Alignment of planning and execution phases within Denel Dynamics

Abstract

Operations Management encompasses a wide variety of activities. At Denel Dynamics the most important of these is the Planning Phase which directs the flow of production and is thus critical to the success of the company. The problem is that a significant “gap” exists between this planning phase and the actual execution of the various projects. This seems to be mainly because of the instability present in the complex environment of armament production. This instability most often leads to projects exceeding their initial time lines and thus accruing additional costs in the form of penalties, rework and frequent rescheduling. The focus of the study lies in examining the causes, identifying the problem areas (between planning and execution) and the ultimate revitalization of its current scheduling methodology, traditional MRP. As will be illustrated in the project, conventional MRP procedures have little benefit to modern production’s bottom line and more innovative scheduling is needed which will present itself in the form of Critical Chain Scheduling. Because of the specialized nature of Denel Dynamics’ market, several factors will be taken into account, such as the political environment, economic climate, supply chain visibility, logistical factors etc. As these factors do not carry equal weight in influence they will only be discussed briefly. The anticipated outcome will be an improvement in the Planning phase through improved scheduling practices in order to ensure better execution in thislow volume, high complexity production environment to ensure the continuous success of South Africa’s missile and UAV producer, Denel Dynamics.