The “realities” of an Operations Manager

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 ?

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

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 ?

CEO buy in ◦ sent to all staff members from CEO outlining the project, time frame and expected outcomes Frequent reminders ◦Via , 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