Production and operations management

1. SCHOOL : SCHOOL OF BUSINESS SCIENCES AND MANAGEMENT
DEPARTMENT : ENTERPRENEURSHIP AND BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
NAME : NYAKUDANGA SIMBARASHE LAWRENCE
REG NUMBER : C13121559X
MODULE : PRODUCTION AND OPERATIONS MANAGEMNET
LEVEL : 4:2
DUE DATE :13 september 2016
LECTURER :MRS HOVE
QUESTION: Using an organisation of your choice evaluate its processes of
production and operations.

2. Introduction
Operations in an organisation are a system with its own sub systems. The ability of any
system to achieve its objectives depends on its design and control. System design is a pre
determined arrangement of components. It establishes the relationships that must exist
between inputs, transformation activities and outputs in order to achieve the system
objectives. With the most structured design there will be less planning and decision making
in the operations of the whole production process.
Lyons Maid is subsidiary of Dairiboard Zimbabwe which specialises in the production of
concentrated juices, dairy fruit juices and dairy products which include Ice creams among
other products. Each of the product that they produce uses a different process of production
depending on the product to be produced. In this case, we will be looking at the production
process for the dairy fruit juices named Cascade with its different flavours. The process
comprises of many elements and it is the purpose of this presentation to evaluate each of the
processes of production that they use from receiving of the raw materials to the dispatch of
the final product.
Definition of terms
Production
"Production is the process of transforming raw materials or purchased components into
finished products for sale (Chase R et al 2006).
Production is a scientific process which involves transformation of raw material (input) into
desired product or service (output) by adding economic value. Production can broadly
categorize into following based on techniques which include production through separation,
production by modification or improvement and production by assembly (Heizer,J. et al
;2008).
Process
According to Chase R et al (2006), they define process as a collection of interrelated work
tasks initiated in response to an event that achieves a specific result for the customer of the
process.
Production Process

3. 1 Purifying the water
The quality of water is crucial to the success of a soft drink. Impurities, such as suspended
particles, organic matter, and bacteria, may degrade taste and colour. They are generally
removed through the traditional process of a series of coagulation, filtration, and chlorination.
Coagulation involves mixing a gelatinous precipitate, or floc (ferric sulphate or aluminium
sulphate), into the water. The floc absorbs suspended particles, making them larger and more
easily trapped by filters. During the clarification process, alkalinity must be adjusted with an
addition of lime to reach the desired pH level.
Filtering, sterilizing, and dechlorinating the water
The clarified water is poured through a sand filter to remove fine particles of floc. The water
passes through a layer of sand and courser beds of gravel to capture the particles.
Sterilization is necessary to destroy bacteria and organic compounds that might spoil the
water's taste or color. The water is pumped into a storage tank and is dosed with a small
amount of free chlorine. The chlorinated water remains in the storage tank for about two
hours until the reaction is complete.
Next, an activated carbon filter dechlorinates the water and removes residual organic matter,
much like the sand filter. A vacuum pump de-aerates the water before it passes into a dosing
station.
Evaluation
The quality of the final beverage produced depends on the raw materials used. Water
contributes much of the content of the beverage. Therefore it is of much importance to make
sure the cleanest and safe water is used. This is done for health concerns and also to meet the
standard quality that they are supposed to produce. In as much as this process may be
expensive to them, it is of great importance as it is this process which makes sure that the
healthiest product is produced and which enables them to gain the competitive advantage that
they have in the market.

4. 2. Mixing the ingredients and Carbonating the beverage
The dissolved sugar and flavour concentrates are pumped into the dosing station in a
predetermined sequence according to their compatibility. The ingredients are conveyed into
batch tanks where they are carefully mixed; The syrup may be sterilized while in the tanks,
using ultraviolet radiation or flash pasteurization, which involves quickly heating and cooling
the mixture. Fruit based syrups generally must be pasteurized.
The water and syrup are carefully combined by sophisticated machines, called proportioners,
which regulate the flow rates and ratios of the liquids. The vessels are pressurized with
carbon dioxide to prevent aeration of the mixture.In the end,after misxing the ingredients,
they are carbonated .This is to make the product stand mire life in the market and again
carbona addition has to be monitored as they are not supposed to add more than the required
amounts of carbon
Evaluation
This process is one other process which has to be carefully done. Mixing should be made
with the right ingredients and in the right quantities. These will affect the final taste and
quality of the product and the shelf life of the product. Therefore much control and
monitoring has to closely done in this stage. It is the outcome of this process that will
determine the competitiveness of the product in the market as to those of competitiors. Lyons
should invest more in this area so as to make sure that they produce the best products. Failure
to invest in these such technologies may result in serious concerns and compromise in their
final product.
3.Filling and packaging
The finished product is transferred into bottles or cans at extremely high flow rates. The
containers are then sealed with pressure-resistant closures. Because dairy fruit juices are
generally cooled during the manufacturing process, they must be brought to room
temperature before labelling to prevent condensation from ruining the labels. This is usually
achieved by spraying the containers with warm water and drying them. Labels are then
affixed to bottles to provide information about the brand, ingredients, shelf life, and safe use
of the product.the labels are made of paper and the Plastics bottles are generally pre-printed
with product information before the filling stage.

5. Finally, containers are packed into cartons or trays which are then shipped in larger pallets or
crates to distributors.
Evaluation
Lyons in the past had been using human labour to do the filling and packaging of the drinks
but with the shift in technology they have adopted to using machinery to do the work of
filling, labelling and packaging the product. The move towards mechanisation of the process
has meant to them that the process is now faster and human error free. Therefore there is
efficiency and speedy and timely delivery of the final product to the consumer.It is during
this stage that they also have to make sure that they package the contents ethically as labelled
on the containers and not give way less contents than printed on the packages.The machinery
used in this process has to be ensured that at each and every time its working at its full
capacity and it does not have loopholes that may lead to bottle necks in the production
processes
To add more to this, they had to make sure that the packaging is appealing to the customer
because dull packaging will be less appealing to the market and may be stood out by
competitors in the market like Revival Dairy fruit juices.In the case of Lyons, their packaging
is well done and appealing to the customer.
4. Quality control measures
Quality control measures are one of the most objectives of Lyons Maid especially in the Food
and Beverage Industry. It is the key concept in providing and manufacture products that are
of quality since the products are being used by the customers mostly and since they are liquid
they involve a lot of monitoring and evaluation as it have problems with health of the people
especially the ingredients used. Dairy fruit juice manufacturers adhere to strict water quality
standards for allowable dissolved solids, alkalinity, chlorides, sulphates, iron, and aluminium.
Not only is it in the interest of public health, but clean water also facilitates the production
process and maintains consistency in flavour, colour, and body. Microbiological and other
testing occur regularly.
Therefore ,Lyons Maid has to strictly adhere to the quality control ,invest in quality control
measures and put in place all the neccesssry mechanisms to make sure that the company

6. produces total quality.Because Lyons maid meets all this in their production processes, this
enables their products to stand out in the market against competition. Besides the
expensiveness of the implementation of these quality control measures, the survival of the
company solely depends on them being
5.Recycling
One other crucial element in the production and business of the dairy fruit juice manufacture
is they produce non-decomposing packaging.Lyons uses recyclable packaging bottles.As part
of their production process and in a move to protect the environment and act ethically in
protectecting the environment they operate in, Lyons recollects and recycles the bottles in a
totally new process of heating and blowing the bottles to new ones.In the 21st century this is a
very good move in maintaining a sustainable environment.
Recommendations
Despite Lyons Maid having been using the best production processes in the making of their
Cascade dairy fruit juices, the following recommendations can also be adopted and be used to
their advantage.
Acquiring new technology
Technology simplifies the work done and the right technology can increase the output of the
organisation.Lyons can bring in new technologies in the production process of their products
and this can help in the production of increased volumes that they can use to meet the
increasing customer demands in seasons like summer when the demand of drinks is a bit
higher.
Training and development.
Machines alone do not produce anything.It is their combination with human labour to
produce the best output.People in the production process have ti be equiped with the best
skills that suit the area that they operate in.Therefore the human input in the organisation has
to be continuously trained and developed in terms of skills and talent so that they produce
the best products , come up with innovations for example when they introduced the
strawberry flavour in cascade and also should be trained to reduce errors that compromise
quality and increase the overal costs.Therefore the employees at Lyons have to be

7. continuously trained and developed so as to meet the goals and objectives of the production
process.
Quality Monitoring
Quality is the basis that every manufacturing iorganisation seeks to achieve.Lyons must make
sure that their quality control measures are strict and there is no compromise in quality.Their
products have the potential to compete in international markets and they thus have to make
sure that they produce nothing but the best quality in dairy fruit juices and this can only be
achieved by quality control.
Lyons Maid today in Zimbabwe stands as one of the trusted brands because of the strategic
planning and management and marketing techniques that it has been using since long. Thus,
it can be said that the operations department of Lyons Maid has to play an important role in
the establishment of the Lyons Maid as one of the most important names in Zimbabwe. Each
and every stage and process of production in the organisation is just the same and as
important as the orher and Lyons has to therefore treat them the same. Compromise in one of
the processes or poor monitoring of the processes or poor implementation of strategy can
result in serious problems for the company.

8. REFERENCES
Heizer,J. and Render, B.(2008) Operations Management. Prentice Hall .Pearson.
Chase,R. and Aquillano,T.(2006) Production and Operations Prentice Hall Pearson
www.dairibord.com