1. A manufacturing facility that makes steel materials handling devices such as hand carts and an assortment of roller carts for moving heavy materials around in manufacturing facilities has decided to start making cantilever storage racking systems. This will require the purchase and installation of a 12-foot hydraulic press brake and a 12-foot shear in the fabrication department along with the necessary tools and dies to bend and punch holes in the rack components that will largely be manufactured from formed sheet metal. Employees have experience working smaller versions of this type of equipment, but room will need to be made and larger pieces of sheet metal will need to be cut and handled. The department will also need to continue to produce existing orders while the new equipment is installed. How can a management of change program be used to reduce risks in such a scenario? (75 words)
2. Your organization, a company that manufactures fitness equipment such as treadmills and elliptical machines, is about to introduce lean concepts into its operations in order to be more competitive with foreign manufacturers. The foreman from the assembly department, however, does not think that his employees have the time to be involved with the lean initiative. Provide a convincing argument about why it is important for the assembly line workers to play a part. (75 words)
3. Your purchasing department does not want to buy adjustable hydraulic pallet stands for the filter assembly line at a company that makes oil filters for cars and trucks. They state that the current process works just fine and that expensive, adjustable stands are not required in the Occupational Health and Safety Administration standards. The production employees in the facility are largely female and many have worked at the facility for decades. The current process for accessing filter parts entails having assemblers bend over to pick up arm loads of the various filter components from a pallet or bin and placing them on a table beside their respective workstations. The parts are assembled and pressed into place, and the completed product placed in a separate bin. Please provide a risk-based argument as to why the adjustable pallet stands would be the better choice. (200 words)
