Browsing by Author "New, Colin"
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Item Open Access Analysis and implementation of volume flexibility in manufacturing plans(Cranfield University, 1999-11) Oke, Adegoke; New, ColinManufacturing flexibility - the ability to change or respond quickly has been heralded as a major competitive weapon for manufacturing organisations operating in turbulent markets and markets characterised by fierce competition and rapid developments in technology. It is also important for the achievement of new management paradigms such as time-based competition, lean production, business process re-engineering and mass customisation. However, many issues on the concept of manufacturing flexibility such as, the clarification of why flexibility is needed, when it is needed, and how it can be implemented in manufacturing organisations have not been sufficiently addressed and resolved in the literature. This research project has been carried out to resolve some of these issues by focusing on one aspect of manufacturing flexibility - volume flexibility. The research design, which was developed to address the research issues, comprised the use of both quantitative and qualitative research methods. The quantitative research method is an exploratory mail survey of UK manufacturing plants in all the major industrial classifications. The survey was used to obtain broad patterns and evidence concerning the conditions that drive manufacturing plants to require volume flexibility and also to identify the mechanisms which manufacturing plants employ to achieve volume flexibility. The qualitative research method is an explanatory case-based research. Manufacturing plants in each sector that responded to the survey and provided rich and contrasting information about the issues being investigated were selected for the case study research. The case study research was used to confirm the survey results (triangulation) and more importantly to explain the trends and patterns observed in the survey analysis. The research concluded that high variability in demand levels is a major driver of volume flexibility and that it is generic in nature. Other drivers of volume flexibility were also identified. However, the applicability of these drivers to manufacturing plants was found to be independent of the sector to which the plants belong but on other specific characteristics of the plants. Mechanisms being employed to achieve volume flexibility in UK manufacturing plants were identified and referred to as enablers of volume flexibility. These enablers are not sector dependent but they do depend on specific market conditions, and their perceived costs and benefits. Substitute and complementary enablers were identified. Substitute enablers can be used to replace other enablers to achieve volume flexibility and complementary enablers aid other enablers in achieving volume flexibility. The research project also identified strategies, which can be employed by manufacturing plants to implement the enablers in achieving volume flexibility.Item Open Access Customer support and new product development : An exploratory study(Emerald Group Publishing Limited, 2001-03-01T00:00:00Z) Goffin, Keith; New, ColinCustomer support is an essential element in the successful marketing of many products – from domestic appliances to high-tech computer networks. Many aspects of support are strongly influenced by a product’s design and so customer support requirements should be evaluated during new product development. However, researchers have largely ignored the relationship between new product development and customer support. The current study addressed this gap by using case studies and a workshop, both conducted with leading companies, to identify how customer support is typically evaluated at the design stage and to determine the importance of this aspect of new product development. The results have implications for managers responsible for product innovation – they show the need to allocate adequate resources to integrating customer support requirements into new product develoItem Open Access Customer support and product innovation : three exploratory case studies(1998-01-01T00:00:00Z) Goffin, Keith; New, ColinItem Open Access The delivery reliability of UK manufacturing plants: an empirical study(1999-03) Szwejczewski, Marek Gregory; New, ColinDelivery reliability is an important factor that customers consider when selecting their suppliers. It is also an important component of manufacturing strategy. With quality consistency now being taken for granted in some market sectors delivery reliability is one of the few variables a manufacturing company can compete on. The operations management literature suggests a number of variables that impact plant delivery reliability, but offers little empirical research evidence to substantiate the claims made, this research re-addresses this imbalance. The research examined the nature of the relationship between delivery reliability and a series of variables. In particular the research examined the relationship between the plant’s delivery reliability and the following variables: part complexity, customisation, supplier delivery reliability, management focus and performance measurement focus. The research made a number of contributions. Firstly, the research found a significant negative relationship existed between the proportion of customised products and delivery reliability. The results indicate that as the proportion of customised products increases so the level of plant delivery reliability declines. Secondly, the research found that plants that supplied mainly demanding customers had high levels of delivery reliability. Whilst those plants that supplied some or no demanding customers had low levels of plant delivery reliability. The research also found that supplier delivery reliability was positively related to plant delivery reliability. The results suggested that as supplier delivery reliability improves so does plant delivery reliability. The research results pointed to the fact that the focus of the management team on delivery reliability was also related to delivery reliability. The plants where the management team was focused on delivery reliability also had high levels of delivery reliability.Item Open Access How innovative are UK manufacturing companies?(1997-01-01T00:00:00Z) Goffin, Keith; Szwejczewski, Marek; New, ColinItem Open Access Investigation of enablers and inhibitors to the flow of materials in different operations contexts(Cranfield University, 1997-03) Harrison, Alan; New, ColinThe operations management literature presents a burgeoning array of so-called new wave manufacturing' strategies that are aimed at reducing throughput time and waste. Much of the evidence has been practitioner-inspired, and has a tendency to anecdote and promotion at the expense of thoroughness and objectivity. Boundary conditions which define the circumstances under which these new concepts are appropriate or inappropriate as part of a manufacturing strategy are neither well documented nor well understood. Meanwhile, the literature in organisational behaviour has developed separately and independently from the literature in operations management, and the two subjects tend to talk past each other. There is a need better to understand the technical and social aspects of the new concepts, so that the more fragmented claims on the one hand can be distinguished from the over-generalised claims on the other in the context of a operating system. The research design that was developed to address such issues comprised the simultaneous collection of qualitative and quantitative evidence from two units of analysis in two contrasting case study contexts. These were the final assembly process of a automotive manufacturer, and a manufacturer of polypropylene lm. Common research methods were used in each. Qualitative studies addressed the social issues of implementing new wave concepts, using a Japanese-inspired humanware model which addresses the interface between machinery and human relations across six categories. Quantitative studies collected evidence using five instruments to probe technical aspects of implementing the new concepts. In both types of study, the notion of enablers was used to direct attention to phenomena that speeded up or slowed down the flow of materials. By simultaneously applying qualitative and quantitative methods within the same operating contexts, integrated and self-consistent conclusions could be drawn by triangulating the evidence. The Comparison between the two contrasting contexts then provided further conclusions regarding features of the implementations which were particular to context, and features that appeared to be more general in nature. The research concluded that the contribution of the new concepts should be viewed in the light of tradeoff enablers (which create advantage in one area only to cause offsetting disadvantage in another), best practice enablers (which create advantage in any operations situation), and specific enablers (which create advantage only in given operations situations). These enablers can be applied to both technical and social aspects of the new wave, strategies: they also have offsetting negative characteristics which have been referred to as inhibitors.Item Open Access Perceived service quality in the air freight industry(1993-05) Khan, Amin; New, ColinThe study of service quality is still at its infancy. Service quality can be addressed from the service provider's perspective or from the customer's perspective. From the customer's perspective, it is known as perceived service quality. It is the result of the customer's view of a bundle of service attributes, some of which are technical whilst others are functional in nature. In this study, the attributes of service quality are elicited from the customer's perspective. The customers consist of air freight forwarders and shippers in Singapore and Malaysia. In freight distribution, other than service, price is also an important dimension. Most of the studies being conducted in freight distribution are limited to the rail and truck freight industry. In the air freight industry, the study on price and service are virtually non-existent. This study addresses both the customers and the airlines. On the customers side (consisting of air freight forwarders and shippers), it addresses the components of perceived service quality and the trade-off among price and service attributes. On the airlines' side, it also covers the trade-off among price and service attributes. This is to measure the size of the gap between the customer expectations and airline's management perceptions of those expectations. Additionally, a comparative study among the airlines is carried out on their emphasis on the key factors affecting the service production system. r The study makes use of the Repertory Grid technique, the Conjoint Analysis, and the Structured Questionnaire. The analyses are conducted using three different programs: INGRID (for the Repertory Grid technique), $FTROFF (for the Conjoint Analysis), and SPSS (for the Conjoint Analysis and the Structured Questionnaire). The research shows that there are three components of perceived service quality labelled as Predictability, Capability, and Interaction. Both the Predictability and Capability components address the technical outcome, whilst the Interaction component addresses the functional outcome. The "good" airlines are perceived to have a better performance on all the three components than the "average" and "poor" airlines. However, among the three components, the "good" airlines are perceived to perform better on the Predictability component, whereas the "average" and "poor" airlines are perceived to perform better on the Interaction component. Within the customers, there are the price sensitive and less price sensitive respondents. The price sensitive respondents place more emphasis on the core service, whereas the less price sensitive respondents place more emphasis on the peripheral services. Within the forwarding company, the price sensitive respondents comprise the top/sales managers, and the less price sensitive respondents comprise the operations personnel. For the shippers, the price sensitive respondents comprise the manufacturers of consumer electronics, whereas the less price sensitive shippers comprise the manufacturers of industrial electronics. The research shows that there is a negative gap on the core service between the customer expectations and the airline perceptions of those expectations. On the peripheral services, the gap is positive between the airlines and the top/sales managers in the forwarding company, whereas it is negative between the airlines and the operations managers in the same company. Among the three categories of airlines, the "good" airlines place more emphasis on seven key factors affecting the service production system than the "poor" airlines. Of these, four could be categorised as management factors, and they are Marketing Research Orientation, Upward Communication, Goal Setting, and Task Standardisation. The other three are operations factors, and they are Team-work, Technology-job Fit, and Perceived Control. The management key factors affect the gap between customer expectations and management perceptions of those expectations, and between management perceptions of customer expectations and the service-quality specifications. The operations key factors affect the gap between service-quality specifications and service delivery. The research has contributed to the knowledge on perceived service quality and research methodology. In addition, the research findings are useful to the airlines. The important components and attributes of perceived service quality can be used by the airlines to design the service offering. The trade-off analysis can also be used by the airlines to modify the service offering for the specific customer group. The comparative study among the airlines on their emphasis on the key factors will be useful in improving the service production system.Item Open Access Performance Trade-Offs in Manufacturing Plants(Cranfield University, 2002-02) Mapes, John; New, ColinIf manufacturing organisations are to remain competitive they must continuously improve their levels of operating performance. In order to do this, operations managers must understand which are the key drivers that are most effective at creating performance improvements and how the various measures of operating performance interact. The research addresses both of these issues. First it attempts to identify the key drivers that seem most effective in achieving increases in overall operating performance. Then it explores the relationship between the levels of performance for different operating measures in the same manufacturing plant. The basis of the research was a database of 953 UK manufacturing plants. These plants had all participated in the UK Best Factory Awards database during the years 1993- 1996. The plants were grouped into 6 industrial categories. The plants in each industrial category were then ranked for each performance measure and divided into three equal-sized groups of high, medium and low performers. The groups of high and low performers were then compared in order to identify characteristics that were statistically different for the two groups. The high performers were found to put a greater emphasis on continuous improvement, involving a higher proportion of the workforce in this activity. The workforce was also more flexible in terms of the range of tasks that they were competent to carry out. The high performers exhibited much less variability in their processes with greater adherence to schedule, more consistent processing times, lower scrap rates and more reliable supplier deliveries. Using the results of this analysis in combination with an analysis of the literature on the characteristics of high performing plants a tentative model was constructed attempting to show how these characteristics would impact on operating performance. The model suggested that improvements in unit manufacturing cost, quality consistency, speed of delivery and delivery reliability would be positively correlated. The model also suggested that the size of the product range would be negatively correlated with unit manufacturing cost, quality consistency, speed of delivery and delivery reliability. The database was used to test for statistical correlations between measures of these aspects of performance and the results provided general support for both of these propositions. Six of the plants in the database were visited and staff responsible for planning, purchasing and production were interviewed. The objective was to test whether the conclusions reached on the basis of statistical analysis could also be validated at individual plants. There was general support for the differences in the characteristics of high and low performing plants. There was also general support for the propositions that plants achieve similar performance on unit manufacturing cost, quality consistency, speed of delivery and delivery reliability relative to plants in the same industrial sector and that increasing the size of the product range adversely affects unit manufacturing cost, quality consistency, speed of delivery and delivery reliability.Item Open Access Planning Product Support for Medical Products(Cranfield University, 1992-10) Goffin, Keith; New, Colin; Clark, G.Product support is a key aspect in the marketing of high-technology products, since it strongly influences customer satisfaction and can also be an important source of revenue. Typical forms of support include operator training, equipment maintenance and, if necessary, repair - all of these are normally provided by manufacturers' support organizations. Good support is particularly important in some markets; an example is medical equipment where good operator training and quick repairs are essential because products are used in critical situations. Despite its importance, support has not been extensively researched. This study describes a management investigation of two aspects. Several authors have identified that product support is dependent on product design. Consequently, the same authors emphasize that support should be thoroughly evaluated during product design. This study identifies the range of factors that may be evaluated and shows that most of the companies surveyed do not fully evaluate support during the design stage. These results are not covered by previously published material and have implications for management. As support influences customer satisfaction, it is important to know how customers perceive support. The study investigated the customer attributes of good support, using interviews with medical equipment customers. The results show that a common set of attributes are associated with support, some relating to the product itself and some to the support organization. The characteristics of products which are easier to support were also identified from the interviews. The contribution of the research is that it made an exploratory investigation of the concept product support. It not only gave the first survey data on how companies plan support but also investigated customers' perceptions of product support. Consequently the study provides a foundation from which there is real scope for further management research, into what is becoming recognized as a vital element of high-technology marketing.Item Open Access Product innovation in UK manufacturing companies(Inderscience, 2000-01-01T00:00:00Z) Goffin, Keith; Szwejczewski, Marek; Sweeney, Michael; New, ColinIn many sectors of the manufacturing industry, product innovation is an important way for companies to achieve competitive advantage. Regular introductions of new products can be essential, especially in fast-moving markets. But how often do companies introduce new products? A database of UK manufacturing plants was analysed to determine the innovation rates and typical product development times in specific industry sectors. The results show a wide spread in the development times and innovation rates even within closely defined sectors - implying that some companies are particularly efficient at product innovation whereas others need to improve. In addition, the research identifies a number of key areas of innovation, which require further investigation, both within the UK and on an international basis.Item Open Access Supply base management : an empirical investigation(1996-01-01T00:00:00Z) Goffin, Keith; Szwejczewski, Marek; New, ColinManufacturing companies place a strong emphasis on the role of supply chain management-the management of supplies, suppliers, inventory and distribution. Supplier management is key and much of the literature talks about the trend to reduce supplier base. Database analysis gave empirical evidence of this trend in UK manufacturing companies-201 companies from different industrial sectors were all found to have cut their supplier base over the last four years, on average by 9% in the household products sector and approximately 35% in the process, engineering and electronics sectors. Further research at four companies looked at their experiences with suppliers and established that a key reason for supplier base reduction is to free time to more effectively manage the remaining suppliers. The criteria used for supplier selection and reasons why single- sourcing was avoided were also identified. These findings on supplier management have implications for both researchers and managers in industry.Item Open Access UK manufacturing : the challenge of transformation(1987) New, ColinItem Open Access UK/Germany Factory Performance Comparison(1997-01-01T00:00:00Z) New, Colin; Szwejczewski, Marek; Goffin, Keith; Pfeiffer, Rolf; Lohmühler, BertramThe Management Today Best Factory Awards in association with Cranfield School of Management have been successfully running in the UK in their current format since 1992. The purpose of the awards is to recognize and reward manufacturing excellence in the UK. Previous winners of the coveted ‘Factory of the Year’ award include Bonas Machine Company in 1995 and Van den Bergh Purfleet Foods factory in 1996. However, in addition to recognising manufacturing excellence, the programme collects detailed benchmarking data on manufacturing performance from over two hundred companies each year. This has enabled an extensive database to be created, against which individual manufacturing plants can be judged. In addition the database is being for research purposes - investigating manufacturing performance in various industrial sectItem Open Access World class manufacturing versus strategic trade offs(1991) New, Colin