CASE STUDY: Chick-n-Gravy Dinner Line

I. Time Context

May 12 to 16

II. Point of View

The point of view of the case is Ann, the assistant manager and her investigations about the complaint of the supermarket regarding the frozen dinner.

III. Statement of the Problem
The Chick n Gravy Dinner Line formulated two problems and these are the following:
  1. How will the defects be measured and what quality tools will be used?
  2. What should Ana recommend to the manager after knowing the results? 

IV. Objectives
·         To determine the most numbered defect and the most defective product line with the use of quality tools.
·         To address the solution to the manager.

SWOTE Analysis
Strength:
·         Responsible personnel were assigned fast to cure the problem. Based on the case, the firm that produces this Chick-n-Gravy frozen dinners is good on managing customer complaints because right away, after receiving complaints, the manager then ask her assistant to investigate on the complaints and recommend solution.
·         A Frozen dinner firm gives theircustomers a quick healthy dinner that would fit their busy lifestyle.  
·         .Handling on customer complaints and checking on customer satisfaction.
·         Easily detect problems in the production area.
·          Chick-n-Gravy frozen dinner products are improperly sealed, and if frozen dinners are improperly sealed, this may cause shortening of its life and spoilage. 

Weaknesses:

·         The company has too many defective products that had already reached their customers. It means that they don’t have a well-trained Quality Control Engineers or Facilities and operators.

·         Their Maintenance capabilities fall under the Breakdown maintenance that fixes the problem when it arrives rather than Preventive maintenance where in problems is being prevented even if it haven’t arrive yet.

·         Numerous numbers of complaints from the Supermarkets.

·         All sources of problem were found on all production lines that were used for observation purposes.

·         Money, time and effort were wasted because of the outputs that passed the Quality of the company but don’t have good quality at all.

·         Ann had detected the problems but she didn’t find out the main source or contributor of the problem, is it the machines, personnel’s, operators, engineers, facilities or shipment crews.

Opportunity:

·         Raising the quality of the products by means of eliminating the problems.

·         All this time the number of customers of the firm might increase if they already figure that problems are occurring in the production area.

·         Trust for the firm can also be increase.

·         Product Engineers or Quality Control Engineers must be put in the production Area. For a proper inspection must be done every now and then.

·         If the problems had occurred because of the short time span they have, a planner must also be put in place for proper scheduling.

Threat:

·         Other companies might use the defect issues as advantages to grab other supermarkets to buy their brand of products.

·         New products might also take over if supermarkets will return the defective/less Quality outputs that the firm produced.

Environment:

Chick-n-Gravy frozen dinner, Line 1 and Line 2.

Alternative Courses of Actions:

·         Hire new skilled workers and repair or upgrade machines and trained the workers to improve their skills. A Quality Control Engineer must be put in the position.

·         Despite of using Breakdown Maintenance, the firm must use Preventive Maintenance that is proven to more effective and least costly.

·         Conduct another test to detect the source of the problem, the workers, equipment’s/machines or the facilities.

Conclusion:

		Under filled					Missing Item					Spilled/Mixed					Unacc. taste					Improper seal
			#1	#2				#1	#2				#1	#2				#1	#2				#1	#2
Morning			0	1	1			11	0	11			2	2	4			14	7	21			0	5	5
Afternoon			3	1	4			0	7	7			4	6	10			0	1	1			1	5	6
			3	2	5			11	7	18			6	8	14			14	8	22			1	10	11

This gives a breakdown by morning/afternoon as well as Line #1/Line #2. Histograms (totals, morning/afternoon, and Line #1/Line #2) could be constructed to highlight problem areas.

Overall, 70 defects were found, 22 of which were classified as unacceptable taste, making this the most frequent problem. The next most frequent was missing item with 18 occurrences, and then spill/mixed, with 14 occurrences.

Looking more closely at these three categories, we can see that 14 of the 22 unacceptable tastes were accounted for by Line #1 in the morning, and the remainder was Line #2, also in the morning. Line #1 exhibited a similar morning problem: all 11 occurrences were in the morning. Line #2 had all 7 of its occurrences in the afternoon. 10 of 14 occurrences of spill/mixed defects occurred in the afternoon.

In the improper seal category, 10 out of 11 occurrences were for Line #2.

With this the Manager can make a proposal on what problem to eliminate first, the top contributor of problem or vice versa.

Recommendation:

Ann should focus on investigating what might be causing taste problems in the morning on both lines, morning problems on Line #1 for missing items and afternoon problems for Line #2 for missing items. Spill/mixed has afternoon problems on both lines, and there are seal problems on Line #2 throughout the day.

Credits to IEVILLE

CASE STUDY: Morgan's Department Store

I. Time Context

The Time context in the case wasn’t mentioned.

II. Point of View

The point of view of the case is the advantage and disadvantage of Universal Price Code (UPC). It was then compare to the manual system of cashiering. In Addition, the roots of problem in the UPC which is the human error was mentioned.

III. Statement of the Problem

The Morgan’s Department Store had use an automated system in their checkout counters; they had eliminated had reduce the average time of customers in the counter from 4.2 minutes to 3.9 minutes and the human error form the manual method. On the other hand, UPC also involves human efforts because of price encoding and verification. Human error for price encoding is 2.99% while verification has 8%

IV. Objectives

• To determine the accuracy rate of Morgan’s price inputting systems.

• To eliminate/lessen errors brought by human factors.

SWOTE Analysis

Strength:

• The UPC systems lessen the average time of a customer in the cashier also decreasing human error because from doing everything, the operator will just encode and a verifier will check his encodings unlike before where cashier will take efforts to type in the amount manually in the cash register.

• More customers were served because of fast service.

• Less stress for the cashiers and the operators.

• Idle times were lessening because of systematic system of work area.

• Less overhead for the department store was consumed because of systematization.

• Accuracy was heighten-up with the help of UPC and an accurate encoder.

• Less cashiers or counters are needed because of fast service.

• With an accurate encoder and verifier, customer satisfaction will be higher and complaints will be lower.

• Manual method can be a back-up system if server and electricity were down in the department store.

• Easily update prices of products.

• Mistakes can easily be detected.

Weaknesses:

• Additional personnel’s was reassigned or hired to be an encoder and a verifier.

• All customers will have overcharged or undercharged bills if the verifier didn’t notice the mistake of the encoder.

• Additional or new computer will be needed.

• Barcodes that are printed on a torn section of packaging, or that have been smeared, smudged or otherwise damaged, will present additional scanning problems. If the corresponding numeric code is also illegible due to damage, the checkout process can be significantly delayed while another package of the same merchandise is located and brought to the checkout counter for scanning.

• Additional process for putting stickers or printed barcodes on the product itself.

• Cashiers might not easily adapt to the program and to the process.

Opportunities:

• Expansion of the Department Store can easily be done.

• Additional Personnel can be added to secure the verification system and to reach zero error. 

• Preventive maintenance must be implemented to the devices equipment, and machines to prevent breakdown.

• Putting Additional Products will be a breeze and product sales can easily be monitored. Demand or sales can also be forecasted.

Threats:

• Other companies might use much higher tech. and fast technologies with higher accuracy.

• Breakdown of system, scanner, censors, and computers.

• Customer, Insects and Time might damage the codes for scanning.

• When beginning to use bar codes has to train employees, which can be a significant issue if the business is large.

Environment:

The atmosphere of the case is the Morgan’s Department Store examining the advantage and disadvantage of UPC.

Alternative Courses of Actions:

• Hire or reposition another staff to become personnel that verifies the encoded price. That way the 8% of 2% or 0.1472% will be lessen to achieve 0% error.

• Make the Manual method of Pricing be the alternative way if bar coding fails or breakdown.

• Upgrade the System but make sure that the updated version is suits the business.

Conclusion:

Compare to the manual process of pricing the products UPC is systematic, easy to use, can handle bulk number of items and most importantly, it doesn’t consume lots of time. Morgan Department Store must stick with it and furnish it because nowadays a Department Store that uses manual system of pricing will not click to people because a big establishment like this pulls many consumers that are why it’s not advisable for the store to use the manual system.

Recommendation:

For the recommendation, the administration of the Morgan’s Department Store must hire another skillful and knowledgeable staff for encoding and verifying the encoded Prices to ensure accuracy and stabilize the conformance of customers to the whole department store. Of course updating of the system and preventive measures must be done to prevent breakdowns and virus from the software.

Credits to: Orville M. Mancilla
Case Study Blues (IE Masters)

Reflection about THE PARABLE OF THE LOST COIN

Luke 15:8-10

New International Version (NIV)

The Parable of the Lost Coin

8 “Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins[a] and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? 9 And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’10 In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

            The parable shed the worth of the coin that has a special place in the woman’s heart. It’s not the worth of the coin as a currency but the worth of the coin as a belonging or a family to the woman. As if it was her eyes that will made her blind for the rest of her existence if she will not find it as soon as possible. The tremendous effort of the women to find the lost coin was rewarded with joy and compassion when the coin was found. It is the same predicament that I will experience if I lost my pen. I am a writer deep within my heart and soul.  If I lost my pen that currently symbolizes my wit, passion for writing, inspiration and competitiveness; I think I will be stuck in a trap whole that’s full of emptiness and sarcasm. Of course I will do my best just to find my pen, because that pen dictates my future and my life. Without it I’ll be a soldier without a gun, a musician without its music, a sinner without a sin, and a King without its kingdom. I will explore every place that my pen brings me every time I write and imagine. Despite the hardships that I am willing to give just to find my pen, I will find other pens along the way but I won’t accept it because the pen that I was looking for has a special part in my life, that pen encrypted substantial efforts and legacy along my journey. I posses the values and experience that I had gone through so finding it would reward me the essence of joy and fulfillment. As if I find a lost family member or I’m Captain Hook who misses Peter Pan after a long time he stops bothering me. As if I’m Squidward who feels awful without SpongeBob Squirming around and shouting I’m READY every day.

            The Parable of the Lost Coin, Lost Sheep and the Lost Son all commemorate the ingredients of God’s loving Mercy and salvation for his people. Lost individuals will be lost but along the God will serve as a light that will guide them through their way home. They will be happy because they were able to come back safe and sound but the highest level of happiness can be found on God’s heart. He had lost some descendant but he is so proud getting them back. These descendants had been crafted will spiritual virtues, experiences and emotions along their way, they are the ones that feel awkward or misunderstood at times but with the journey they had been through. God is happy because he knows that even though his sheep’s might be lost again, He will be confident that they will find their way again cause they believe in a vision and they have the same heart bit.

            In conclusion, we are sinners but God will always help us repent our sins. We might be lost but God will make a way specially made for us.

 Issue.Jan.2013