Essay Example on Manufacturing in 21st Century: Challenges and Opportunities

Introduction

In the 21st century, the manufacturing industry has become harsh. Manufacturing has transformed at a quick pace, therefore making the industry competitive. Products have been out-phased in short periods because of the increasing technology that is introduced in manufacturing systems. It has been difficult for companies that still cling on to the traditional manufacturing systems. To stay competitive, companies have, in one way or another, modified the traditional systems of manufacturing that were previously enacted. Through the strengthening of the manufacturing processes, these survivors in the manufacturing industry have been able to cut on the operational costs as well as building customer relationships (Amara, Landry, Becheikh, & Ouimet, 2004). Companies have realized that investing in new technology is the way forward. However, some companies are always at a disadvantage to absorb modern manufacturing methods because they lack the capital to embrace new manufacturing systems. As such, these companies are forced to stick to traditional manufacturing systems. At least these traditional manufacturing methods and processes help cut down the cost of operation, thereby enabling them to achieve their profit goals. The limitations of sticking to these traditional methods include material waste, increased inventory, escalated working capital, and also less value-added services, which would have commanded wider margins.

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Traditional manufacturing methods are significantly based on the use of historical accounting as well as justification methods that are utterly focused on direct labor since it is simple to measure and understand. In traditional manufacturing, the infrastructure, in this case, the equipment is substituted by the same models as there are no changes intended in the manufacturing processes. As mentioned, most companies stick to traditional methods because they lack the necessary capital to carry out a paradigm shift. Such a delay in moving into advanced manufacturing systems presents a disadvantage - mainly competition from well-off companies. The advantaged companies which employ advanced manufacturing technologies often have an upper-hand in capturing the market. There is a justification of migrating from traditional methods to modern methods of manufacturing products because the overall outcome entails reduced production costs, minimized warranty costs, reduction in waste and scrap, and mitigated rework costs.

When it comes to traditional manufacturing systems, the relevant human resource in charge deals with all the segments that entail value chain. This implies that, in most cases, all activities in the company were run and managed internally alone - there is no point of external involvement whatsoever. Here, the manufacturing, as well as operations departments, were designated to manage every aspect that involves the value chain. Traditional manufacturing systems employed such a policy because of the need to mitigate the risk of critical capabilities, including the possibility of lacking the utmost control of the company, as well as a concern in protecting technical information, which could be considered intellectual property. In such a system, the manufacturing, as well as operations managers, were highly regarded to be among the top positions within the company because they were tasked with greater responsibility of the firm - generating income, hence profits. They also manage raw materials in the company. They also were held responsible for overseeing the initial startup costs that proved prohibitive. The traditional manufacturing systems also had departments that were typically set up to ensure smooth operations in such a system (Bamber & Dale, 2000). These include:

Logistics

This department entails issuing procedures regarding the movement of materials from one segment to another within the value chain path. This includes the flow of raw materials from the source to the company, interdepartmental transfers, and finally, the movement from the company's warehouse to the distributor.

Shipping and Receiving

This department is in charge of the inbound as well as outbound freight and materials. Upon receiving inbound shipments, this department would be tasked to unload as well as carry out necessary inspections. Any pertinent information is further recorded in the log. Upon inspection and recording of information, the information gets passed on to the finance department for payment to be finalized (Strong, Kay, Conner, Wakefield, & Manogharan, 2018).

Warehousing

This entails the storage of the received goods as well as potentially in-process materials. The warehouses also store finished products manufactured in the company but awaiting final shipment to their respective destinations.

Inventory Control

In traditional manufacturing systems, inventory control happens to be the most significant burdens within the warehouses. This department is required to be thorough in its undertakings because it records the status of high-value items as well as the low-value items. Here, high usage and low usage items are also kept - this implies that the personnel in charge need to maintain a critical analysis of where the items need to be kept safe (Strong et al., 2018). This department involves counting the inventory from time to time and preserve parts that are recorded in the inventory.

Shop Floor Control

This department handles all the work on the floor, ensuring that materials, as well as in-process parts, move smoothly from one station to another. The human resource managing this department can, at times, be responsible for the ongoing work in stations and are occasionally tasked with managing the warehouse space for orderly in-process work (Strong et al., 2018). This personnel is also tasked with ensuring the completion of tasks by the manufacturing group. Shop control managers also monitor work progress alongside providing scheduling statuses.

In Process Work

This department encompasses several segments, including the cutting, grinding, tooling, heat treat, and process department, among others. Each of these segments is separate from another, though stationed in an organized manner so that there are order and smooth workflow. This department ensures that processes in the production of an item are running effectively without delays.

Procurement Support

This department ensures the sourcing of complementary items needed by the company. This includes consumables, screws, bolts, nuts, sundry materials, and glues necessary for complementing the production of a final good.

Blue Streak Department

This department comprises of the highly specialized individuals in the company who had vast expertise in all departments. They are tasked with rectifying a product that was wrongly produced or hastening the schedule for mass production. They cut on the time due to errors made by the manufacturing personnel.

Final Assembly

This department is in charge of assembling all the subassemblies of a product into a final product. This department involved fitting, welding, screwing, bolting, and riveting, among others.

Final Test and Evaluation

Tests are carried out on sample products that are regarded as complex. This is done to ensure full functionality and checking whether the fitting process is correctly done. The tests done on the product could also include wear tests, drop tests, and electrical tests.

Quality Inspection

This happens to be the final step of the company before reaching the consumer. Inspection checks whether the product conforms to the specifications and standards set.

Packaging

This is the last stage of handling the product. Engineers design packaging and crafting materials to transport the product. This is the final phase of product handling for final destination delivery.

As can be seen, traditional manufacturing systems had less regard for waste management, pollution, recovery, and reuse of used products (Attaran, 2017). Moreover, the traditional manufacturing systems lacked the metrics on waste management as well as the environmental impact taken on a product that had a limited product cycle. All in all, the traditional manufacturing systems are a necessary average on the optimization to satisfy the customers' requirements ranging from function, cost, and delivery (Strong et al., 2018).

References

Amara, N., Landry, R., Becheikh, N., & Ouimet, M. (2004, June). Radical innovations in traditional manufacturing industries. In Druid summer Conference, Industrial dynamics, innovation, and development. Retrieved from http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.319.9668&rep=rep1&type=pdf

Attaran, M. (2017). The rise of 3-D printing: The advantages of additive manufacturing over traditional manufacturing. Business Horizons, 60(5), 677-688. Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0007681317300897

Bamber, L., & Dale, B. G. (2000). Lean production: a study of application in a traditional manufacturing environment. Production planning & control, 11(3), 291-298. Retrieved from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/095372800232252

Nybakk, E., & Jenssen, J. I. (2012). Innovation strategy, working climate, and financial performance in traditional manufacturing firms: An empirical analysis. International Journal of innovation management, 16(02), 1250008. Retrieved from https://www.worldscientific.com/doi/abs/10.1142/S1363919611003374

Strong, D., Kay, M., Conner, B., Wakefield, T., & Manogharan, G. (2018). Hybrid manufacturing-integrating traditional manufacturers with additive manufacturing (AM) supply chain. Additive Manufacturing, 21, 159-173. Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214860417305444