Effects_of_Quality_Management_at_Riordan_Manufacturing

Effects of Quality Management at Riordan Manufacturing Organizations must apply Total Quality Management (TQM) to their processes to be successful. In the business world in which competition is increasing, managers must sustain proficient and effective control of operations; along with accentuate a quality culture. This paper explains a process at Riordan Manufacturing involving the input-main action-output process to produce plastic bottles and the domestic and global effects of that competitive product. Organization Overview Riordan Manufacturing, Inc., headquartered in San Jose, California is a manufacturer of plastic products distributed globally and is completely-owned by Riordan Industries. The company employs 550 people throughout its manufacturing plants and contains facilities in four areas; San Jose, California, where the company originated to perform research and development (R&D), along with Albany, Georgia, Pontiac, Michigan, and Hangzhou, China. Riordan Manufacturing is a reputable leader in its industry, producing custom plastic parts, plastic fan parts, and plastic beverage containers. Its customers are consumers, manufacturers, and businesses, in the automotive, aircraft, appliance, bottlers, and beverage makers industries and the Department of Defense. Riordan Manufacturing is known for their competence in modern and inventive designs created with precision, in conjunction with integrating a Six Sigma approach and exceeding ISO 9000 standards. Quality is applied from the time materials arrive at the plants, through the manufacturing process, to the process of delivery, and even on pricing to complete customer satisfaction. Input- Main Action- Output Process One of the main areas of production for Riordan Industries is plastic beverage containers. This manufacturing began in 1993 when the company acquired a bottle manufacturing plant in Albany, Georgia. The function of the Albany plant is to transform raw materials into plastic bottles to meet yearly orders from customers by delivering smaller quantities against the total order throughout the year. The manufacturing process proceeds as follows: The Receiving Department receives the raw materials from various suppliers needed to produce the bottle. These include high-density polyethylene (HDPE) plastic pellets; cardboard; adhesives; ink; solvent cleaners; lubricating oils; mold release agents; electricity; natural gas; and light bulbs. After removal of off-spec raw materials, the Molding Department uses its resident machinery; the HDPE pellets; lubricating oils; solvent cleaners’ mold release agents’ electricity and natural gas to produce molded parts according to customer specifications that are then sent on to the Trimming Department. The quality department monitors operations at this point to eliminate non-acceptable production. Employees collect and reuse scrap plastics. They manage other non-consumed raw materials as solid waste at this point. The Trimming Department operates its equipment; lubricating oils; solvent cleaners; electricity; and natural gas to trim and finish the bottles and send them on to the Labeling Department. Once again, a quality check ensures proper production and formation. Riordan’s employees dispose of non-consumed raw materials and collect and reprocess scrap plastics to reduce wastes. Most customer orders require labels or logos of some kind. The machinery in the Labeling Department exploits the ink supplying this service along with; lubricating oils; solvent cleaners; electricity and natural gas. Finished bottles sent on to the Packaging Department are the output of the product here. Team members assist in the inspection process to attain quality conditions on all packaged products. Employees collect and dispose of any un-consumed raw materials at this stage as solid waste. The Packaging Department uses the cardboard and adhesive to assemble boxes that the empty and labeled plastic bottles are arranged in. Cleaning of the bottles will be done by the customer before using the bottles. Riordan manufacturing boxes the bottle caps separately. Team members seal the box with more adhesive and print a bar code on the box identifying the recipient. Employees verify the information to make certain everything is correct. This Packaging Department makes use of cardboard boxes; adhesives; ink; lubricating oils; solvent cleaners; electricity and natural gas. Riordan workers collect and handle waste appropriately and send the boxed bottles onto shipping. The Shipping Department scans the printed barcode placed on the box during packaging and then stamps a shipping address onto the surface of the box using ink. The workers continue the process by placing the box in the correct area of the loading dock where a third party carrier, the Huffman Trucking Company handles deliveries. Employees collect and remove all solid waste. Accurate processing provides positive effects domestically and globally. Domestic Effects The Albany, GA facility negotiates contracts produced with purchasers for yearly quantities of standard and customer unique bottles. However, rather than ordering in bulk quantities that equate to the yearly totals, customers send release orders for smaller quantities throughout the year (Brain Mass, 2009). To ensure there will not be shortages in raw materials while fulfilling customers’ orders, Riordan Manufacturing keeps a safety stock of raw materials. This enables the organization to “provide total customer satisfaction in terms of meeting committed ship dates. The Albany plant uses metrics to keep track of its performance. These metrics include the amount of late deliveries, the amount of time the shipments were late, and the reasons” (Brain Mass, 2009, para. 23). Riordan Manufacturing averages a 96% on-time level of shipped products with some of the shipping delays caused by adverse weather conditions, which were beyond its’ control. Riordan Manufacturing’s main mission is “to be the leader in innovation by focusing on R&D. In the past, the company was the first to identify trends and continues to do so in the future by spending above and beyond the competition on R&D” (Supply Chain (R&D), 2008.). The organization focuses on building and preserving its relationships with customers all over the United States, at the same time being a responsible partner with local communities to improve the quality of life for all (Strategic Plan Management, 2009). The more consumers Riordan serves the better. Global Effects Delivering products globally for Riordan Manufacturing can tend to be a difficult process because the company only has one factory outside the United States in Hangzhou, China. Riordan Manufacturing established the China factory as a joint venture and a starting point for Riordan’s global business. This Chinese affiliation provides Riordan Manufacturing with a competitive advantage in that country through cultural recognition, legal knowledge, pricing competency, and business relationships. The cost of worldwide distribution raises concerns because of the price of shipping. Shipping the plastic bottles can become rather expensive and not because of the weight of the item but the bulk of the item and the shipping material needed to ship such a large item. Dealing with an international shipping company like Huffman Trucking that operates in the Unites States is vital to maintain reliability and consistent shipping rates. After shipping the item, Riordan Manufacturing ensures a tracking system for the global customers to attain customer satisfaction. Riordan does not limit global sales and shipments to China, so they developed a system that identifies the closest factory for production and shipping to keep costs down. Another option that would reduce the costs for international customers is for them to pick up the bottles. Financially, global sales at Riordan Manufacturing through customers, manufacturers, and beverage makers industries are a smart move; however, bottle production does not affect the global operations otherwise. Being smart is the determining factors in competing globally with other companies who offer similar products internationally. Riordan Manufacturing is looking to expand operations by opening plastic bottling facilities in several countries. Riordan’s directives for going global with the bottles are customer satisfaction, increased profits, and establishing several factories across the world to assist in higher sales, increase production, increase customer satisfaction, and keep costs to a minimum rather than identifying one factory to handle the global sales. Conclusion TQM assist in making the appropriate changes for successful growth and development. Riordan Manufacturing’s applies a Six Sigma approach and ISO 9000 standards in their operations. The creation of Riordan Manufacturing to satisfy their customers, suppliers, employees, and financial security is done through quality culture practices by the entire organization. The input-main action-output process of manufacturing plastic bottles takes the appropriate steps to ensure total quality (TQ). R&D at Riordan Manufacturing keeps them domestically ahead of the competition, whereas global operations involve the Chinese alliance to provide a competitive advantage in that country. Riordan Manufacturing is exploring international expansion opportunities to enhance the financial benefits of global production and sales. References Brain Mass. (2009). TQM Process Identification and Analysis at Riordan. Retrieved on February 14, 2010 from http://www.brainmass.com/homework-help/business/management/94004/ Strategic Plan Management.(2009). Total Quality Management Plan at Riordan. Retrieved on February 14, 2010 from http://www.oppapers.com/essays/Strategic-Plan-Management/183229 Supply Chain (R&D). (2008). Riordan Manufacturing. Information Technology – Supply Chain. Retrieved February 14, 2010. MGT/449 Quality Management and Productivity. https://ecampus.phoenix.edu/secure/aapd/CIST/VOP/Business/Riordan/Ops/RioOps005.htm