Programme in Operations Management

The learner will gain understanding of essential terminology, concepts, and strategies related to demand management, procurement and supplier planning, material requirements planning, capacity requirements planning, sales and operations planning, master scheduling, performance measurements, supplier relationships, quality control, and continuous improvement.

This programme will enable learners to function as team members of the multi-disciplinary Supply Chain Management sector as reliable and productive employees in the delivery of holistic Supply Chain Management Functions.

Who Should Participate?

This programme is intended for practitioners in the industry and offers in depth insight into the production and inventory management arena. It is beneficial for production managers, production planners, engineers, purchasing staff, production supervision accounting or any functional area of a manufacturing organisation intending to formalise their knowledge.

Benefits

This programme can help you to:

Increase your functional knowledge of production and inventory management
Improve efficiency across the processes of your organization's supply chain
Maximize customer satisfaction by delivering products and services on time
Being able to understand how different parts of the organization depend on one another
Increase profitability by optimizing your organization's inventory investment
It aims to provide key, senior top management personnel with the knowledge and understanding to run their organisation using world class manufacturing practices.

Introduction to Operations Management

Explore the basic concepts in managing the flow of materials in a supply chain. In the Introduction, you get a complete overview of material flow, from internal and external suppliers to and from your organization. Topics include:

Business-wide Concepts
Elements of the supply chain
Operating Environments
Financial fundamentals
Manufacturing resource planning
Just in Time
Total Quality Management
Demand Planning
Market Place Drive
Customer Expectations
Definition of Value
Customer Relationship Management
Transformation of demand into supply
Design & Capacity management
Planning, Execution and Control
Performance Measurements
Supply & Purchasing
Physical Distribution System & Inventory

Operations Planning

This module explores the processes used to develop sales and operations plans and identify and assess internal and external demand and forecasting requirements. The course focuses on the importance of producing achievable master schedules that are consistent with business policies, objectives, and resource constraints. Topics include:

Developing and validating a plan of supply
Relating the planning process to the environment
Understanding business choices
Developing and validating a sales and operations plan
Identifying and quantifying demand
Forecasting the demand
Developing and validating the Master Schedule
Relating the master schedule process to the business environment
Understanding the business choices that impact the master scheduling process
Constructing and implementing the Master Schedule
Measuring the business planning focus

Learners explore processes used to develop sales, and operations plans; identify and assess internal and external demand and forecasting requirements; and effect an achievable master schedule consistent with business policies and resource constraints. The course focuses on developing and validating a plan of supply, relating management of demand to environment, and developing and validating the master schedule.

Detailed Planning

Focus is on the various techniques for material and capacity scheduling. You will study detailed descriptions of material requirements planning (MRP), capacity requirements planning (CRP), inventory management practices, and procurement and supplier planning.

Topics include:

Planning material requirements to support the master schedule.
Identifying the information used in material planning
Identifying the desirable characteristics of the detailed material planning process
Mechanics of the detailed material planning process
Maintaining the validity of the material plan
Interactions with other systems (closing the loop)
Planning operations to support the priority plan
Recognising the characteristics and techniques of the detailed capacity planning process
Identifying information used in the detailed capacity planning process
Measuring the performance of the DCPP
Planning procurement and external sources of supply
Techniques and concepts for supplier partnerships

This course focuses on material and capacity scheduling and planning. It includes a detailed explanation of material requirements planning (MRP). The course also introduces another techniques, material dominated scheduling which is applicable to process industries and other mature production environments.

Operations Scheduling

Focus on the areas of prioritizing and sequencing work, executing work plans and implementing controls, reporting activity results, and providing feedback on performance. The course explains techniques for scheduling and controlling production processes, the execution of quality initiatives and continuous improvement plans, and the control and handling of inventories. Topics include:

Prioritising and sequencing work to be performed
Production environment
Scheduling production and process operations
Executing plans, implementing physical controls, and reporting results of activities performed.
Authorising and reporting activities for push systems & pull systems
Transaction reporting
Communicating customer supplier information
Controlling resources
Executing quality initiatives, eliminating waste, implementing continuous improvement plans
Evaluating performance and providing feedback
Evaluating quality management processes
Monitoring supplier performance
Evaluating performance of production operations
Evaluating contractual and regulatory compliance and cost performance operations

This course focuses on 4 main areas; prioritising and sequencing work, executing work plans, implementing controls and reporting activity results; and evaluating and providing feedback on performance. The course explains techniques for scheduling and controlling production and process operations. It addresses the execution of quality initiatives and continuous improvement plans as well as the control and handling of inventories.

Operations Strategy Management

Explore the relationship of existing and emerging processes and technologies to manufacturing strategy and supply chain related functions. Topics include:

Aligning the resources with the strategic plan
Competitive market issues
Choices affecting facilities
Choices affecting the supply chain
Choices affecting information technology
Choices affecting organisational structure
Configuring and integrating the operation processes to support the strategic plan
Configuring and integrating the priority planning process
Configuring and integrating the capacity planning process
Configuring and integrating design and development process
Configuring and integrating cost management process
Implementing change
Evaluating and management projects
Measuring organisational performance
Managing change in and organisation

In this course students explore the relationship of existing and emerging processes and technologies to manufacturing strategy and supply chain related functions. The course addresses three main topics: aligning resources with the strategic plan, configuring and integrating operating processes to support the strategic plan and implementing change.

Duration:

Each module is 30 hours in duration (i.e. 30 x 5) 3 hours per week over 10 weeks

Delivery Method:

Facilitated and classroom based

Entry Requirements

Completion of the NQF 4 Certificate in Operations or relevant business experience in the field of Supply Chain Operations

Assessments

Homework and class assignments for each session and a final examination on the completion of each module.