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Answers

1. Enumerate & Explain Sonams main problem before the re-engineering process.1. Improper scheduling was the main problem for Sonam before the re-engineering

process .Thus it could not respond properly to the demand of customized product

orders and hence found it difficult to keep up with customers and market demand

and remain competitive. The market had become extremely competitive where cost,

quality and rapid delivery were keys to survival.

Sonam was unable to involve in complex manufacturing process due to improper

scheduling. Fabrics were sourced from limited places, quality checks were not done,

cut and sewn were also not done as per the customers specifications. The plant was

of inadequate efficiency because of ineffective planning of pre production and post

production activities. During change in orders while build time to setup (change in

styles) for new order the unit was idle for long time costing money to the company.

Planning of order, grouping them in terms of fabric, color, style and doing line

balancing which are essential to the efficiency of the process were not being

done properly leading to improper scheduling. Also the WIP buffer was not managed

properly which was essential to be increased for scheduling and optimizing the

process. The high levels WIP levels were hard to keep down whose storage costs

money and created no value for the company. The different departments were

also poorly coordinated which hindered the optimization of manufacturing process.

2. Explain the three main types of information that Sonams managers can nowreceive from DISHA. Why are these types of information so important in the

management of a manufacturing company?

2. Three main types of information that Sonams managers can now receive fromDISHA are as follows

a) Scheduling - the system considers the capacity of each line and determines thequantity of different materials it needs and when for optimal operation. This

information is important in the management as it helps respond properly to the

demand of customized product orders and remain competitive. It helps in

improving efficiency of the process by planning order, grouping them in terms offabric, color, and style and doing line balancing. Besides it also helps in the

reduction of idle time and less loss to the company.

b) Ability to balance all manufacturing parameters (machine efficiency, inventorylevels and on time delivery) It is important in the management as it helps in

quantifying the decisions taken and thus getting rid of guesswork and the risk

factor. This leads to less ambiguous and better production and cost savings. An

example could be taken of a supervisor who decide the WIP level with respect to

its effect on output, manufacturing cycle and time on delivery keeping in mind

whether additional inventory is worth the reduction in cycle time. It helps in

reduction of WIP.

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c) Analyze and improve the efficiency of the whole plant It helps in the reductionof lead time which is the main goal of the company. Reduction in lead time which

is total time taken for the series of activities to finish. This information is

important because it includes planning, acquisition of materials and production.

It helps to maintain lower inventory and achieve customer satisfaction and hence

better profits. It however alone does not help in lead time reduction,

streamlining the product line, real time dispatching and production floor

feedback are also needed for the same.

3. Besides its day to day support, the system is a powerful simulation tool. What willyou simulate with it and for what purpose?

3. The DISHA capacity scheduling system is a powerful simulation tool for SonamApparel. It can be simulated with the Scheduling and Capacity Planning of the

company i.e., we can forecast our production results based on some information

available to us using the system and schedule and plan in an efficient way. It can beused for many purposes though. We thus can simulate the actual production process

in real time for information available of/about various options which leads to better

decision making in a particular situation in the apparel manufacturing scenario.

The company has to respond to demand for customized item orders, but it can only

spare to do so if it is able to clearly understand what impact the order will have

other orders. This makes the system so essential for the company.

If I were to simulate it I would take the following measures to use it

a) Capacity planningWe can use the information/data available to plan the capacity utilization. We

can decide as to what resources are available to us and where it is feasible to use

them (how and where to use). This would help in calculation of the machines,

material used, labour used, factory cycle time, etc. This will give the actual

scenario of the capacity of the plant and the orders/styles running and the

resources being used/capacity utilization. This will lead to better pre and post

production planning. Also it will help in avoiding idle time on the machines which

is a cost to the company.

b) SchedulingWe can source fabric from different places in little time at cheap prices or at leastin right time, plan the schedule for production ahead of time and thus follow

customer specifications. This would give a detailed description of the production

floor by considering the capacity of each line and determine what quantity of

materials/resources are needed, where they are needed for optimum

production. This will lead to better scheduling and better utilization of resources,

less WIP levels in output, and shorter lead time and in some cases even better

quality.

c) Analyze and improve the efficiency of the whole plantThis could be used to balance various manufacturing parameters (machine

efficiency, inventory levels and on time delivery). This would help in betterdecision making by quantifying decisions, eliminating guesswork. This leads to

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less ambiguous and better production and cost savings. This will lead to better

use of WIP and lead time reduction along with many other things. We can

observe and monitor what processes are going on and in case any process is not

working in a desired manner/as planned we can alter the process by reviewing with

the help of the system.

d) Reduction of lead timeLead time is the total time taken for the completion of an order. We can reduce

the lead time by using the system. We may need to work other factors which

affect as well. This would help in achieving lower inventory and customer

satisfaction. Besides, the morale of the company will be boosted as it will mean

more orders and better profits.

e) Reducing WIP and inventoriesExcess WIP and inventories are inevitable loss in most cases. The high levels WIP

levels have storage costs and create no value for the company. Inventories also

become costly if not utilized properly. We can try only to reduce them to a

minimum. We can minimise these by managing WIP buffer at the output of themanufacturing process and operating subsequent work sectors in a made to

order mode.

f) Better Inter-departmental communication.Inter-departmental communication is crucial for the better planning and

execution of orders and reduction of lead time. For the change in styles and

product specifications the departments should have a clear idea. This will avoid

the blames being put on each other and better functioning.