Resource Planning and Maintaining Quality Standards - Assignment Example

Resource planning and maintaining quality standards Overview For an organisation, it is essential to plan resources that involve men, material, machines and tools. The success of an organisation depends on the availability and effective utilisation of the resources. For any service sector, it is crucial to maintain the quality of service provided to customers. The quality of the product or service influences the loyalty of the customers. The paper deals with the various tasks performed by the track technical assistant. The track technical assistant is required to handle various essential tasks for example investigation, surveys and documentation of the data and information’s. The technical and analytical skills essential for the post has been discussed in the paper. PESTEL analysis has been used in the paper to identify various external factors that affects the resource planning and the quality of service provided by the rail organisation. The analysis of the external environment determines the factors that affect the performance of the employees and that in turn has a negative impact on the quality of the service provided by the employees. Benefits of maintaining the quality standards and its impact of the team performance has been analysed in the paper. Various factors have been identified that affects the quality of service provided to the customers. The satisfaction of the customers is essential for the success of the organisation. To maintain proper quality of service it is essential for the technical assistant to negotiate with the suppliers and customers regarding various issues. Therefore, for the long-term sustainability of the rail organisation it is essential to maintain the quality of service and resource availability. Task 1 For the success of any organisation human resource planning is essential. Human resource planning is linked with the need of workforce for an organisation. A proper planning ensures that the recruitment process of the organisation is sufficient and employees are capable enough to attain the organisational goals and objectives for the long-term profitability and sustainability. Human resource planning is one of the crucial elements of the organisational process, which helps to reduce the employee turnover and assist the organisation in maintaining competitive advantage. Planning human resource also requires managing the existing resources of the organisation to enhance job loyalty among them. A track technical assistant is a full time job and the individual appointed in the post is required to work on the district line. The main role that the individual has to perform is to manage technical information and support the technical manager and operational as well as the line management team. It is the core responsibility of the track technical assistant to ensure proper work on tracks and to make sure that the inspection work are carried out with full safety. Apart from this, the assistant need to control the quality and the cost involved in managing the works related to tracks. A technical tack assistant is required to maintain various records for example the information regarding any kind of rail defects or reports, recommendations made that may be implemented to solve the various problems. The assistant needs to perform surveys with the help of various technical instruments for example track gauges and many more even in poor light or bad weather conditions. The individual appointed for the post must possess special communicational skill apart from technical knowledge because it is their responsibility to negotiate with the customers regarding various complaints. With the improvements in technology the assistant need to develop new methods and procedures of working. After the implementation of the new equipments and procedures to improve the existing methods it is the duty of the track technical assistant to measure the effectiveness of the work. The assistant is required to meet with the internal maintenance team on regular basis in order to deal with various issues for example costs, logistical arrangements and many more. The technical assistant has to communicate with the suppliers in order to negotiate regarding the price, quantity, purchase type, and delivery dates. Apart from various internal duties that are performed within the premises the track technical assistant is also required to meet with the on-site and other office based units to check that the projects are planned accordingly and implemented. The track technical assistant possesses analytical skill that is vital for solving various problems and management of data and information’s. In addition, the role of technical assistant is to allocate works to the subordinates to maintain the quality and effectiveness of the work in the long run. The works allocated are planned so that the resources are used to the best of their ability without failure. The below diagram depicts the resource planning to increase effectiveness Task 2 Resource planning is essential for an organisation to maintain and maximise the utilisation of resources that is men and material. A proper resource plan helps an organisation to maintain a balance between the availability and demand for resources. Apart from this resource plan also assists to identify the requirement of resources for completion of the task at a given timeframe. A resource plan should be based on the requirement of the organisation rather than individual needs. The track technical assistants are required to perform various tasks related to the allocation of the resources. With the improvements in technology, it has become essential for every organisation to use resources effectively and to minimise waste. For this purpose, it becomes essential for an organisation to analyse the external environment in order to identify the factors that can influence the internal performance of the organisation. PESTEL analysis is a tool to identify various external factors that affects the decision making of an organisation. The factors affecting the performance are well elaborated with the help of the PESTLE analysis. A political factor involves government policies that influence the performance of an organisation. The political factors are likely to affect various areas of the business sector for example the quality of infrastructure used in rail system. The tax implemented by the government also affects the availability of resources (Business Link in London, 2009). In this context, it is worth mentioning that London underground has to pay huge amount of tax to the government that affects the resource plan. Apart from this, the government implements various restrictions, because of which it becomes difficult for the rail operators to increase the number of rail stations. The change in economic variables for example interest rates, inflation growth influences the activities performed by the technical track assistant. It is the responsibility of the technical assistant to implement new methods of working. With the advancement of advanced technology, it becomes essential to utilise new machines for performing required tasks. However, economic factors for example trade barriers may act as a hindrance to import new machines. On the other hand, higher interest rates, reduces the borrowing power and so it becomes difficult for the technical engineers to continue to implement change. The change in exchange rates raises the total price of importing the material that also affects the resource plan. Moreover, the higher the inflation rate the employees demand for wage (Business Link in London, 2009). Therefore, the increase in wage raises the overall cost of the organisation. The change in social factor has a long lasting impact on the consumers demand for the service as well as the willingness of the employees to work in the same organisation (Business Link in London, 2009). A social cultural change has positive as well as negative impact on the resource plan of the organisation. The population growth rate is low in the UK as compared to other nations and so it becomes difficult for the rail organisation to maintain proper talent in the organisation. For any service organisation, it is very crucial to maintain efficient labour force. On the other hand, due to lower rate of population it becomes essential for the rail organisation to retain the existing staff members. For this purpose, the organisation is likely to provide additional benefits to the employees to increase loyalty among them. This is likely to increase the total cost involved in managing the human resource of the organisation. Moreover, rail transportation in London maintains “Health Safety and Environmental Management System” that will ensures that full safety is maintained for the safety of the passengers. Apart from this, other safety measures, for example ‘safety announcements’ are made repeatedly to ensure the safety of the passengers waiting at stations. The announcements are made so that the passengers stay away from the yellow line border and it is likely to reduce the numbers of accidents. The track drainage assets are to be safe and reliable that reduces the numbers of accidents occurring due to defects in tracks. Various protective measures are taken by the supplier of the assets to reduce the level of noise that is generated by the technical activities. These measures are implemented to ensure full safety of the customers. On the other hand, the rail system reduces their services during any festive season that affects customer’s satisfaction and is likely to affect the success of the organisation. A technological factor influences the performance of the employees of the organisation. Implementation of new improved technology results development of new process. The change in work process improves the performance of the employees and ultimately results success of the organisation (Business Link in London, 2009). The underground rail system uses “Travel cardzonal fare system” that is modern method of calculating journey fare. The research and development department is responsible to carry necessary measures to improve the overall service of the rail transportation. Technology is likely to reduce the overall costs involved as well as improve the quality of service provided. The automatic signalling system reduces the chances of human errors and ensures improved safety of the passengers. The performance of rail system depends on the type and method used to provide service. London based railway system is now working on the new generation ticketing technology that allows the passengers to pay for the ticket using bankcard. This system has reduced the total time spent by the passengers standing in the lines. With the improvements in information technology and introduction of the web based technology has reduces the manual work performed by the employees. Therefore, the improvement in technology has a positive impact on the growth of the railway system. An environmental factor also affects the performance of the organisation. Environmental factor includes climatic changes, pollution and many more. The change in climate due to global warming result change in weather creates difficulties for the track technical assistant to perform their task efficiently (Business Link in London, 2009). The UK based rail system applies best practice to improve the environmental performance and reduce its negative impact on the growth of the sector. In order to reduce the damage caused due environmental changes the investment decisions are made after proper analysis of the environmental factors. For any organisation, it is very essential to maintain measures to ensure environmental protection. Therefore, it becomes vital for the organisation to set clear goal and objective that prevents environmental pollution. Apart from this, the goals and objective should remain clear to the employees of the organisation so that they can perform accordingly. It is the responsibility of the internal management of the organisation to regularly monitor the environmental management system so that necessary actions can be taken to implement any changes. If new systems and procedures have been developed then it affects the firms overall costs. The legal factor is likely to affect the customer’s willingness to purchase the product or service (Business Link in London, 2009). Task 3 In business terms, quality is a crucial concept because it is linked with customer satisfaction. Quality is one of the factors that differentiates the products and services of one competitor with the other. Consider the rail industry, where the concept of quality is of great importance as it is associated with the safety of people. It is the core responsibility of the railway operators to ensure the quality of the service provided by them for the security. Hence, the track technical assistant is required to ensure proper maintenance of the track for the wellbeing of the individuals to avoid future accidents. For the efficient track maintenance, it is required to adopt proper strategies and implement modern maintenance machinery for the purpose. An organisation is likely to attain benefit by establishing a ‘quality management system’. The system is to be designed in such a manner that involves various methods to control the activities of the rail organisation that may ensure continuous improvement in performance. For the continuous improvement of the process, it is also important to meet the quality standards set. A technical track assistant is required to inspect the work of track maintenance in time on regular basis and to inform it to the manager. The inspection work ensures the quality of the tack and helps to identify the defects if any (Pekar, 1995). Quality of work determines the success of the organisation in long run. So the technical assistant is required to plan the overall work of self as well as the other members of the group to ensure high quality of work. It is difficult to measure the quality of work but maintaining of the records related to the work performed by the employees helps to improve the quality of work in future. The track assistant maintains proper documents related to the rail defects, present condition and various reports prepared by the rail authority. The quality of the product or the service also depends on the availability and efficient utilisation of the resources. Therefore, the track technical assistant need to ensure proper allocation of various resources that is labour, plant and machineries effectively. Furthermore, to improve the quality of the track, annual tamping programmes are planned and implemented. After successful implementation of the programmes, follow up actions are taken to ensure the improvements in the quality. Apart from this, to ensure quality standards surveys are also conducted of the product and services provided to the end customers (Pekar, 1995). The relationship between customers and the supplier depends on the quality of the service provided to them. Therefore, to ensure further improvements in the quality the track technical assistant negotiates with the customers regarding any complaints if any. Performing a technical task requires accuracy so that the individual can produce clear report that is essential to implement any changes required for improvement in quality. The technical assistant needs have analytical ability that is essential to manage the data regarding the various technical tasks performed by the individual and the team members. The quality of service provided by the railways can progress further if the performance of each individual member improves to a considerable extent. The track technical assistant and the team members working together can improve the overall quality and improvements in the performance level results success of the organisation in long run. Enhancement and maintenance of quality is important for proper resource planning in the long run for the success of an organisation (Pekar, 1995). Task 4 The quality standard defines the key factors of a service and the method performed by the members of the organisation to improve the overall performance. The user or the consumers of the service, expects the quality of service according to the standards set by the organisation. The quality standard should be set accordingly, that fulfils the demand of the consumers. Customer’s satisfaction is the main aim of any service sectors because it results in progress of the organisation in long run. Satisfaction of customers implies that the quality of the service is met accordingly. Therefore, to maintain the quality as per the need of customer it is important to ask for feedback. For any service sector for example railways, a standard defines the set of requirements essential to perform the task. The standard set by the organisation assist employees and other members to provide quality service to customers. A standard indicates direction in which the service should be performed. It gives a clear view to employees regarding customer’s needs and preferences with whom the business is associated. A standard set by the organisation works as a basis for the employees to inspect the quality of service provided and accordingly evaluation process is carried for further improvements. The track technical assistant is responsible for various essential work related to the maintenance and investigation of the rail track that is crucial for the safety of the passengers. The technical assistants are required to perform activities related to the tamping availability. For this purpose, the assistants are required to analyse the current track quality and make further plans regarding the track renewals. The technical assistant is also required to deal with the total cost involved in the renewal process. To determine the tamping availability the track technical assistant is also required to estimate the budget and the key performance indicators. The main aim of the technical track assistant is to manage the resources available effectively and to utilise it in such a manner that it satisfies the quality standards set by the organisation. The quality of product or service is related to meeting the customer needs. The needs of customers for example the passengers travelling in the train are developed according to the standards set by the organisation. For the success of any service sector, it is vital that the customers are satisfied through quality service. The level of satisfaction determines the loyalty of the customers towards the organisation. The quality of work performed by the organisation can be measured with the help of the customer’s satisfaction. The quality standards set by the organisation results in creation of customer’s expectation that is to be fulfilled by the organisation for long-term sustainability. With the advancement in technology, customers are demanding more so in order to satisfy the customer’s needs it is essential to implement changes. It is the duty of the track technical assistant to communicate with the managing authority regarding any changes or up gradation of the train availability and the schedule time. This will also help in providing customer with better service and meet their level of expectation. The main purpose of conducting meeting between the technical assistant and the managers is discussing the issues related to the overall performance of the organisation. To ensure the quality of service it is required to minimise the problems faced by passengers while journey. Proper allocation of resources that is work force, machineries and plant is necessary to achieve high level of performance. It is very essential to maintain proper track infrastructure to continue easy movement of trains on time. The machine operator department plays a vital role that is to ensure the availability of the appropriate machine for each task related to tamping programmes. Therefore, it is necessary for the track technical assistant to maintain proper relation with all other departments as stated above that is the infrastructure, machine operator and many more to ensure continuous flow of resources from this departments. In order to reduce the number of accidents occurring due to the defect in rail tracks, the track technical assistant is often required to inspect the tracks using respective equipments. The implementation of new equipment in the process of work to improve the quality of the tack is to be monitored regularly to reduce any kind of faults. The technical assistant should have the ability to communicate effectively in order to negotiate with customers to solve complaints. The construction of a track determines its future behaviour. A poor track is subject to repeated maintenance and therefore involves huge costs. Therefore, to ensure the safety of the passengers it is essential to have high quality of track and meet the set standards. The quality of the track also depends on the methods and the equipments used in its construction. Therefore, it is essential for the track technical assistant and the other railway operators to implement quality tamping that ensure the strength of the track to carry heavy loads and reduce the chances of error (London Underground Limited, 2014). Furthermore, the implementation of the quality standard in service sector requires the development of tools and methods that can ensure effective translation of the set standards into indicators. The indicators further can be utilised to compare the actual quality with the standard set by the organisation. In order to achieve the quality standards set by the organisation it requires full commitment to work to achieve it. Apart from this, the task technical assistant should posses the skill of decision making that assist them to take decision regarding various essential issues for example to communicate with the internal and external stakeholders (London Underground Limited, 2014). If a quality issue were identified then it is the responsibility of the technical assistant to identify the cause of the issue. The identification of the cause issue is followed by meeting with the managing authority of the organisation in order to discuss the quality issue in details. The main purpose of the meeting should be to design a proper plan to solve the quality issue by allocating resources efficiently. A further plan has to be formulated so that the quality defect is not repeated in the future. Then it is the responsibility of the track technical assistant to put the formulated plan in action. The implementation of the plan is followed by the feedback system to ensure whether it is effective or not (London Underground Limited, 2014). Task 5 The quality of the product or service depends on the performance of employees of the organisation. Quality of service differentiates one organisation from the other as stated. For this reason, quality management is crucial because it assist the organisation to develop unique quality of product that not only meets the customer’s expectation but also results in the long-term success of the organisation. Therefore, the success of the railway sector depends on the quality of the service provided to the passengers rather than quantity. Quality management not only ensures customers satisfaction but also increase customer’s loyalty towards the organisation. In order to produce quality service it also requires full participation of the team members. The overall teams operation influences the performance of the organisation. The performance of the organisation is linked with the customer’s satisfaction that ultimately results in success in long run. From a technical perspective, it is important to maintain the track so that customer is satisfied with the service. Quality of the product or service also affects the revenue and overall productivity of the organisation. If all the team members are involved in producing quality product then it results in increasing in revenue as well as higher productivity. The improved performance of the organisation also results in increase the earning of all the team members that in turn acts as a motivating factor for employees. Managing the quality of standard service enables the team members to deliver work that is more efficient in less time. Apart from this, maintaining the quality standard also reduces inventory and waste. The track technical assistant is required to communicate with the suppliers to negotiate with respect to price, volume and delivery schedule. Therefore, managing the quality enables the team members to work closely with the suppliers of raw materials that ensure reduction of additional inventory. The quality of the product or service is affected by various factors for example availability of finance, material, human resource, machines, methods and many more. Availability of the finance is the most important factor that affects the quality of the product or service. With the increase in completion, it has become essential for every organisation to implement modern methods of working with new innovative tools. For this purpose, the organisation should have strong financial position in order to remain in the competition. In order to maintain the quality of product the organisations needs to invest more than the actual. The quality of the product also depends on the type of material used in the production. The raw material used for the purpose should be of high quality to ensure quality product. For example in case of track, designing the material used in construction should be of high quality that further ensures durability of the rail tracks and reduces the danger of accidents. The longevity of the rail track also reduces the huge cost involved in maintenance. The task performed by the track technical assistant and other team members requires support from the top management of the organisation also influences the quality of the product or services produced. The attitude of the management towards the quality of the product is also an important factor. Apart from finance and material, the availability of human resource within the organisation also affects the quality of the product or service. A person employed in an organisation plays a crucial role in designing the product with the help of competency skill possessed by the individual. In case of the railways the staff, members are responsible for looking after the various issues related to the problems in track or other. They are responsible for solving various issues related to the changes required to be implement for solving the problems. The ability to communicate and analytical ability of the employees helps in decision-making process. To maintain the standard of quality appropriate machines and tools are required. The track technical assistant is responsible for the allocation of various resources according to the requirement of the organisation. To maintain the quality of the product or service, organisation need to invest in new methods of working that improves the task performance of employees. Other factor that affects the quality within the organisation is the competency skill possessed by employees of the organisation. For example, the track technical assistants in many cases need to negotiate with the customers and the suppliers so the competency of the individual helps to manage various issues. An improvement in the quality of product also encourages the employees of the organisation to work together in team to achieve maximum efficiency at work. References Business Link in London. (2009). Strategic tools: SWOT and PESTLE. Retrieved from http://redochre.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/SE-Strategic-tools-SWOT-and-PESTLE-pdf1.pdf London Underground Limited. (2014). LU asset management strategy. Head of Asset Strategy & Investment (S&SD), 2- 235. Pekar, J.P. (1995). Total Quality Management: Guiding Principles for Application. Retrieved from http://psbm.org/Ebooks/Total%20Quality.pdf Read More