Schedule delays and quality assurance: ShelvCraft

Abstract

Every company has constraints/limitations that prevent it from reaching its ultimate objective/goal which is the net profit. Requirements needed to be fulfilled in order to reach this ultimate goal is to increase throughput, decrease operating expenses and keep “work-in-process” inventory at the most economical level. These are but direct factors that contribute to a successful company; however, factors such as poor quality, employee morale and motivation, employee health and safety etc. are all indirect limitations or constraints to a successful company. The most critical task in eliminating a constraint is identifying the constraint. Once the identification process is completed, trade off analysis can be undertaken to adopt the most feasible alternative. ShelvCraft, like any other company had limitations to attaining its optimal net profit, which included schedule delays, as well as poor quality. Poor quality is a critical factor that contributes to a bad company reputation which is an emphasized concept in unsuccessful companies. These constraints were identified and proposed solutions were given using theory, tools and techniques from “Theory of Constraints”, “Lean Manufacturing”, as well as “Process Capability and Control Charts”