In Androscogin Company, orders as they are received are placed in an available open time as productions are planned in weekly cycles. The production for the current order is planned one week before the start of the next production cycle. Clients place orders according to their preference of order, which include color, weight and size. Each machine was therefore designed to be successful and cost efficient to make certain types of paper. The company has five machines each assigned to making different types of papers. Because of the diversity of preference in customer orders, the mill put two production planners in each of the five machines in the mill (Rodger, 2007). In Norden, the management considers its expenses in the metal industry whereby Joe had a wide experience before starting the shop. The two foremen for this shop are responsible for assigning resources to the operators. They understand the operators so well that they know the inherent weaknesses and strength attributed to every opereation.
The processes in Androscoggin mill include various stages; wood preparation is the first process, pulp making is the second process, and paper making is the final process. The pulp making process is a slow process that consumes a lot of time, which alternatively could have been bought from a nearby company. In Norcen, there were five processes involved, and thye include preparation and grouping of material, lathe work was done then milling, followed by grinding, and last process was inspection and shipping. However, some jobs required different operations, and in most cases a process could come before its expected time. For example, grinding could come before milling (Rodger, 2007). Time lapses like the one witnessed above could be saved by structuring the shop in different categories with different processes. Operators could then specialize in their working docket. In addition, the shop would acquire material from customers and buy them at a considerable rate. In the Androscoggin paper mill, 40% of the wood used is produced from the company's land, while the remaining is taken from inventory for nearby wood millers.
Strikes encountered inAndroscoginn led to decertification of workers unions, and over 1000 workers left their jobs. There were no more workers unions to address workers grievances. A peer review procedure was therefore invented. Jobs at the mill were classified according to hierarchy and knowledge of workers. Moreover, peer review among workers governed the whole process of firing, transferring and promotion of workers. The Norcen shops workers are divided into three-shift workers, and are given orders according to their capability to manage machine for a maximum profit to the shop. The foremen have a clear knowledge that some workers are better than others in certain jobs, and consider this while assigning orders (Rodger, 2007). The foremen also consider the punctuality of operators in delivering outcome to their assigned duties. Workers are motivated by vocations as well as motivational rewards in consideration for their performance and seniority.
Androscoggin incorporated a process of full vertical integration. The mill combined papermaking and pulp making at the same site, thus cutting down the expenses of buying pulp. In force shop, vertical integration was in the operators work, and spurred the introduction of automatic machine, and as such a worker could operate two machines at the same time. Indeed, vertical integration saved the cost of production and time.
References
Rodger W. S. (2007). Prentice Hall Business Resources. Tour A-A Continuous Flow Process: International Paper, Androscoggin Mill Jay Maine Boston MA, Pearson Custom Publishing
Rodger W. S (2007). Prentice Hall Business Resources. Tour B-A Job Shop: Norcern Industries, Jersey Shore, Pennsylvania. Boston MA, Pearson Custom Publishing.
