Donner Company

Central Issues

When looking at the Donner Company in 1987, there are some initial concerns. The company as a whole does not have a true sense of how long it takes them to do what they do, and their process flow table is made up of “guesstimates”, as throughput time at individual processes have not been formally taken. The company appears to be operating below capacity based on their need to rework their products often, find things for people to do, and meet deadlines that are based on fuzzy estimates, which only adds to the chaos. In short, there are three main issues facing the Donner Co.:

• iming and delivery discrepancies

• Lack of quality control

• Need for labor utilization improvements

The addition of a new building in the near future provides a ray of hope, but the current operation and its capacity should be thoroughly understood before adding more to it.

Recommendations

Timing and Delivery

Careful analysis of the current situation, with the information provided, leads us to believe that one particular way to improve flow time and productivity is to purchase a second CNC Drill. The drill would allow a completed panel to exit the process every 12.5 minutes. It is also recommended