off your worries by outsourcing the task of managing an improvement initiative to another organization. That’s because it is a well known fact that only those who specialize in an area are the best to bring in guaranteed success. There are several stages of project management, let’s discuss them in a little detail.
The process starts with the conceptualization of an idea post the finalization of which one needs to get engaged in various activities. As a project manager one needs to prepare a complete layout in terms of the intention of the project and its scope. You are then required to estimate the allocation of resources, prepare schedules, assign tasks and get procurement assistance.
The project management team also needs to do risk management which means predicting any threats or hurdles in order to take proactive measures to fight them in future. This would ensure business continuity thereby saving Challenges Of Service Sector the corporation from a potential loss. Quality assurance is another key bone in the project management process. This is because excellence is the most important aspect that facilitates the long-run success of a project.
Not to be forgotten is the role of design and engineering team that provides valuable contribution during the duration of the project. This team performs tasks like process control, single line diagrams, layout preparation, and programming How Do Industrial Engineers Benefit Society and peripheral equipment interfacing. One additionally needs to do field management, check equipment status and monitor systems start-up. Selection of an appropriate site and relevant market research also happen during this time.
The activity of industrial project management is vast and involves several other responsibilities, such as getting required approvals, obtaining information about relevant subsidies and managing the funding aspect. Needless to say once you reach close to the completion / implementation of a project it is imperative to do a satisfying project marketing …
COST MANAGEMENT: Squeezing the (NON)VALUE Out of Overhead – An Activity Analysis Approach
In the Pleistocene era of manufacturing cost accounting (actually, only about one hundred years ago – it just seems longer), product costs were classified as: Labor, Materials and, Overhead – in that order. The order was not haphazard; it connoted the relative importance in dollar size of each. Labor was then the highest cost component, materials was next and overhead was a poor third. Well, now at the dawn of the twenty-first century and actually around the middle of the twentieth century, the order is reversed. Overhead is the most expensive component of the cost equation. In fact, as labor declines to third in the cost hierarchy and materials costs begin to stabilize in some of the mature manufacturing companies, the management of overhead spending can be the strategic management element in the profitability success equation. Knowing that overhead is the major component of manufacturing spending and putting aside the arcane methods for its accounting and allocation, how then can the senior management of manufacturing companies discern value in overhead in relation to its cost? Let’s take a look at some of the options and combine them into an overall program to find the value and reduce the costs.
What really is manufacturing overhead?
In plain managerial terms, manufacturing overhead is that agglomeration of expenses that don’t “add value” to the products made by the enterprise. Non-value-added activities, now the bogeyman of the era of Lean Manufacturing, are those activities that customers wouldn’t pay for if they knew the extent to which they existed. The most cited example of non-value-added activity is a quality inspection function. The customers would be saying to themselves, why would I want to pay for this when you the manufacturer should have been able to get it right the first time? The strategic implication being, of course, that if we were able to reduce or eliminate non-value added activities; the customer would not have to pay for them through lower prices. The potential for lower prices is largely a near term marketing issue but, in the long run, the costs incurred for products have a structural impact on a company’s and an industry’s prices and profitability. Recognizing that all non-value-added activities can’t be eliminated, some are placed in the category of “non-value-added, but necessary.” These are typically those that are driven by regulations (e.g., GMP, OSHA, FDA, SEC etc.). Other non-value-added activities, despite not being regulation driven, are tenacious in their seemingly innate ability to survive because people believe that if they weren’t incurred, dire consequences would follow.
From a micro-economic perspective, manufacturing overhead is a large component of the break-even point of the enterprise and therefore part of squeezing out value lies in minimizing it. It is the fixed period cost base that the enterprise must cover with incremental gross margin. Accounting gives us numerous expense classification and departmental views of overhead in the detail needed to analyze and reduce/contain this strategically important manufacturing cost component.
Manufacturing overhead has a time and variability dimension…
Manufacturing Shop Floor Job Management Via ERP & Touch Screen Data Collection
Lean thinking in manufacturing has always been a practical means to that most desirable end: A better quality product produced in less time at lower cost. For the past two decades, manufacturers have constantly striven for tight integration of shop floor activities, hopefully resulting in a streamlined environment capable of achieving this Lean sense of “perfection”.
In more basic terms, at its core Lean thinking is informed by the goal of shop waste minimization through the elimination of those activities that do not add value to the product. Simultaneously, the use of scarcer resources is maximized, such as capital investment and personnel. However, while capital investment in tooling and infrastructure (i.e., building, land, etc.) is encumbered by a sense of being “fixed” with regards to improvements in efficiency, the human side of the manufacturing process (i.e., personnel) has much greater flexibility in terms of being able to make immediate adjustments in process toward a better way of doing things.
As a production resource, employees (both production and management) have the capacity for revealing and solving problems at the source, as well as making instant alterations toward “a more perfect” manufacturing process. However, these decisions are–must be–driven by relevant, reliable, real-time shop data entry. Constant process analysis as a Lean principle must involve empowered employees who participate in the collection and dissemination of real-time data; this empowerment always results in improving efficiencies in the shop floor system.
Built as a single point, multi-purpose shop floor/work order management tool, the paperless Touch Screen Data Collection system (TSDC) is designed to be a central collection point and rapid analyzer for important shop floor-generated data. In a Lean production environment, where the need for data is constant, it is paramount that a single integrated system of total shop floor activity tracking controls exists, including costing, purchasing, scheduling, materials management, tracking, inventory control, and labor management (both direct labor and indirect labor).
TSDC provides real-time shop floor control in all aspects of the system, creating the maximization of efficiencies and reduction of waste that are the values at the heart of Lean production. However, any good enterprise resource planning (ERP) and manufacturing tool must depend upon the human variable – shop floor personnel – to provide the input of data through the system. Without accurate and consistent attention to data entry, error margins increase to the detriment of reliability. This is why it is important that employees feel not only empowered and vested in the ERP system, but that they are comfortable enough with the technology to include the data entry process as part of their production routine. Without a personnel commitment to total integration of the ERP data collection and the inputting of data into the job flow, analysts are faced with incomplete, if not error-filled, data. This mandate of shop floor data entry is especially important in job shops, make-to-order, make-to-stock, and mixed mode manufacturers where budgets prohibit the addition of a dedicated IT person or staff.
To this end, ERP shop floor …