The purpose of this assignment is to test your knowledge of and insight into a section of the contents
of part 3 of your prescribed textbook, “Managing operations and supply chains”.
The chapters covered include chapter 10 (“Capacity management”); chapter 11 (“Process analysis
and resource utilization”); chapter 12 (“Managing inventories in supply chains”); chapter 13 (“Supply
chain management and logistics”); chapter 14 (“Resource management”); and chapter 15 (“Operations
scheduling and sequencing”).
Read the case studies below:
Important Notice:
Some questions in this assignment related to Case study 1.
Some questions in this assignment related to Case study 2.
Some questions in this assignment do not relate to Case study 1 or 2.
Where a question relates to a specific case study, it will be indicated at the beginning of that question.
CASE STUDY 1: LEAN OPERATIONS AT LUXWHEELS
Luxwheels (Pty) Ltd is one of the world’s most prestigious car manufacturers. The “Luxwheels L-Model”
production line is located at its Luxwheels Rosslyn Plant in Pretoria. This specific vehicle competes against
the mid/top end of the BMW 5 Series and Mercedes E class.
The Luxwheels Plant in Rosslyn, Pretoria is an impressive facility with a world-class plant and processes.
The whole facility has recently been refurbished with new equipment for a continuous flow system of
production, based on a “just-in-time” approach. Before migrating to a just-in-time approach, Luxwheels
had specific groups of employees focused on specific processes in the production plant, ordering and
using batches of components for these processes. The work area for a particular process would then be
cluttered with these component batches, resulting in a cramped working environment and little floor space.
1
, The new approach is to cut down stocks of components in the workspace, to only that which is required to
keep production flowing smoothly. Teams press a signal button to call for fresh stocks when they are
required. A quick response from a central store enables new parts to arrive at workstations “just-in-time”
for them to be used. This reduces waste in a number of ways, for example:
less floor space is required
cells are able to work in an uncluttered work area
walking (physically moving about between operations) is minimised
fewer components are damaged due to batches standing around on the workspace floor
One of the greatest measures of improved working systems at Luxwheels, has been to match the supply
of new cars coming off the line at the Luxwheels Rosslyn Plant in Pretoria, to the demand from Luxwheels
customers. Given the demand for Luxwheels cars, production managers are able to calculate the volume
of cars that need to come off the production line in any one week. Produce too few, and Luxwheels will
not be able to meet demand; produce too many, and wastage occurs due to rising inventory levels. The
solution is to run the production line at the optimal speed to match demand patterns while retaining quality.
Towards this end, an ERP system has been implemented which integrates the entire supply chain,
resulting in relevant information appearing immediately to all members of the supply chain.
Adapted from:
http://businesscasestudies.co.uk/case-studies/by-topic/operations.html#operations-new-product-development. Date
of original access: 15 Aug 2014.
CASE STUDY 2: CAPACITY AT ESKOM
Eskom is a South African electricity public utility and the largest producer of electricity in Africa. It generates
approximately 95% of the electricity used in South Africa and approximately 45% of the electricity used in
Africa. Eskom generates, transmits and distributes electricity to industrial, mining, commercial, agricultural
and residential customers and redistributors.
Eskom is currently facing challenges in terms of meeting the rising demand for electricity in South Africa.
In January 2008, Eskom introduced load shedding. Load shedding encompasses planned rolling
blackouts, based on a rotating schedule, during periods when short supply threatens the integrity of the
grid. Demand-side management has focused on encouraging consumers to conserve power during peak
periods, in order to reduce the incidence of load shedding. Additional power stations and major power lines
are being built, with a view to meeting the rising demand.
Adapted from:
http://www.eskom.co.za/OurCompany/CompanyInformation/Pages/Company_Information.aspx. Accessed 15
December 2017.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eskom. Accessed 15 May 2021.
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