Donner Case Summary

Donner Company

The Business

• Printed Circuit Boards (PCB) manufacture
• Manufactured PCB to the specifications of customer (electronic manufactures)
• Donner Company had patented applications and processing methods, it is make Donner Company more adept at anticipating and resolving the problems in new design and prototype production techniques than other 750 PCB manufacturers

Main Characters

• Edward Plummer as President : Planning for 1988 Operations from 1987 report
• Bruce Almeyer as design engineer :  inspect the customer’s artwork and requirements, determine the best means of processing, and identify unusual production problems. Almeyer reported to the president
• Diane Schnabs as expediter : keep tracks of orders in process and initiated action if an order failed to progress. Schnabs reported to the president
• David Flaherty as shop supervisor : in charge of manufacturing process, supervised the activities of 22 production employees (include 4 assistant supervisor who advising Flaherty on various problem). Flaherty reported to Almeyer

Manufacturing Process

• Preparation stage : checking circuit pattern, make 8 panels size 12” x 18” from raw material size 36”x48”
• Image transfer : draw holes, can be done by manually or automatically (with a CNC machine recently purchased for $80,000), metallization with copper, and then coating
• Fabrication : soldermask silkscreening, profiling, inspected, electrically tested, packaged and shipped

Problems

• Operating : rush order problem, modification order, additional raw materials
• Productivity : the manufacturing process is not efficient (machine idle longer, SOP didn’t performed well, and can’t decide when to use CNC or manually)
• Quality : reject rate in September amounted 7 % (1% total losses, 6 % incomplete operations)
• Shipped : late for some orders, especially in September when it promises for 4 days, but it late 8 days

Plans for 1988 Operations Strategy

• Clearing the company position, a work-by-order company or a work-to-stock company. Or separate the company to that two category with a clear supervision
• Find the efficient production times for drilling. When to use manual drill or CNC drill. Work with that calculation