Assignment Sample on Engineering Management Systems
1. Introduction
The market of the engineering goods manufacturing industry is now a booming field. Various companies are now competing to gain the maximum market share in the company, and this research is going to analyze the competitiveness of Applicon Company which is effectively involved with engineering management. Specific characteristics of the market served by the Applicon and the process of preparation of the bill of material by evaluating the cumulative lead time will be going to be analyzed in this report. The longest cumulative lead time for the process is also going to be discussed and comments will be given. A detailed description of the planned work orders will also be given in the following report. Based on the bill of the cumulative lead time, comments will be given in the following report. Changes in the manufacturing process and the control system will be analyzed and the difference between the traditional theory and the new cellular manufacturing process will be analyzed. Based on the analysis of the witness model recommendations will be provided for the betterment of the company.
1. A Characteristic of the market served by the company
As per the case study, it has been identified that USA-based engineering product manufacturing company Applicon is one of the leading companies in the world which produces computer-aided engineering systems. This company produces high-end computer-aided engineering products which are used for various analytical processes. The software used in the products is mostly proprietary and run with the help of DCM.
Applicon’s graphic system is primarily sold in the electronic market all over the world. The design of the graphic system is made in such a way that makes the product of the computer system very sophisticated and effective (Applicon, 20210. Implementing a proper graphic system is very important for the advancement in the software-making process. It has been found that by
Graphic system was one of the leading producers of Applicon. However, the market in which the Graphic system has been sold is fully saturated. Therefore, the USA-based engineering product manufacturing company targets the mechanical market instead of being dedicated only to the electronic market. The real growth of the company started while entering the mechanical market. CAD/CAM was increasingly applied by users who are related to the automotive industry and machine shops. Entering the mechanical market helps Applicon to enhance the growth of the company and thus the productivity has been increased resulting in the production of more profit (Applicon, 2021).
Application is facing tremendous problems while competing with other companies which are also producing the same line of products. Applicon was forced to compete with various leading companies like Computervision, Intergraph, and Autodesk resulting in a shortfall of sales compared with the other companies in a similar field (Applicon, 2021).
Another most significant problem Applicon faced is the lump sum cost of manufacturing and introducing series 4000. The price to performance ratio is a crucial aspect in the mechanical market which is not apparent in the electronic market. Therefore, the USA-based computer-aided engineering system manufacturing company flourishes in the world business industry by handling these apparent issues in the market (Applicon, 2021)
1. B Preparation of the length of cumulative lead time supported by appropriate BOM
The time required for the accomplishment of the activity is generally known as the longest lead time. Time is required for the production process and various processes related to the production of the company. Cumulative lead time can be analyzed by reviewing the bill of materials (BOM). The path which adds up to the greatest number indicates the cumulative material lead time (Xiao, 2018).
The cumulative lead time can be analyzed with the help of a given scenario of a university that has placed an order for 200 out of 4620 materials under the Alpha group for the computer-aided laboratory. The time frame given by the university is five months. Therefore, Applicon has five months for the completion of the project. The university instructed to submit 40 finished terminals per week and a proper plan needs to be implemented accordingly. The starting inventories include items, opening inventory, lot size, and the size of safety. Evaluating those factors lead times are rounded and evaluated (Trivedi, 2017).
As per the view of Badrinarayanan et al. (2017), one of the most significant comprehensive inventories of raw materials is the bill of material (BOM). Bill of materials includes all the list of the material that is required for the manufacturing of a new product. As per the view of Cancino et al. (2017), the process of making a bill of the material consists of various steps. First, the most important step while making a bill of material is the decision-making process based on the priority details and designs will be implemented accordingly.
Next, the most important aspect of making BOM is the proper use of templates. Next, one of the most significant aspects of BOM is that before submitting the final version proper checking process should be done in order to get an error-free BOM within a very little span of time. Another significant aspect of making BOM is that proper details of the amount should be evaluated in order to make an appropriate BOM. The appropriate structure of the BOM has the ability for making the document cent percent correct
1. B.1 commenting on lead time
Lead time includes the time required to process a product, the time for the work to begin, and the time it takes for the manufacturing of the product. As opined by Beyer (2020), it is the period between the initiation of an order and the delivery of the order (Applicon, 2021). Lead time needed for the Computer-aided engineering product manufacturing company described below-
In figure 1, there are some operations grouped under the category of PCB production, mechanical assembly, cable assembly, and the top-level assembly that has been analyzed. There are various tasks that have also been assigned as per the requirement. Next, one of the important steps in the evaluation of lot run time and the queue and move time set up as per the requirement. Another significant aspect of the lead time is that post-top-level assembly activities have been evaluated and total lead time has been measured accordingly.
1. C Determine the planned work orders for giving orders detailed
Applicon follows a methodical system in order to work on orders based on the details provided by the given orders. Top-level units are integrated and examined as a single manufacturing unit in the top-level test section. Once the test has been finished the terminals were sent to the inventories of finished goods. Next, upon receiving confirmation from the customer’s various types of purchased materials are sent to the system of integration for further test. Next, one of the significant steps is the incorporation of necessary edits; the software and documentation were combined with this system. After completion of thorough editing, this order is sent to the final inspection centre before being to the customer.
Executing proper planning of work requires the right skill. The person having the right the required skill can accomplish the order within a given frame of time. The unskilled and inappropriate person is not able to finish the work within the stipulated time resulting in the customer’s apathy for the company and the reputation of the company will be hampered which results in the loss of productivity and net profit income. Thus, the business of the company will suffer (Sooriyabandara, 2018).
The Applicon has implemented a strategy for the proper identification of the process. Structuring a proper plan the Applicant needs to identify the suitable process in order to accomplish the order within a given frame of time. As per the view of De Graaf et al. (2017) next, the most significant aspect is the proper identification of the cost for the given orders. First, the company required to set costs for the raw material, subscription of new software, or hiring a new person having specialized skill in that process. Proper implementation of these strategies helps Applicon to determine a planned work order (Choe et al. 2017).
2. Discussing the manufacturing processes and application
2.1 Analysis of changes that are related to the firm’s manufacturing process and control system
As opined by Domingues (2017), the traditional factory of Applicon builds stocks related to an annual build plan based on market research. The traditional perception was the case of failure in selling the manufactured product results from the fault in the manufacturing process, not in the selling process (Applicon, 2021).
Applicon followed a master production system for the requirement of the computer-aided engineering product of Applicon. Establishing new methodologies for better production is one of the most significant steps taken by the company in order to increase net profit income. The changes are as follows-
Layout and process improvement
Therefore, Applicon made these changes in the traditional process in order to enhance the productivity of the company. This type of rearrangement process makes the overall structure of the company more sound and stable so that productivity can be increased.
2.2 Discussion of the differences between traditional theory and the new cellular manufacturing process
Traditional Theory
As per the view of Galli (2018), the traditional theory comprises the various processes which need to be upgraded. Therefore, changes made in the existing traditional theory and a new cellular manufacturing process has been structured. The traditional production system, the MRP system, had a number of problems. These problems become serious and apparent for the development of series 4000. This theory not only tied up the working capital but also it needs a lot of floor space.
As per the view of Klotins et al. (2019), stagnant inventories cause the loss of millions of dollars resulting from the constant clash of the engineering changes and the introductions of the new products (Marzi et al. 2018).
Another significant aspect of the traditional theory is that the extensive overhead cost has been associated with the former system of production. Next, the most significant aspect of the traditional theory is that it is a very slow system for production. It requires a four to six-month long manufacturing process. This is a very long manufacturing process compared with the other companies working in a similar field.
As per the view of Lima et al. (2017), improving the quality of the production is very difficult to accomplish under the traditional structure of work (Applicon 2021). The work assigned on a monthly basis under the traditional working process and this type of schedule in the monthly process degrades the quality of the work. Therefore, the customers become dissatisfied resulting in the downward growth of the company (Applicon, 2021).
Traditional working structures, the quality of the product, cost, and time management pose serious problems for the company. Therefore, Applicon implements some new strategies in order to solve these issues.
The new cellular manufacturing process
JIT Implementation
Applicon recognized that the traditional theory of the manufacturing process is no longer effective for the growth of the business. This type of production technology comprised of three phases-
The first one occurred in the second half of 1994 and concerned the process of conversion. The second phase took place in the middle of 1994 and lasted until 1997. This phase deals with the procedures of resource management. Application now exists in the third phase of the application in order to progress the vendor unification (Applicon, 2021).
Layout and process improvement
Rearrangement in the equipment has been implemented in order to make the flow of production smoother. Various coding languages have been incorporated to make the process easier. This process inspects the results of the output by totally eliminating the unwanted materials. Parts that fail in the process of inspection are sent to the material review board. Therefore, the decision was made whether to send the material for correction or directly send it back to the vendor (Applicon, 2021).
Another significant characteristic of the new system is the implementation of a new card system instead of a traditional MRP system in order to separate the orders of the work produced by the MRP system. The new system of production introduces the use of PCB. PCB production started first with the operator and this new technology can read the information in the card system and thus able to rectify the error accordingly (Patrick et al. 2017).
3.1 Witness model of the traditional Alpha production system
The traditional model of the Alpha production system is unified and examined as a single unit in the top-level integration. In this production system, upon testing for the first time the goods are sent to the inventory. After receiving from the customer the goods were sent to the system of integration for a further test where the complete system was examined thoroughly (Li et al. 2017).
In the traditional alpha system, top-level assembly, cable assembly, mechanical assembly, and production system, the PCB is arranged in a proper functional manner. The traditional alpha system is associated with various issues such as the overhead cost of the product is very high resulting in the production of extensive cost of the product. Another problem associated with the alpha system is that the time of response is too slow for the traditional production system (Applicon, 2021). Next, one of the most important aspects is that it requires a lot of floor space. This will pose a serious problem for Applicon.
Plug-and-play-rate
The traditional alpha model holds the plug-and-play ratio of 85 percent which is too low. However, the requirement of a plug-and-play ratio is above 9 percent. Improvement in the quality is required in order to get a plug-and-play ratio of above 90 (Nguyen et al. 2020).
3.2 further new improvements
Recommendations for the implementation of the JIT system in order to make the process smoother
JIT Implementation- Just-In-Time method of production is a newly invented production method followed by Applicon. This production model was first invented on a single product model, on the alpha terminal 4620, in the year 1994. This method makes the flow of production easier and helps to increase the productivity for Applicon. Therefore, Applicon has implemented this new production for the betterment of the company (Applicon, 2021).
Recommendation for the proper rearrangement in the existing system
As per the view Galli (2018), one of the most significant steps taken by the company while implementing the JIT production system was a rearrangement of the apparatus system in order to make the flow of production easier in which products are grouped together based on the similar product families. Therefore, the newly structured layout and the process have been implemented in order to make the process of production smoother (Applicon, 2021).
Conclusion
Applicon is a company that manufactures various types of engineering products. The products manufactured by Applicon are generally computer-aided. Applicon needs to implement various approaches in order to compete with other companies which produce similar kinds of computer-aided engineering products. Proper evaluation of lead time is very significant because this helps in the proper analysis of lead time, and the USA-based computer-aided engineering product manufacturing company Applicon can work and implement new strategies accordingly.
Reference
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Website
Applicon (2021), home page, available at https://www.applicon-x.com/company/4[acessed on 19th April].
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