Case Study on Fhe Inc
Autor: shahenna • October 6, 2015 • Case Study • 383 Words (2 Pages) • 1,487 Views
Production & Operations Management
Case Study #1 – FHE, Inc.
1. Donaldson can focus on communication and integration to improve the new product development process. The engineering and manufacturing department personnel should effectively communicate projects’ needs. There may need to be a formal process in place to help with that. Integration of management and teams will help. Manufacturing input should be utilized during the development phase.
2. I think there is a good system in place to clarify organizational relationships. In new product development, a cross-functional team is essential. Using a computerized system which allows team members to see actions in real time can help – I am assuming the requests and reports are digital.
3. To better manage the workload of the engineering service department, Hanson, the Department Manager, should be involved in the new product development process. Specifically, he should remain in contact with Merle Alison, the Corporate Engineering and Quality Manager. If communication is open between the two, Alison can provide potential projects that are “coming down the pipe.” With that knowledge, Hanson can stay abreast of an increase in workload that causes bottlenecking.
Prioritizing importance of projects can also help. In that case, the more important and time sensitive projects are finished earlier.
4. A positive thing I see with the new CAD/CAM system is that it projected to take only 2 months to complete specifications. Although, at this stage, I think it is wise to include M&E in the process. They can prepare for future involvement better.
A conflict I see with the new CAD/CAM system is the release of the design to manufacturing & engineering (M&E) (event 291) is while the field tests are being conducted (event 215). It seems like those two events can merge. This can help (M&E) to improve results. In turn, this will shorten the two month expected time to review the lab & field results. It will also release the design to M&E earlier, possibly helping with the bottlenecking issue. If the testing & production time can be decreased effectively, it will have a positive effect on the latter events.
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