The “realities” of an

Operations Manager

What is Operations Management

?

What is Operations Management The art of pursuing the most efficient method of adding value to raw materials and/or labour to create items or services that meet customer needs whilst maximising profit.

◦ Managing selection of best suited◦ Materials◦ Design◦ Labour◦ Machinery ◦ Transport

What is an Operations Manager

?

What is an Operations Manager? The person who oversees the day to day running of a business and;

◦ Ensures the business operations are aligned to meet the company’s strategic plan◦ Oversees product, process and service development◦ Plans and controls all operational activities◦ Facilitates performance improvement

Responsibilities of an Ops Manager

?

Responsibilities of an Ops Manager

One, more or ALL of the following◦ Health and safety◦ Compliance and audits (ISO, environmental, calibrations etc.)◦ Inwards goods◦ Demand planning and Purchasing◦ Production planning◦ Production processes and output◦ Labour requirements and efficiency ◦ Quality◦ Logistics (warehousing & transport)◦ Plant and facility maintenance (from hand basins up to million dollar machinery)

◦ And Most importantly…. MANAGING STAFF

Becoming an Ops Manager Start in one area of the operations management such as;

◦ Production◦ Logistics◦ Engineering◦ Supply chain◦ Quality assurance

Learn◦ Learn your chosen area well◦ Seek opportunities to lead other people◦ Learn other areas of operations management

◦ and STUDY THE THEORY !

BSNS 7350 Operations Management Project

Topic: Inventory Accuracy

Product: Paint

Issue: The actual physical paint quantity does not match the ERP quantity

The process

Issue

600L

Painting Process https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUSnm8E4chI

Problems caused by inventory inaccuracy

Recommendations Form an paint Inventory improvement team

Brainstorm ideas to minimise paint thickness variations

Check and draft revise process diagram

Cycle count daily

Find root cause of any discrepancy

Use 5 why-diagram as a problem solving tool

When cycle count is correct for 10 days the project is successful

Control: Revisit project in 6 months to check is the process is still valid and inventory accuracy is still above 95%

Implementation Roadblocks At the middle stage of your operations career, you are often tasked with Improvement projects in tandem with your function

You can be faced with the following issues;◦ The project team members are not direct reports ◦ Team members are already busy with their core tasks◦ Other issues come up that are urgent and takes the focus away from the project◦ Some of the team members are temporary workers◦ The team come from different cultures

Ideas for motivating the team

?

Ideas for motivating the team CEO buy in

◦ Email sent to all staff members from CEO outlining the project, time frame and expected outcomes

Frequent reminders◦ Via email, meetings, visual displays

Wall of shame◦ Public announcement of team member who have not complete there obligations (is this an appropriate

tactic?)

Incentives◦ Team or individual prizes, bonuses etc.

Tips for your Ops Management project

Use this project as a learning ground for real life project work to practice◦ Leadership skills◦ Research skills◦ Try to spend as much time at the company that is allowed to collect relevant data and listen to the

employees experience◦ Report writing skills, especially using an executive summary as a “sales pitch” for your

idea/recommendations

Show genuine interest in the project and show the company your talent, it may lead to further opportunities

In conclusion

Operations management encompasses many facets of a business

How you manage people will be your biggest challenge as an Ops Manager

Take your Op management project seriously as it is a good almost real life learning and it could lead to future employment opportunities