Research contribution summary
The article, Manufacturing Capacity Planning Strategies, by Ceryan Koren reviews the aspects of flexible capacities and balancing the optimal quality equation as part of the cost management strategy while optimizing resources. The primary variables in the investigation are capacity management, planning, flexibility, and costing.
Through the secondary survey, the author indicated that capacity planning is very significant in managing the process of manufacturing since it results in cost effectiveness, proactive production flexibility, and sustainable management of the entire production process. The article indicates that the capacity planning process should be inclusive of the scientific aspects such as a technical process of understanding the operations involved in operations management, their application, and evaluation criteria.
Koren (2014) established that capacity planning systems should incorporate planning, development, implementation, and discovery. Reflectively, the process should captures organization chart, status reports, process map, compliance requirements, review structure, activities, dates, and resources employed within a specified period of time in manufacturing. When properly balance, Koren (2014) notes that capacity planning system is likely to remain efficient due to consultative decision science which ensures that sustainability of the manufacturing process is guaranteed.
For instance, there should be a performance tracking system which monitors the costs of running the manufacturing process, the time it takes to complete each production schedule, and the general flow of activities from one unit to another. The above aspects highlighted by the author are critical in guaranteeing effective and sustainable capacity planning to ensure that the manufacturing process meets the basic operation efficiency matrix.
How the research can be used for an operations management decision
All manufacturing companies aim at ensuring that capacity planning achieves optimal production levels at the least possible cost. For instance, the unstable standard of capacity planning may have detrimental impacts on the turnaround times. When the system is not quality oriented, the entire chain coordinating different activities in the production line would result in unstable operations. Although operations management systems experience constant metamorphosis as a result of short term, midterm, and long term goal planning, no company can operate efficiently without quality capacity planning since it determines the level of efficiency. Thus, quality will quantify optimal functional within a competitive advantage parameter for the company.
In order to achieve quality capacity planning in manufacturing, the forms of production system monitoring should be periodically upgraded to introduce multiple operating system models such as ratio analysis in operation management, which is compatible with tracking and analysis the flexibility, optimality, and cost effectiveness of the manufacturing process. Basically, the capacity planning systems should include the aspects of cost, dependability, speed, quality, and flexibility. These variables determine success or failure in production management. These variables are achievable through value delivery, value addition, and creativity in the planning for the right capacity as indicated by the author.
High standard operations management score acts as the engine that supports implementers of business strategy in order to comprehensively verify rationale for supporting current, predicted, and actual results for every step upon introduction of a functional system in the production schedule. Thus, a company has to track the decision science, optimal operations, and cost effectiveness to ensure that the production process is profitable and sustainable.
As suggested in the article, the aspect of capacity planning may be ideal when internalized within the Six-Sigma model since it promotes efficiency in production on a timescale basis against periodic feedbacks, which track the progress and sustainability. For successful outcomes, there is need to increase the utilization of every stage of the processes from inventory control to shipping. All the delivery requirements must be satisfied on the negotiated contracts available to increase the returns. This leaves no chance for any inefficiency in the production capacity.
Reference
Koren, C. (2014). Manufacturing capacity planning strategies. Manufacturing Technology, 58(3), 403–406.