Delta Rice Mill
Delta Rice Mill Case Analysis
I Identifications of problems in Delta rice mill operations
After closely look at the case, we find out that there are some problems with Delta rice mill. * The most important issue here is that Delta rice mill still uses old, unreliable equipment to produce its rice products. Old and unreliable equipment means frequent break- down and high maintenance, which is not cost efficient. * The “arbitrary set of rules” that Delta rice mill uses to forecast the upcoming year’s sales is not appropriate, which can be seen from the significant difference between the estimated number and the actual ones. This is the main reason that causes “so many peaks and valleys” in the production schedule. * Another problem in the operations management of Delta rice mill is that “the production workers prefer to dedicate one (packing) line to each size (of pouch)” even though “the packing lines can be adapted to run any one of the various pouch sizes”. Because customer demands for three pouch sizes of rice products are different, this method of allocating each pouch size to each packing line can result in low use of packing lines. * Another problem in the operation is that “the volume of rice being processed is determined by the production schedule for the packing plant”. There are five instant-rice processing lines while there are packaging lines , which means that in order to coordinate with packaging lines, the processing lines may not reach their full capacities.
II Solutions to improve the operation performance in Delta rice mill * Delta rice mill should invest in building a new production line with the latest technology and most advanced production equipment. The brand-new production line would greatly improve the quality of products and productivity. The reduction of overtime, temporary workers and the minimization of down time would cut down the production cost and lower the price. * According to the following chart,
I Identifications of problems in Delta rice mill operations
After closely look at the case, we find out that there are some problems with Delta rice mill. * The most important issue here is that Delta rice mill still uses old, unreliable equipment to produce its rice products. Old and unreliable equipment means frequent break- down and high maintenance, which is not cost efficient. * The “arbitrary set of rules” that Delta rice mill uses to forecast the upcoming year’s sales is not appropriate, which can be seen from the significant difference between the estimated number and the actual ones. This is the main reason that causes “so many peaks and valleys” in the production schedule. * Another problem in the operations management of Delta rice mill is that “the production workers prefer to dedicate one (packing) line to each size (of pouch)” even though “the packing lines can be adapted to run any one of the various pouch sizes”. Because customer demands for three pouch sizes of rice products are different, this method of allocating each pouch size to each packing line can result in low use of packing lines. * Another problem in the operation is that “the volume of rice being processed is determined by the production schedule for the packing plant”. There are five instant-rice processing lines while there are packaging lines , which means that in order to coordinate with packaging lines, the processing lines may not reach their full capacities.
II Solutions to improve the operation performance in Delta rice mill * Delta rice mill should invest in building a new production line with the latest technology and most advanced production equipment. The brand-new production line would greatly improve the quality of products and productivity. The reduction of overtime, temporary workers and the minimization of down time would cut down the production cost and lower the price. * According to the following chart,