Operational Management at Nissan Motors UK Ltd.

OPERATION MANAGEMENT

INTRODUCTION

Operational management is the branch consisting of the supervision of the different functions performed by a business. Operational management is an approach that is used in the context of maintaining the functions of the different departments of an organization (Ramos, et al. 2018). The following case study will contain a brief knowledge of the operational management at Nissan motors UK ltd. (NMUK). The key elements, just in time process, principles of quality management etc. are also explained in detail.

NMUK is the car manufacturing plant situated in Sunderland, England in the year 1984. It is the UK operational unit of Nissan. Nissan UK operates in the proper direction of Nissan motor corp. there are some specific strategies used by the organization which will be studied in detail.

MAIN BODY

OPERATIONAL PROCESS

Operational process is a transformation process which works following the needs and demands of the customer as what they expect with the organization regarding quality and other essential stuff. Operational management is based on effective strategic planning that includes identification of the best possible strategic ways to innovate the methods of organization. To provide the customer with complete satisfaction of purchasing a proper strategy is needed. Nissan uses the strategy of cost leadership for keeping itself highlighted in the eyes of customers. Nissan is known as the lowest cost car manufacturer in the automobile industry and this is the major centre of attraction for the customers to get the quality products at the lowest possible prices. The operation process used by Nissan Motors includes total productive maintenance, simultaneous and sequenced production, and management of the workplace and lastly, the process is highly focused on continuous improvement (Ikegami and Maznevski, 2019).

KEY ELEMENTS OF NISSAN MOTOR

The key elements of the operation procedure of NMUK’s management can be explained as-

• The flow of production: The production flow of the organization is continuous as the organization uses “continuous flow production” strategy. In this type of strategy, the sub-assemblies are brought together to finalize the assembly area. It is considered as the most efficient and effective method that can ever be used for the production and the speedy process of the assembly area. This method is also cost-effective and in the last, it arranges the product by the needs and demands of the customers (Ramos et al. 2018). The production flow at NMUK is based on three major production shops that are the shops for panels and vehicle, the shop for plastic and the shops for casting in which the engine and other auto parts of the automobile are designed effectively. The Sunderland plant of the NMUK is highly advanced and uses advanced technologies as well. It has the usage of robotics technology and some other computer-integrated technologies as well (Tanaka, et al. 2017).

• Capacity: The meaning of capacity here is about the number or the units which can be held by a facility, or how much a facility can store and produce in a particular period. The machinery system of NMUK is already developed enough to work following the demands and needs of the customers in an effective manner. The capacity of the machinery and the workforce in the organization is about 4300. The production capacity of the organization is about 360,000 units per year. And if the organization introduces a third shift ad well then the production capacity can extend up to 500,000 units per year (Tanaka, et al. 2017).

JUST IN TIME PROCESS

This technology is known as JIT, the different types of vehicles and their other components are produced or manufactured just in time to meet the demands and needs of the customers. This process can be understood in such a way that the materials that are needed to assemble are only purchased when there is an immediate demand for them. The main objective of this process is to maintain the costs of manufacturing by saving some amount of money in the process of production. This process allows the organization to reduce the wastage of materials in the process of manufacturing. It enables the manufacturers to do speedy production of goods and services (Liu, et al. 2017).

NMUK uses the just in time process as its machinery is improvised enough to provide the timely process to the customers and the manufacturing unit as well. The machinery is already connected with the product data of Nissan that’s completely dependent on the machine precision. A transceiver is already fitted in the chassis leg which contains all production data that’s is all the specifications that are going to be put in the vehicle. After the application the specially produced seat is fitted into the vehicle for this it is said just in time process (Liu, et al. 2017).

PRINCIPLES OF TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT

The quality management tool that has been used by the organization and their operational manager is to check and have a well-managed control system to calculate the overall performance structure of the organization in the market and their employees as well. Quality plays a significant role in maintaining the brand image of the organization that leads to the enhancement of profits and an increase in the profitability of the organization (Gardas et al. 2018). NMUK uses different ways that are accepted and appreciated globally the management of Nissan takes out effective and different ways and use effective decision-making measures. The organization makes its quality management as a tool to provide the customer's satisfaction of purchasing. This is their main priority because this helps them in gaining a huge amount of customer base for their proper functioning. Nissan management TQM is a process in which the culture and the other complete improvisation is done to make it look better. The organization is working on TQM for ensuring some rules and regulations that require the participation of every employee of the organization (Ikegami and Maznevski 2019).

CONCLUSION

Good management of the operations of the organization is the essentials for the growth of an organization. The above case study discussed the operational management process at Nissan Motor Corp. The UK. The different measures that are essential for the organization to take in order to maintain the operations are discussed in the report in brief and also the processes that are being followed by the organization are explained by specific real-life examples.

REFERENCES

Gardas, B.B., Raut, R.D. and Narkhede, B., 2018. Reducing the exploration and production of oil: Reverse logistics in the automobile service sector. Sustainable Production and Consumption, 16, pp.141-153.

Ikegami, J.J. and Maznevski, M., 2019. Revisiting Carlos Ghosn’s Global Leadership Style: Making Sense of His Fall from Power. In Advances in global leadership. Emerald Publishing Limited.

Liu, J., Ma, R. and Wang, M., 2017. Status Quo Analysis and Optimized Scheme of In-plant Logistic Based on JIT.

Ramos, T.R.P., de Morais, C.S. and Barbosa-Póvoa, A.P., 2018. The smart waste collection routing problem: Alternative operational management approaches. Expert Systems with Applications, 103, pp.146-158.

Tanaka, S. and Chergosky, W.L., Toyota Motor Corp, 2017. Instrument panel for a motor vehicle. U.S. Patent Application 29/552,345.