...founded Custom Molds, Inc. in 1997. The company, headquartered in Tucson, Arizona, consists of two manufacturing processes: the fabrication of molds and the production of plastic products for the electronics industry (Krajewski & Ritzman). In early 2015, the Millers realized that the industry they were supplying, alongside their own business was changing. Electronics manufacturers moved from developing their parts in-house to relying on strategic partners to provide the parts. As a strategic partner to the electronic companies, it is imperative that Custom Molds, Inc. delivers high-quality parts on time. Since the beginning of 2015, Custom Molds, Inc. has experienced delivery problems, with parts orders taking four to five weeks for delivery rather than the stated three. Additionally, two orders were recently returned due to a number of defective parts. The following business brief provides an analysis of the current problems faced by Custom Molds, Inc. and the competitive priorities that the organization must address. Analysis of Workflow Process Based of the operations flow chart (see Appendix A) and raw data provided by an analysis of Custom Molds, Inc. suggests that there are a number of steps for the organization to take that can address the issues that are currently slowing operations and curb the uptick in defective products. The provided data sets suggest that the number of high volume orders for parts is beginning to become the primary product line for Custom Molds...
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... 2. Changes in order needs in an unexpected way, as order for multiple molds are declining but order size for plastics is increasing. The impact on Custom Molds could be seen in sales figures over the past three years. The sales mix was changing. Although the number of orders per year for mold fabrication remained virtually constant, orders for multiple molds were declining. The reverse was true for plastic parts, for which the number of orders per year had declined but for which the order sizes were becoming larger. (Refer to the data provided) 3. Late delivery This is occurred to most of the plastics parts. Customers were complaining that parts orders were taking four to five weeks instead of the stated three weeks and that the delays were disrupting production schedules. Total time from order placement to receipt by customer is much longer than promised. This problem arises as the master scheduler was not able to determine the priority of a particular order and unexpected bottlenecking occurred during the production process. 4. Defective parts delivered to customer. Parts were returned to Custom Molds Inc after delivered to customer as a result from inefficient testing and inspection process. This will increase transportation and labor cost due to repair needed to fix the product and return back to the customer. Figure 1: Fabrication for mold Figure 2: manufacturing process for plastic parts ...
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.................. 5 Competitive Priorities Challenges ..................................................................................................... 7 Alternatives for Custom Mold......................................................................................................... 10 Conclusion ....................................................................................................................................... 12 References ...................................................................................................................................... 13 1 1.0 Introduction Custom Molds, Inc., owned by father and Son Tom and mason Miller in 1975, was originally formed to manufacture custom designed molds for plastic parts as well as produced custom made plastic connectors for the electronics industry. As the time went by, by the mid 1980s, since Custom Molds, Inc.’s reputation has grown up, as a designer and fabricator for precision molds, the Millers decided to expand their business into the production of plastic parts as well. In 1985, Custom Molds, Inc. operation involved two different processes which comprised mold fabrication and plastic parts production. The differences between nature of mold and plastic part fabrication are in terms of what is done. Custom mold fabrication requires high degree of customer contacts since the company worked closely with each...
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...What alternatives might the Millers pursue? What key factors should they consider as they evaluate these alternatives? With the major issues facing by Custom Molds Inc., the Millers have to come out with alternatives to solve the issues before the problems become aggravated. The major issues that have been identified are the changing trend of the electronic industry, delivery problems as customers complained that the parts orders took four to five weeks instead of the stated three weeks delivery, bottlenecks occurred during production process, and two returned orders because of the number of defective parts. Alternatives that the Millers might pursue as below: Business strategy for complete phase-out of custom molds The changing trend of...
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...1. Case Background Founded in 1975, Custom Molds Inc. is the producer and supplier of bespoke molds and plastic connectors to the electronics industry. Building on its reputation, the company expanded in-house operations in the 1980s to include the limited production of plastic parts geared towards R&D based initiatives. During the early 1990s, the company realized that the shifting structure and market environment of the electronics industry was starting to impinge on the company’s manufacturing processes. This created a host of issues. 2. The Issues and Possible Causes The main issue is that their clients have moved away from the old vertical manufacturing structure (i.e. acquiring the upstream/downstream components of the value chain). Instead, they have been building strategic and cost-effective partnerships directly with parts suppliers and this has completely altered the company’s sales mix (i.e. fewer molds are being ordered and the order sizes for parts have increased). This is inconvenient because Custom Molds’ core competency lies within mold fabrication (i.e. project process). Furthermore, Custom Molds only manufactures high quality parts in limited quantities within a limited scope (i.e. R&D based initiatives). Their production processes are not equipped to accommodate the large order sizes for parts, which is indicative of a batch process structure. Plus, the changing environment has highlighted process inefficiencies within the company which are leading...
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...INTERNATIONAL EXECUTIVE MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION OPS600 - OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT ASSIGNMENT 1 Custom Molds, Inc. Custom Molds, Inc., manufactures custom-designed molds for plastic parts and produces custom-made plastic connectors for the electronics industry. Located in Tucson, Arizona, Custom Molds was founded by the father and son team of Tom and Mason Miller in 1987. Tom Miller, a mechanical engineer, had 20 years of experience in the connector industry with AMP Inc., a large multinational producer of electronic connectors. Mason Miller graduated from the Arizona State University in 1986 with joint degrees in chemistry and chemical engineering. The company was originally formed to provide manufacturers of elec¬tronic connectors with a source of high-quality, custom-designed molds for producing plastic parts. The market consisted mainly of the product design and development divisions of those manufacturers. Custom Molds worked closely with each customer to design and develop molds to be used in the customer’s product development processes. Thus, virtually every mold had to meet exacting standards and was somewhat unique. Orders for multiple molds would arrive when customers moved from the design and pilot-run development to large-scale production of newly designed parts. As the years went by, Custom Molds's reputation grew as a designer and fabricator of precision molds. Building on this reputation, the Millers decided to expand into the limited manufacture of plastic...
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...Which Fruit Molds the Fastest? Problem Which fruit molds the fastest? Materials * Pears, Apples, Bananas * Plastic baggies * Fruit knife * Location: Kitchen * Pen and paper Question Which fruit, banana, pear or apple, will mold faster? Does fruit type effect mold growth? Hypothesis I think that bananas will mold faster than the apple or pear. Variables Independent Variable: Type of fruit Dependent Variable: Time to mold Variables That Need To Be Controlled: place left exposed to air, room temperature Vocabulary List That Needs Explanation Mold can be explained in the following ways: 1. Any of various fungi that often cause disintegration of organic matter. 2. The growth of such fungi. Procedures In my project I will be molding fruit that is exposed to air. To make this happen, I need a container box, one apple, one banana and one pear. I will cut each fruit with a knife and place them in a bag in a room temperature area such as my kitchen. I will need to wait for two weeks and see if any mold has grew. Every other day, I will take notes about the change that had occurred. Safety or Environmental Concerns Mold might cause sickness due to fumes. I need to throw away the fruit once it molds. Experimental Design Controlled, manipulated experiment What is your experimental unit? Molding Fruit Number of Trials: One Number of Subjects in each trial: Three Number of Observations: Fourteen ...
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...of Hand Sanitizer on the prevention of bread mold George Kotsiomitis and Paul Lee Mr. Menhinick SNC 2D1 May 22, 2015 Purpose/Question: * Do Hand Sanitizers Prevent the Growth of Bread Mold? Background Information: Through doing research on two main ideas revolving around our science fair topic we could have a knowledgeable hypothesis as well as other things to base our project on. The two main ideas are: what bread mold needs to grow and what ingredient is in hand sanitizer that prevents the growth of bread mold. Firstly, what are the ideal conditions for bread mold to grow in? Bread with no pesticides is the ideal and most common place for mold to grow in because it provides main nutrients such as flour and water that help the growth or mold. Once the mold gets on the bread these nutrients allow the bread to reproduce and spread. Furthermore, the temperature at which the bread is placed in is a major factor as well. Places where mold grows well is similar to those maintained in most homes. However in the summer seasons the growth of bread mold will be greater because of the rise in temperature. Moisture is the most ideal circumstance that bread mold needs to grow in. Mold requires water to survive and grow, bread mold has the advantage of usually being kept in a bag where the moisture does not evaporate. Therefore since bread naturally contains moistures it provides a suitable growing condition for mold. Secondly, what ingredient is in hand sanitizer...
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...you might find. Mold could lurk behind the drywall, under sinks, inside shower walls, under carpeting, or above ceilings. Since mold can affect up to 60 percent of homes, plan how to handle this contaminant safely if you find it. Dangers of Mold Mold causes a variety of health conditions, including asthma, allergies and other chronic respiratory illnesses. Because mold often grows undetected, the homeowners may not realize they have a mold problem until you start your construction project. The mold spores can then spread throughout the house, creating hazardous conditions for you and the homeowners. Once mold spores become airborne, they remain airborne for hours. Everyone in the house...
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...Mold is an unfortunate and unwelcome reality that most homeowners will eventually have to deal with. The fungus exists everywhere, even in the air you breathe. The spores of mold travel quickly, landing on any hospitable surface it can find. Sometimes these hospitable surfaces are in our homes, where they land and grow and eventually form infestations. It's important to take mold seriously and the best treatment for mold is prevention. In the Home Mold's best friend is a pesky thing called humidity. When there's plentiful moisture in the home, mold thrives. To keep mold from growing in abundance, make sure the humidity level of the house never exceeds 60%. If you're not sure the humidity level of your home, you can install a hygrometer....
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...about black mold or is all the media attention just hype? Is black mold removal really needed? If your home has a musty or earthy odor you have been ignoring perhaps you should pay attention it. What is Black Mold? Black mold is a fungus from the genus Stachybotrys. Black mold is widely distributed and there are around 50 different species of it. Toxic black mold, as the media calls it, is Stachybotrys chartarum Not all mold is bad and it is everywhere. In the outdoor environment it breaks organic matter down. Without it organic materials like leaves wouldn't decompose and would build up. Mold produces mycotoxins as it grows and feeds. It does this to keep other organisms out of its food supply. These mycotoxins seldom cause...
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...that time to sell a story. Media belonged to newspapers and information traveled much slower and not very reliable. People were more superstitious then, and the media took full advantage of that to sell publications and often made up facts to sensationalize stories. One of the explanations was the tomb’s toxins; studies have shown some ancient mummies carried mold, including Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus flavus, which can cause congestion or bleeding in the lungs. Lung-assaulting bacteria such as Pseudomonas and Staphylococcus may also grow on tomb walls. It is believed that when tombs were first opened, fresh air could have disturbed these spores, blowing them into the air, and perhaps, creating health problems. Gotthard Kramer, a German microbiologist from the University of Leipzip believes that the cause of the curse is some type of mold spores. Kramer studied 40 different mummies; he identified several potentially dangerous mold spores. Dr. Hans Merk, a dermatologist at the University of Aachen, Germany, performed similar research and analyzed dust and rock samples from tombs and found primarily three types of mold: Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus terreus and Cephalosporium (Acremonium) species; all of these species are toxic. They also provided meats, fruits, vegetables, clothing, ornaments, furniture, statues of their Gods and anything else thought to aid the pharaoh’s travel to the afterlife. These items after 3000...
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...A. Describe conidiospores and sporangiospores. 1. Identify a mold that produces each of these spores. Molds reproduce primarily by means of asexual reproductive. Conidiospores (conidia) a unicellular or multicellular spore that is not enclosed in a sac. Penicillium and Aspergillus are examples of molds that produce conidiospores. Penicillium is a common household molds and a food contaminant. Sporangiospores are formed within a sporangium (sac). Sporangia are formed at the end of aerial hyphae called sporangiophores e.g. Rhizopus can cause wounds and respiratory infections in the host with a compromised immune system (Gladwin, & Trattler, 2011). B. Describe a zygospore. 1. Identify a mold that produces zygospores. A thick-walled spore of fungi that is formed by union of two similar sexual cells, usually serves as a resting spore, and produces the sporophytic phase an example is rhizopus. It’s a black mold and grows on old bread and fruits. C. Describe what type of growth you observed in each of your substrates (e.g., number of colonies, shape, color, and defining characteristics). I saw about three different types of fungi on the bread. There was a dark green and white while the cheese only had some green fungi and all the colonies were all attached to each other looking like a sponge. On the strawberry I noticed a whitish-greenish-grey growth also with the hyphae growing outwards. It was all around the strawberry and the colonies...
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...In our lab today we separated into four different groups to prepare different types of quick breads. The quick breads we decided to make were popovers, muffins, biscuits, and different flour variations for both the muffins and biscuits. Before we began preparing these dishes, we discussed what needed to be prepared first and the proper way to prepare them for the short amount of time that we would have to work with. Working with instructions provided, each group was asked to prepare a variation of muffins, biscuits, and popovers. Once all the food had been prepared, we sampled each variation and gave a sensory evaluation. Being in group three, we prepared a batch of oil biscuits, whole wheat flour muffins and chemical leaveners for a different batch of muffins. While my partner began work on the biscuits I began work on our first batch of whole wheat flour muffins. Once everything was measured out, we combined them into one bowl and I began mixing. My partner took samples of the mixture after every few stirs, until we had three samples of under mixed, thoroughly mixed and over mixed. Finally, we placed the biscuits and the first variation of muffins into the oven to cook for twelve minutes for the biscuits and nineteen minutes for the muffins. While waiting for our muffins and biscuits to cook, I began working on our second variation of muffins while my partner worked on our third and final batch of muffins. I prepared the baking soda, and buttermilk muffins, while she prepared...
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...Problem: Competition was shifting as traditionally Nypro ahead of others by offering high precision moulds which not only satisfied but delighted the customers. But in recent times completion has caught up and have started similar producing moulds which needed high precision. Decision: Gordon Lankton has decided to incorporate an innovative product called NovaPlast. But due to the structure of the organization with 21 plants globally he has to take a call as how to introduce the product. Alternatives: Lankton has three alternatives in front of him on the issue of leveraging the capability of NovaPlast: 1. Build a new plant employing only NovaPlast machines: The advantage of having all the NovaPlast machines in a single plant is engineering efficacy. The Centralized development would facilitate personal oversight of project. Also the senior management is all in favour. However this option does not align with Nypro’s close-to-customer strategy. It will result into longer delivery time which is the most critical factor determining customer demand and satisfaction in the current competitive market scenario. 2. Install 2-3 machines in each plant: Having NovaPlast machine in each plant will help Nypro in quoting shorter delivery time and capture more market share. It aligns with the company’s close-tocustomer manufacturing policy. There could be however opposition from plant employees to adoption of an unproven technology and standardized employment of NovaPlast in...
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