ACE Engineering (ACE)
ACE is a public limited company located in country Z. It makes large ovens which are sold mainly to
restaurants and hotels in many different countries.
The main components used to make the ovens are metal. There are also rubber components which
fit around the oven doors and electrical components for the temperature controls. Only the electrical
components are imported. All other components are purchased locally.
ACE employs 200 production workers in its factory and 50 office workers. A high proportion of the
workforce leaves each year and the Human Resources department has to frequently recruit and train
new employees. All employees are members of a trade union. The directors of ACE have held
meetings to discuss how to manage the employees effectively. They want to improve the employees’
motivation.
The managers expect workers to follow instructions and the workers are told they will be dismissed if
they do not follow [Link] General Manager thinks that we need to be efficient to remain
competitive. We should be using lean production methods. All our competitors use lean production
methods such as just-in-time and waste reduction. Please research this for me and let me know what
you think.
(a) Define ‘batch production’
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(b) Outline two benefits of using quality control to ACE .
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(c) Identify and explain one advantage and one disadvantage to ACE of using batch production.
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(d) The directors of ACE want to introduce lean production. Consider the advantages and
disadvantages of two methods of lean production the directors of ACE could use. Recommend
which would be the best method to use. Justify your answer.
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