Draper Engineering - Improving Five Issues Identified from the SWOT Analysis - Case Study Example

DRAPER ENGINEERING by Student’s name Code+ course name Professor’s name University name City, State Date Content Introduction………………………………………………………………………………...3 Question 1…………………………………………………………………………………...3 SWOT analysis of Draper Engineering…………………………………………….3 How the Draper can improve five of the issues identified from the SWOT analysis………………………………………………………………………8 Question 2……………………………………………………………………………………..10 Question 3……………………………………………………………………………………..11 Reference List………………………………………………………………………………… 13 Introduction The performance of a company is based on various factors. The level of skills amongst its workers play a big role. If the workers are not carrying out their tasks professionally, friction between the workers is likely to be experienced. Also, if an outsourced contractor fails to meet project deadlines, the reputation of the company might eventually be degraded. The Draper Engineering company is faced with various challenges that are as a result of its employees and the outsourced services from the Bang IT and Bend IT building company. The Drupe engineering company has been delivering projects to their clients with minimal delays. However, the trend changed drastically from the time they outsourced site services to the Bang IT and Bend IT Company. The projects are currently running as late as six months from the set deadlines. The maintenance crew has been negligent on their duties and that has resulted to shut-down of the company. There is also lack of effective communication within the organization since some of the leaders and their staff are not working in harmony and this has lessened teamwork in the company. Question 1 SWOT analysis of Draper Engineering Strengths The Draper Engineering company has got various advantages that act as a clear indication of a brilliant future for the company. The modern manufacturing technology Though the current technology is not working, if used wisely, it is a milestone in the production process.  The modern technology is of significance in improving the efficiency of the company since, the system is of significance in developing automated processes and thus taking the burden off the company’s staff. As a result, the staff are at liberty of concentrating on other tasks while the computers run their reports, create queries, tracks projects and monitor the financial transactions. The current technology system gives the staff remote access to the Draper’s electronic network, and thus the employees are capable of working from their homes or while on their way home. This accessibility has been allowing the staff to increase their productivity since they are capable of having their work attended to, even when they are not physically in their offices. The current technology in the company is giving the company the necessary resources for effective and quick communication process. The information technology department hooks the staff up with emails, video conferencing gadgets and the internal chat rooms, and this gives room for effective ways of conducting business and communication activities (Armstrong 2006). Outsourced in-house logistics operations Since the Draper engineering company outsourced in-house logistics operations activities to the Hardy Logistics Ltd, there have been remarkable improvement in the abovementioned activities. The company can continue working with the Hardy Logistics Ltd so as to continue improving the quality of services within the company. The Draper engineering company has been capable of meeting deadlines after outsourcing the services to the Hardy Logistics Ltd (Thomas and Kasshanna 2007). The existing and previous clients Though the company has got various challenges, there lies some green light in the sense that it has been working with various customers. The company can request the previous clients to state the weaknesses they had experienced while working with the Draper engineering company. These clients could give a clear picture of what they perceive the Draper engineering company to be. The company can use these finding in looking for the way of addressing the current challenges. Weaknesses The company is faced with various challenges that are as a result of various circumstances. The outsourcing of site services The company has outsourced the site services to the Bang IT and Bend IT. Since the company outsourced services to this building company, deadlines for various projects have been hard to beat. The projects have, on average, been late by at least six months. The Bang IT and Bend IT have failed the company since the site projects that are assigned to them are not completed as agreed with the clients. The failure to meet deadline, has resulted to over-expenditure, loss of client’s trust on the services offered by the Draper engineering company. This incident has resulted to the Draper engineering company becoming disorganized in the ways the deadlines of tasks are met (Thomas and Kasshanna 2007). The varying competence of the shift engineers and shift electricians There is a common friction between the different members of staff since there are varying levels of abilities amongst the shift engineers and shift electricians since some of them are proficient time served tradesman while others are not. Lack of proper planning on the projects The project and developmental engineering tasks are usually lacking efficient co-ordination and planning. Majority of these projects end up not being sufficiently thought through. Similarly, new equipment usually arrive for installation while late and none of the staff knows what the equipment is meant for. It is also a common occurrence that whenever work has been planned effectively, it is usual that the relevant section managers have not been informed about the work. It is evident that there is no sufficient planned maintenance on the machinery of the company. Repair and maintenance is rare and majority of the maintenance is carried out based on the notion that “If it isn’t broken then don’t try and fix it.” As a result of this negligence, there was a recent company shut-down since the machinery had not been serviced for a long time, and a significant amount of maintenance had not been completed in good time. Prior to the company shut-down, some of the machinery had been stripped down and the staff were surprised to realize that there was no order placed for the replacement parts (Armstrong 2006). Opportunities Though the company has various challenges, the company can capitalize on a few opportunities that can propel it further from the current state. Improvement of technology If the current technology is improved, there could be a drastic improvement in the way activities are run in the company.  The current technology can be used in drawing Gantt chats that would be effective if adhered to. There are various programs that could be of help while coming up with the best time and resource allocation during the course of various projects. If these Gantt charts are followed to the letter, the common lateness in the projects could be reduced at a significant level. The company can use video conferencing as a way of addressing issues that could be affecting the company without the need of the managers being physically present at the offices. The video conference meetings could save time and money. Using just video links, however, the managers would be capable of maintaining quality relationships with the current clients and staying in touch with their coworkers on a regular basis. However, there is an initial upfront cost, but the returns on the investment would be very swift. Through this approach, the company will be capable of saving the travel budgets for the few high profiles, and the important face-to-face dates yearly (Thomas and Kasshanna 2007). Web conferencing software are capable of allowing the employee to tape and archive the crucial meetings, critical strategy sittings and standard training modules that might be of help for the new hire parties. The library of stored information would form a robust base of information and the records of company’s milestones. These archives would be of great importance in the sense that the managers would be constantly analyzing the video files and photographs and be able to keep an eye on the progress of the projects. The use of GPRS technology could be of great importance in the monitoring the progress of the work. GPRS gadgets can be fixed in the machinery at the site so as to ascertain whether the workers are busy working or are idling around the site. This could help curb the habit of workers delay-dallying within the site and could, to some extent, help the company meet deadlines. Threats The company faces a major susceptibility from the current staff. The disorganization of the workers are plunging the company into huge loses. The workers are not organized to the extent that they do not have regular checkups on the machinery that is used in construction. The company shut-down was as a result of the negligence of the staff. Prior to the closure of the company, some of the machinery had been stripped down and the staff were surprised to realize that there was no order placed for the replacement parts. The outsourced services from the Bang IT and Bend IT building company remain a threat to the company. It is evident that all the projects that are assigned to this building company always do not meet the set deadline. This is a major challenge since the contract is underway and there is likelihood that the current projects are likely not to meet deadline (Armstrong 2006). How the Draper can improve five of the issues identified from the SWOT analysis The outsourcing of site services Currently, the outsourced services need to be monitored keenly so as to ensure that deadlines are met and quality work is delivered. Possibly, the Bang IT and Bend IT building company set overly aggressive deadlines or tried doing too much work using a very small outsourcing budget that ended up backfiring. The company should hold discussions on reasonable deadlines with their freelance providers so as to ensure that the deadlines realizable. It is also advisable for the Draper engineering company to be realistic about their budget and what is expected to be accomplished in the set budget (Julie 2001). If the outsourcing services are not working, the outsourcing project requirements might change or Drupe engineering might decide to give a try of a different technique — irrespective, the company should let the Bang IT and Bend IT building company know immediately and be willing to hold discussions of new deadlines. Whenever the project is accomplished on time and exceeds expectations, Drupe engineering should give a freelance bonus to the other company. Whenever the provider demonstrates the values of their outsourcing relationship; they should return the favor. Varying competence of shift employees There is need to eradicate the common friction existing between the different members of staff as a result of the varying levels of abilities amongst the shift engineers and shift electricians. The Drupe engineering should delegate duties on it staff based on the individual deliverables. The company should also find out whether the employee’s deliverables and efforts provide clarity to the company (Armstrong 2006). Lack of proper planning on the projects The project and developmental engineering tasks require efficient co-ordination and planning. It is also essential to have these projects sufficiently thought through. There should also be regular planned maintenance practices on the company’s machinery. This would help avoid the company’s shut-down resulting from the unattended machined tear and wear matters Improvement of the current technology By making improvements to the current technology, the company can help improve the current situation.  The use of the Gantt chats that would be effective if adhered to. This could be of help in time and resource allocation during the course of various projects. By working using the Gantt charts, the common lateness in the projects could be reduced at a significant level. The library of stored information would form a robust base of information and the records of company’s milestones. These online archives will enable the managers to constantly analyze the video files and photographs and be able to monitor the progress of the projects. The GPRS technology will be essential in monitoring the daily progress of the project since the managers will be tracking how busy the workers are within the site. This technology could be of help in curbing the habit of workers delay-dallying within the site and could, to some extent, help the company meet deadlines. Communication within the company Communication within the various departments in the company should be effected so as to facilitate so as to enhance a smooth running of the activities within the company. The company can organize for training sessions of their employees on communication skills. Through these trainings, the staff will be enlightened on the communication channels within the company (Julie 2001). Question 2 Re-organization of the maintenance department The maintenance requires reorganization through area assignment. The technicians require to be permanently assigned to be maintaining particular production lines (for example, products assembly or the automated "cluster areas"). Usually, this form of area assignment can make an effective utilization of the employees’ talents; however, in certain instances it might overtax the workers. Once an employee has been assigned to a particular line of production, the worker will be accountable of any negligence experienced during the tenure of the worker. Only one technician should be given the accountability for a region of the production plant or facility. In case a top priority occurs within the specified region, the individual would be required to have an immediate response, whether or not in an engagement of other task. These area assignments should be effected on in a classic area organization. The area assignment can be perceived to be superior to line assignments since it encourages devotion to a specific activity while promoting an increase in productivity through the provision of the other general work projects outside those of area responsibility (Armstrong 2006). It is important to set maintenance department objectives, which would be used in guiding the functional events of the maintenance department and reflecting the whole mission of the company. However, the most critical part of the objectives is getting the jobs done successfully, to do so, the maintenance department will be required to codify different functions and activities that are characteristic to its organization. Also, right people should be selected, in exact numbers and with the suitable abilities, to be responsible for the maintenance duties (Julie 2001). Also, the company should come up with a dedicated preventive maintenance team. This crew literally will be meant to create the preventive maintenance procedures from scratch. The team will be researching the technical manuals that are available in the company, interview well experienced maintenance technicians from other companies on how to deal with the current state in the company. The crew is expected to become, in time, a very committed and very well informed PM Drupe engineering crew. These technicians would be working on day shifts and perform preventive maintenance; possibly 40 hours in a week while doing nothing else. Question 3 Dealing with Bang IT and Bend IT in order to improve the performance Since the Bang IT and Bend IT building company has been failing to meet project deadlines, the Drupe engineering company has to devise various mechanisms so as to counter the challenges. Maintaining an effective communication The Drupe engineering should constantly be asking the Bang IT and Bend IT building company how they prefer to be communicating with them. The managers of the Drupe engineering company should ensure that they are onsite and talking with the contractor every morning before work commences. The managers should have the contractor’s cell phone numbers and be calling them to enquire about the progress of the project. The managers of the Drupe engineering should also have talks with the job foremen on daily basis at pre-determined time. The leaders of the company should do their level best to ensure that they have daily meetings with the project leader. This will also be good opportunity for the leaders to hear the progress reports and be informed of the task that is scheduled to take place in future — and also to ask questions while raising any concerns that might be present (Armstrong 2006). Keeping project journals The Drupe engineering company should have project journals that are always updated. The project journals will be recording the progress of the projects, noting things that the leaders would be intending to ask the Bang IT and Bend IT managers, jotting down ideas. The project journals would also be used in recording product order numbers as well as noting the upcoming delivery dates. The journals help keep communication transparent, and provide records of who said what and when — and this could help the company in ironing out any future dispute (Julie 2001). Checking the work The company should be proactive regarding the checking of the Bang IT and Bend IT’s work. The most suitable to be checking at the work is after the workers have left for the day. It would be important to be making notes in the project journal and bring up any issue that one would be concerned about during the course of the daily check-ins with the contractor. Reference List Armstrong, M. 2006, A handbook of Human Resource Management Practice (10th edition), London: Kogan Page Julie, B 2001, The Practice of Generalist Social Work. New York, NY: Routledge. Kitts, B; Edvinsson, L; and Beding, T 2000, Crystallizing knowledge of historical company performance into interactive, query-able 3D Landscape, Boca Raton: CRC Press Thomas, J; Kasshanna, B 2007, "The Use of and Misuse of SWOT analysis and implications for HRD professionals". Human Resource Development International 10 (4): 383–399 Read More