CUSTOM MOLDS INC.

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CUSTOM MOLDS INC.

• CASE STUDY 1
• MSC 303.103
• MAY 21, 2001
• TEAM 2 Kristin Harvin, Jung Lee, Andrea Price,
  Kadek Santi

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Description

• Established father-son business
• began with focus on molds and later expanded into
  the production of plastic parts
• has traditionally focused on quality, design of
  both molds and parts, mass production as well as
  customization
• total order numbers have remained the same, but
  clients needs have shifted

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Issues

• Changing strategies within their clients
  businesses changed order needs in an unexpected
  way
• total time from order placement to receipt by
  customer is much longer than promised
• more and more products defective
• bottlenecks in production
• cant predict where, when, why

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Analysis

• Many issues are the result of general
  inefficiency in several departments
• offices design conceptualization taking too
  long, ideas go back and forth between engineers
  and managers and customers far too much
• mold fabrication needs have changed need to
  make very small batches of many different
  designs, necessitating more runs on different
  settings (flexible flow strategy)

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Analysis (cont.)

• Parts fabrication (injection, assembly) needs to
  make large batches of the same design,
  necessitating fewer (longer) runs on the same
  settings (line flow strategy)
• testing could probably be more efficient in
  terms of time spent, and there are too many
  defects
• receiving, mixing, and shipping not apparently a
  problem do not account for much time spent on
  project

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Recommendations

• In mold fabrication focus on many,
  small-capacity, specialized machines with more
  workers to oversee settings
• in parts fabrication (injection, assembly,
  cutting trimming) focus on few, large capacity
  specialized machines with fewer workers, as there
  are few settings-changes to oversee

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Recommendations (cont.)

• Move testing area to more central location for
  more time-efficient movement of goods back and
  forth and increased, easier communication between
  testers and office and manufacturing areas so
  that problems that caused defects can be quickly
  recognized and fixed.

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Recommendations (cont.)

• Office
• make order placement based on ability to complete
  product requested in time promised (through
  communication with other departments)
• coordinate inter-department communication in
  design development with more efficient process
  (not so much back and forth) CUT TIME SPENT IN
  HALF

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Recommendations (cont.)

• Form position to study market so that customers
  needs can be identified and predicted use to
  determine needs of facility and human resources
• focus on overall efficiency in terms of process,
  movement, inter-department communication
• evaluate effects of proposed changes on company
  finances, figuring ROI

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Recommendation Alternative

• Analyze market and decide, based on the changes
  in the needs of the market, whether to focus on
  parts OR molds
• proceed with applicable recommendations made
  previously

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Textbook Question 1

• What are the major issues facing Tom and Mason
  Miller?
• See slides concerning Issues

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Textbook Question 2

• Identify the individual processes on a flow
  diagram. What are the competitive priorities for
  these processes and the changing nature of the
  industry?
• See flow diagram for all information

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Textbook Question 3

• What alternative might the Millers pursue? What
  key factors should they consider as they evaluate
  these alternatives?
• They should consider alternatives as described in
  Recommendations while always considering the
  needs of the market and the effect the changes
  will have on finances, including the ROI