Continuous Improvement - Case Study For Precision Engineering Works

Precision Engineering Works Private Limited (PEW) is an original equipment manufacturer specialising in plastic moulding parts for the telecommunication industry. They have been servicing the industry for almost 30 years and their customers include major telecommunication service providers. Due to its reputation, PEW have become a very successful company.

However, as this industry is seen as a very lucrative market, many new suppliers have begun to emerge. This is having serious implications for PEW. It is more difficult to win new contracts as their customers are able to explore options with other suppliers. Additionally, the competitors are also providing better pricing than PEW. These factors combined have eroded PEW’s profitability by almost 45%. As more suppliers are flooding the market, many of PEW’s experienced employees have opted to join the new players.

PEW’s senior management are concerned with the recent developments and are looking at ways to improve and once again become the preferred supplier to their customers. To this effect, PEW has engaged your company to provide some advice on overcoming the above issues. The management team is willing to provide all necessary support to turnaround the situation. They want all issues to be resolved within three (3) months.

1. As a business improvement consultant, you and your team (including members fromPEW) have only three (3) months to correct the situation. You would need to:

1. Identify the root cause(s) that lead to the problems using appropriate tools andtechniques.
2. Develop a continuous improvement plan to ensure the problems and issues are not repeated.
3. Elaborate on the competencies required from PEW management and employees to effectively bring about the change. 

2. You must show evidence of using at least seven tools and techniques that you havelearnt from this unit to address question (i) above.

3. You may refer to the Project Quality Management from PMBOK, PRINCE2 or any otherquality management systems such as ISO9000 series, TQM (Total Quality Management), Six Sigma / Lean Six Sigma etc to devise your continuous improvement plan.

Precision engineering works private limited (PEW) is the manufacturing company which focuses on developing the plastic parts required for the telecommunication industry. The increasing rate of new suppliers has affected the profit earned by the enterprise. The company is not able to manage their existing contracts and developing new contracts because the market competitors are providing the equipment and tools at lower price than the PEW organization. The top executives of the organization are looking forward to improve the business operation plan with the aim of increasing turnover and profitability of the enterprise.

The aim of this paper is to analyse the root cause of the project failure and developing the continuous improvement plan for emphasising the growth of the company.

The objectives of the project are as follows:

Identification of the root cause for the decreasing rate of product sale

Development of the continuous improvement plan

Analysis of the risks associated with the project

Management of the required resources

Forecasting the success matrix of the proposed project

The identification of root cause helps in developing the effective plan for increasing the profitability of the enterprise. The evaluation of the case study focuses that the PEW Company is not having effective marketing tools and technologies to explore the features of their product in the eyes of the customers. The company is not indulging communication tools and technologies for managing the good and healthy relationship between the internal and external stakeholders. The limitation of the communication tools and incorporation of the social media platform for marketing and managing flow of information is the major cause of the project failure. The market is changing with the involvement of the new trends and technologies. The customers get attracted towards the companies which are using new technologies. The emergence of the new suppliers increases the level of competition for the PEW organization because the newer suppliers make use of advanced technologies to develop new contracts and attracts customers. The PEW Company is working on the old platform of communication. The organization has no tools and technologies to know the changing requirement, feedback and review of the customers. The market analysis is not conduct by the organization to analyse the difference in the cost which occurred in the price of the PEW products and the newer supplier products. The price of the product should be fixed after analysing the quality and market price of the similar equipment. Some of the major root causes of the project failure are highlighted below:

Project Objectives

No means of technologies for promoting the features and quality of the equipment developed by the organization

Inefficient communication system between the internal and external employees.

No analysis of the market price of the developed equipment

No good and healthy relationship with the customers

No analysis of the feedback and reviews of the customers on the quality of the equipment (Rabechini,  and Carvalho, 2013)

No program for identifying the new technologies and marketing trends incorporated by the competitors

No tools for promoting the equipment in the eyes of the customers

No development of the recognised brand name for the manufactured equipment

The tools and technologies which help in identifying the problems, gaps, and issues existed with the current working structure of the PEW organization are as follows:

Control Charts: The control charts are prepared for analysing the change in process with the passage of time. The average is drawn from analysing the upper and the lower limit of the control structure used for developing the process control block (Rauber, 2014). The control charts are developed for analysing and monitoring of the quality. The behaviour of the process can be effectively noted down from the developed process chart. The efficiency of the manufacturing process can be analysed by the control charts.

(Source: Rabechini, R., and Carvalho, M. (2013). Understanding the impact of project risk management on project performance: an Empirical study)

Data Tables: The data tables are prepared for division of work between the internal and external stakeholders to effectively achieved the project goal and objectives.

Histogram: The histogram is used for analysing the numerical data of the process. The histogram is used for analysing the continuous data to identifying the gaps and flaws in the process structure.

(Kharaiweish, (2013). Project Monitoring and control measures)

Cause and effect Diagram: The cause and effect diagrams are prepared for analysing the effect on the project goal and objectives by the amalgamative contribution of process, people, machinery, and technology on the development process cycle.

(Moujib and Aziz. (2017). Lean Project management)

Pareto Analysis: The pareto investigation is used for analysing the supply chain management system undertaken by the organization for managing the flow of inventory.

(Source: Jovanovic, F., Milijic, N., Dimitrova, M., Mihajlovic, I. (2016). Risk management impact assessment on the success of strategic investment projects.

Check Sheet: The check sheets are prepared by reviewing the requirement specification plan developed by the project owner for the improvement of the project working operational plan. It helps in analysing the status of the process control block developed for achieving the project goal (Andrades, Barco, Serrano, and Oliver, 2016).

Identification of the root cause

 (Otieno, F. (2014). The role of monitoring and evaluation in projects)

Scatter Diagram: The scatter diagram is used for analysing the profit earned by the organization with the deployment of change management strategy.  

(Source: Google Image)

The following table shows the assumptions which are made for the successful implementation of the social media platform in the working curriculum of the enterprise.

Table 1

Assumptions	Description
Knowledge, skills, and expertise of the working staff members	It can be assumed that the working employees of the company are having expertise in managing the communication and operational plan of the project
No training and Development program required	. No extra cost is incurred on managing the training and development program for the working employees
No Resistance from the employees	It can be assumed that the employee put no resistance for bringing change in their working tactics. The employees happily accepted the implementation of continuous improvement plan for the betterment of the company
No effect to the employees capability	It can be assumed that the capabilities of the employees will not be affected by the change in technology and working structure
Completion of the project within the approved cost and time	Working curriculum of the continuous improvement plan should be completed within the approved cost and time

The continuous improvement plan is the set of activities which helps in providing effective solution to the top executives for increasing the profit of the enterprise. The focus should be given on analysing the problem domain in the implementation of the social networking communication platform within the working structure of the enterprise (Yang, Yu, Ma, 2008). The proactive mitigation plan should be developed for promoting and managing the complexities of the undertaken project in the project initialization phase so that the uncertainties associated with the project can be significantly minimized and the project can be successfully completed within the given time and cost framework. The continuous improvement plan is prepared by undergoing the PDCA cycle which focuses on four tasks which are classified as plan, do, act, and check (Ren, Ling, Wei, Fan, 2015). The PDCA cycle development for the project is shown below:

Plan	Do	Act	Check
Identification of problems Systematic review of business problem Analysis of gaps and flaws	Development of business strategy Management of risks identified	The follow-up of action plan should be developed for managing the problems effectively and resolving the issues of complexities	Quality control and checklist should be prepared for monitoring the project completion with the expected outcome

The implementation of the social networking platform in the working environment of the enterprise is comprised of various risks, complexities, uncertainties, and issues. The proactive identification of the uncertainties helps in managing the risks effectively. The focus should be given on analysing the risks severity and risks likelihood to set priority and associated ranking of the risks so that the measure of impact on the working process can be analysed and systematically mitigation plan can be prepared effectively. The table below shows the identified risks with its related severity, likelihood, ranking, and impact on the business performance.

Table 2

Problems Identified	Problems Severity	Problems Likelihood	Problems Rankings	Problems Impact	Description
Inefficiency of the employees in adopting the social networking platform for managing communication	3	2	5	Medium	The employees are not having required skills, talents, and expertise in dealing with the program of social networking program for managing operational plan of the enterprise
Resistance from the employees in changing their existing working tactics	4	4	8	High	The employees are not ready to change their traditional way of working. The capabilities and throughput of the employees get affected with the deployment of new technologies (Krahn, and Hartment, 2006)
No proper training program	2	1	3	Low	The good and efficient trainer is not available to guide the epmoyees for using the social networking platform
Overrunning of the project cost due to the training and development program	3	2	5	Medium	The deployment of the training and development program for the employees can increased the estimated cost of the project
Technical Risks (Failure of hardware, software, and network)	3	3	6	High	The failure of the hardware, software, and network connectivity will slower down the process of manufacturing because it can resist the exchange of information between the working units of the organization
Social risks	4	3	7	High	The employees waste their crucial working time in doing informal communication through the use of social networks which can affect their performance and completion of the project on time
Time management risks	2	3	5	Medium	The project is not completed on time due to the inefficiencies of the employees in doing their given tasks on time
Confidentiality risks	3	1	4	Medium	The loss of confidentiality is the major risks in deploying the social network because the third party or the hacker can hack the confidential information of the organization (Kharaiweish, 2013)
Loss of data	2	4	6	High	The failure of the hardware, software, and network connectivity can result in the loss of data if the backup support of database is not maintained by the organization
Loss of reliability and accuracy of information	3	4	7	High	The information exchange between the employees can be modified and manipulated which can results into the reliability and accuracy of the information
Employee throughput					The capabilities and throughput of the employees get affected with the deployment of new technologies which can have a direct impact on the business operational plan and manufacturing process of the product

Table 3

Problems Identified	Action taken
Inefficiency of the employees in adopting the social networking platform for managing communication	The training and development program should be arranged for the existing employees so that they can improve their skills and expertise according to the requirement of managing communication through the social networking platform  (Moujib and Aziz, 2017)
Resistance from the employees in changing their existing working tactics	The employees should be motivated and guided for using the new trends and technologies to improve their skills according to the rising demand of the market (Otieno, 2014)
No proper training program	The trainee from the external environment should be hired which have a deep knowledge of social networking environment (Jovanovic, Milijic, Dimitrova, Mihajlovic, 2016)
Overrunning of the project cost due to the training and development program	The development of the budget should include the cost of training and development program arranged for the employees
Technical Risks (Failure of hardware, software, and network)	The backup database should be managed for resolving the complexities of technical failure hardware, software, and network connectivity program (Gegana, and Agirachman, 2017)
Social risks	The employees should be guided for following ethical code of conduct in the working environment. They should not waste their crucial working hours in carrying out informal conversation with the colleague (Lindh, 2012)
Time management risks	The project manager should estimate correct duration for completing the task within the given specified time (Kharaiweish, 2013)
Confidentiality risks	The network security procedures and methods of cryptography should be used for encrypting and decrypting the message at the sender and receiver end for maintaining the confidentiality of the information
Loss of data	Backup database should be managed for overcoming the complexities of data loss. The cryptographic procedures should be laid down for preserving the data loss during the message transfer between the sender and receiver
Loss of reliability and accuracy of information	The third party can manipulate and modifies the data which can affect the reliability and accuracy of the information
Employee throughput	The employees capability can be improved by giving training and development program

The resources required for the project are described in the table below:

Table 4

Resources	No. of units
Hardware	20
Software	According to the requirement
Network connectivity	According to the requirement
Project Manager	1
Project Designer	1
System Analyst	1
Technical assistant	1
Project Sponsors	1
Communication manager	1
Financial Manager	1
Quality Manager	1

The follow up action plan should be prepared for analysing the completion of the project activities according to the requirement of the project. The following table shows the follow up action plan:

Table 5

Stakeholders	When	How	Whom	Status of the activities
Project Manager	During the project initialization and planning phase	Email Formal Meetings Round table Conversation Audio and Video conferencing Newsletters Telephonic conversation	Project Owner Project Partners Project Sponsors	Completion of the project schedule, resource management plan, and communication plan (Bergmen, Fundin, Gremyr, and Johansson, 2002)
Project Designer	During the project design phase	Email Formal Meetings Round table Conversation Audio and Video conferencing Newsletters Telephonic conversation	Project Manager System analyst	Completion of the project design for the implementation of social networking project
System Analyst	During the project design and execution phase	Email Formal Meetings Round table Conversation Audio and Video conferencing Newsletters Telephonic conversation	Project Manager Technical assistant	Completion of analysis report of system requirement
Technical assistant	During the project execution phase	Face to face Email Telephonic conversation	System analyst	Completion of analysis report of technical system requirement
Project Sponsors	During the project initiation phase	Email Formal Meetings Round table Conversation Audio and Video conferencing Newsletters Telephonic conversation	Project Manager Project Owner	Successful provision of funds and budget
Communication manager	Through the project	Email Formal Meetings Round table Conversation Audio and Video conferencing Newsletters Telephonic conversation	Project Manager	Successful management of the communication
Financial Manager	During the project initiation and planning phase	Email Formal Meetings Round table Conversation Audio and Video conferencing Newsletters Telephonic conversation	Project Manager	Complete, In-process, and Processed
Quality Manager	During the project implementation phase	Email Formal Meetings Round table Conversation Audio and Video conferencing Newsletters Telephonic conversation	Project Manager	Meet the quality standard or ot

The innovative change in the business environment can be deployed in the working curriculum of the enterprise by implementing Six sigma lean project management principles (Bejesthani, 2010). The business strategy for developing continuous improvement plan is described in five phase processes of Six sigma lean project management principles which are classified in the table below:

Application of tools and technologies

Table 6

Lean Six Sigma project process	Description
Define	The problems identified in the existing structure of the PEW company should be clearly defined to take effective decision for improving the curriculum of the enterprise
Measure	The impact of the risks identified should be measured for setting priority to the action plan
Analyse	The efficiency of the mitigation plan should be forecasted so that the areas of improvement can be noticed for managing the uncertainties of the project
Improve	The areas of improvement should be given privilege for developing for improvement plan so that the project can be successfully completed
Control	The control measures and principles should be developed for the systematic flow of information between the different units of the project

(Source: Created by author)

The technical management plan should be prepared for systematic implementation of the social networking platform in the existing architecture of the company (Thamhain, 2011). It focuses on the following areas:

Exploration of the concept

Managing technical framework

Managing system requirement

Optimizing component level design

Development of software coding

Development of validation strategy

Analysis of system verification plan

Development of unit testing plan

Upgrading the required changes

Reviewing technical performance (Kolibacova, 2014)

The following figure shows the detailed structure of the technical management plan implemented by the PEW organization for improving the current working structure of the enterprise:

(Source: Krahn, J., and Hartment, F. (2006). Effective project leadership: A combination of project manager skills and competencies in context)

The leadership plays an important role in managing coordination, collaboration, and communication in the work flow architecture of the team members (Singh and Singh, 2014). The leadership quality of the project manager provides following benefits:

Helps in managing grievances of the employees

Manage coordination

Manage cooperation

Manage Collaboration

Focuses on quality standard

Managing communication

Take effective decision in complex situation

Active participation of the employees

Flexibility in adapting changes in the project plan

Increasing efficiency and throughput of the employees by positive motivation (Marion, Richardson, Earnhardt, 2016)

Conclusion

The uncertainties and complexities of the PEW organization are resolved by identifying the root cause of risks. The assumptions should be made by analysing the operational working of the enterprise. The deployment of Lean project methodology and the systematic approach of PDCA cycle helps in achieving the project successfully. 

References

Andrades, A., Barco, R., Serrano, I., and Oliver, P. (2016). Automatic root cause analysis based on traces for self-organizing networks. International conference on wireless networks, 23(3). Retrieved from https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/7498071

Bejesthani, H. (2010). Project suggestion planning process.International conference on education and management technology . Retrieved from https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/5657655

Bergmen, B, Fundin, A., Gremyr, I., and Johansson, P. (2002). Beyond root cause analysis. International conference on annual reliability and maintainability. Retrieved from https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/981632

Gegana, A., and Agirachman, F. (2017). File and team management on remotely worked building information modelling project. International conference on research and innovation in information system. Retrieved from https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8002446

Jovanovic, F., Milijic, N., Dimitrova, M., Mihajlovic, I. (2016). Risk management impact assessment on the success of strategic investment projects. Journal of springer, 13(5). Retrieved from https://www.uni-obuda.hu/journal/Jovanovic_Milijic_Dimitrova_Mihajlovic_69.pdf

Kharaiweish, M. (2013). Project Monitoring and control measures. International Journal of computer science and information technology, 5(5). Retrieved from https://airccse.org/journal/jcsit/5513ijcsit03.pdf

Kolibacova, G. (2014). The relationship between competency and performance. International journal of management, Vol. 62. Retrieved from https://acta.mendelu.cz/media/pdf/actaun_2014062061315.pdf

Krahn, J., and Hartment, F. (2006). Effective project leadership: A combination of project manager skills and competencies in context. International conference on new direction in project management. Retrieved from https://www.pmi.org/learning/library/leadership-project-manager-skills-competencies-8115

Lindh, C. (2012). How does information technology impact on business relationships? The need for personal meetings. 1st ed. [ebook]. Retrieved from https://www.impgroup.org/uploads/papers/6732.pdf

Marion, J., Richardson, T., Earnhardt, M. (2016). Project execution: A Research agenda to explore the phenomenon. International journal of modern project management, 4(1). Retrieved from https://www.journalmodernpm.com/index.php/jmpm/article/view/177

Moujib and Aziz. (2017). Lean Project management. 1^st ebook. Retrieved from https://www.pmi.org/learning/library/lean-project-management-7364

Otieno, F. (2014). The role of monitoring and evaluation in projects. 1st ed. [ebook]. Retrieved from https://www.irbnet.de/daten/iconda/CIB8942.pdf  

Rabechini, R., and Carvalho, M. (2013). Understanding the impact of project risk management on project performance: an Empirical study. Journal of technology management and innovation, Vol. 8. Retrieved from https://scielo.conicyt.cl/pdf/jotmi/v8s1/art06.pdf

Rauber, J. (2014). A Critical analysis of quality management. 1^st ebook. Retrieved from https://www.ijmp.jor.br/index.php/ijmp/article/view/121/379

Ren, M., Ling, N., Wei, X., Fan, S. (2015). The application of PDCA cycle management in project management. International conference on computer science and applications. Retrieved from https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7810878

Singh, S., and Singh, H. (2014). Case study based software engineering project development: State of art. International journal of scientific research in computer science and application and management studies. Retrieved from https://arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/1306/1306.2502.pdf

Thamhain, H. (2014). Emerging project management techniques: A managerial assessment. International conference on management on engineering and technology. Retrieved from https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/808260

Yang, Y., Yu, B., Ma, X. (2008). The process modelling of creating work breakdown structure of project based on PDCA. International conference on service operations and logistics, and informatics. Retrieved from https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/4686414