BUS439
Test 2
4 Aspects of Process Management
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Design/Re-Design
Our project will be substantially beneficial for Boeing’s Advanced Developmental Composite
Department once completed and linked to their own data. Our simulation will better help the
department’s needs analysis. It will allow management to see, through our simulation, when a certain
mix of projects are being worked on, what resources will be needed and how much of those resources
are being utilized. It will also allow them to approximate cost (including resource use) and time (how
long a project will likely take and when an approximate completion date may be). Instead of doing trial
and error in the factory itself, management is able to do it in the simulation and therefore may save
money by not implementing the design until an efficient and effective one is found.
This tool will help Boeing with LEAN manufacturing because it will effectively show where waste is in the
current system and what is being wasted such as???. Management may then use this information to
shuffle around resources in order to minimize waste and overall save the company money.
Implementation
Our composite simulation will probably be least useful in this area of process management; however it
still will be beneficial. For example, it may benefit various c’s of the “7 c’s of implementation.” These
“c’s” would include cross-functional commitment, clear communication, and competent project
management. It will help cross-functional commitment because management will be able to play around
with the Arena simulation and either move around resources (employees) or expand the types of jobs
that each resource can work on. Communication will be clearer because management will actually have
a good idea of what should be going on in the factory simply by running the Arena simulation with the
correct current data. With management knowing how busy each resource should be and approximate
timelines they will be able to communicate clearer to both employees and waiting customers. This
ability to essentially foresee what should be happening in the factory will also allow management to be
more competent because they will have an idea of where the projects should be at in production at a
given point of time and which resources should be busy and which should be free. It will save time for
both management and employees because they will have a knowledgeable foundation of the factory’s
operations.
Management/Control
Management/Control will also see benefit from this project. They will benefit in the areas of resource
(employee) training, evaluation/assessment, and accountability. Employee training will benefit because
the simulation will show how much an employee should be utilized as well as where the backups and
holds should be taking place. If you go through an employee’s documentation of what they have been
working on and they have a significantly greater utilization rate, then management may investigate to
see why this is happening. Management’s investigation may show that it is taking the employee
significantly longer to perform the same job as other employees which can help this area in a few ways.
This information may indicate that management needs to give this employee more training in the areas
they are slower, can help with management evaluations and assessments of employees, and can help
with employee accountability. This tool will allow management to get a better idea of what their
employees should be doing and how much they should be doing with the given project mix and based
on the results can help management with various functions. This could ultimately help management
make firing/promoting decisions and help them put the best resource mix out on the floor.
The Boeing Company continually displays quality management throughout the thousands of company
segments. This quality management gives their employees regular evaluations and training. This
simulation project will give Boeing’s management an additional tool to assess evaluations and training
sessions and therefore, the project can be expected to help improve and evolve their management and
control.
Continuous Improvement
The Arena simulation we are creating may also help management with continuous improvement if used
appropriately. Management may use the tool to see how resources are being utilized at the current time
and then modify the simulation such as by moving around resources, adding/taking away resources,
changing work schedules, and modifying processes until their modifications create a superior output.
When the modifications create a positive change in the simulation output, management can implement
these changes in the factory with the idea that the factory outputs will see a positive change as well.
This will help the company continue to improve their production efficiency and help them continue to
lead the commercial airplane industry.
This expected effect will be supported by Boeing’s mission, vision, and strategy. The Boeing Company is
always trying to improve and maintain its recognition as the leader in the commercial airplane industry.
They are continually creating tools to allow them to continually improve. Because of this, it can be
expected that Boeing will effectively use this tool we have created to further improve the Advanced
Developmental Composites department.
Overall Benefits
Overall this project could help Boeing immensely. Once it is linked to spreadsheets containing their
current data, it may help determine their workforce, work schedules and which projects they should
take on and which they shouldn’t. This will overall help save them both time and money by optimizing
the production system as a whole and eliminating factory waste (LEAN). It will also help them with
customer relations because the simulation will give them an idea of when each project should be
completed and how the estimated completion date will be effected by additionally accepted projects.
This will also allow Boeing to give their customers timely updates completion date changes which may
help retain customers and gain new ones.
With the countless benefits Boeing can get from our simulation project, a simple cost benefit analysis
would easily convince their upper management to invest in Arena Simulation software in order to fully
utilize our project and be able to continue to benefit from it.