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Quality control
One of the most vital lessons learnt from the production of beef episode is the value of quality control. The production unit under analysis does not compromise on the quality of beef that comes from its facilities. The same applies to all the other companies that work alongside this organization during the slaughter and packaging of the product.
In operations management, quality control is critical in ensuring that products meet consumer needs and expectations. Therefore, a business must use standards against which to evaluate and to correct its respective outcomes. A number of characteristics stand out in the corn production of beef. First, inspection of the materials occurs prior to, during and after production of beef.
For instance, the raw materials used to feed the cattle are investigated and corrected as required. The quality of corn is affirmed by placing a corn factory in the middle of the cattle ranch (Kwon 12). The organization thus mitigates itself against risks that come from purchasing raw materials from the external environment. As the cattle continue to grow, the modern-day cowboys will check on a number of parameters to ascertain that the cows are growing as expected.
The first characteristic that will indicate the level of quality in the cattle is the muscle and bone ratio of the cow. Certain expectations exist concerning the quantity of muscle in beef-producing cows. This organization checks on its animals to make sure that they possess the right ones. Furthermore, the facility also looks at the fat content of the animals after a certain period of time.
Corn-fed cows grow at a much faster rate than grass-fed cows. Therefore, the amount of fat that they will have gained must be in accordance to certain expectations within the institution. Usually, back fat is examined. The Colorado ranch thus indicates that quality control within production is imperative in producing high quality products.
Quality assurance also continues after production during the slaughtering and packing phases. Perhaps this is one of the most critical areas because after this process, the meat will go to distributors who have no capacity to alter the quality of the product. At the slaughtering plants, workers will remove external fat and analyze the muscle size and shape of the cut.
They will also look at marbling and the pattern of muscle and fat distribution in the animal. The ranchers tend to command higher prices for those products with less fat. This aspect of post production inspection shows that quality control is a continuous process in beef production. However, intense inspection and quality checks occur at lower levels of production or in supply chain parts that are close to the consumer.
This case provides great insight on the need to balance quality checks with the cost, volume and level of details involved in processing. Keeping cattle is less detailed than slaughtering, so quality control must be revamped in the latter phase.
Inventory management
The beef producer also engages in inventory management. Operations management literature indicates that inventory management assists in tracking inventory, knowing required quantities, and determining when those items will be required. One also manages one’s inventory in order to determine what the price of a commodity will become.
The beef facility mostly controls its inventory in a periodic way. This is appropriate for the company because it deals with large quantity goods that are not as fast moving as other industrial products. Feed management is one of the prime aspects of inventory control in this organization. Beef cattle have different nutrient requirements owing to age and production stage needs.
Young calves are grass-fed and then weaned into corn production at a certain stage of their lives. The ranchers often calculate the level of feed needed by different types of cattle and then provide them accordingly. Some of the animals may require more protein than others. Inventory control for feeds is also affected by the seasons as cold rains affect nutrient requirements.
Inventory management is essential for such a large facility because it sells thousands of cows. The farm needs to plan how it will meet increasing demand for beef during certain seasons. It must link these demands with the point at which calving or breeding takes place.
The rate at which the cows gain weight should also be related to how frequently they will be needed by the slaughter houses. Facilities that deal with such large scale production must guard against shortages by linking seemingly unrelated aspects of the process with demand needs.
Production service design
Organizations have the choice of standardizing, mass customizing, robust designing, delayed differentiating or modular designing products. The organization under consideration has opted to standardize its production. This is a central development in the production of beef within the United States. The trend emanated from the economic and production efficiencies that stem from the practice.
In the past, most beef came from relatively smaller ranches. This case study shows that standardization works well for companies that sell products which are difficult to customize. Cattle are not unique, and adopting uniform production will ensure that a high quantity of beef is produced while costs of doing so remain low.
This approach to product design has also made corn production of beef a high quality process because similar procedures are followed through the product process. Furthermore, it is relatively easy for employees and owners of the facility to perform different aspects of production. For instance, feed purchasing, equipment management and facility organization are standard practices.
Additionally, inventory control as well as accounting are all routine. This has reduced production processes to a predictable and well-managed process. Corn production of beef also illustrates that certain product design benefits may be compromised during production. In an effort to standardize beef, some slaughtering facilities may choose to discard edible parts of meat.
This fosters a lot of wastage and may be uneconomical to beef farmers. Additionally, some consumers complain about the bland taste of corn-raised cattle. Such individuals have few alternatives to choose from if they feel like taking grass-raised beef. Therefore, standardization of the production and packaging of beef has provided fewer choices to some consumers as seen in the case study.
Overall, these three components of operations management have indicated that standardization, continuous quality control and inventory management can make the difference between effectiveness and obsolescence. Slightly more than 600 corn feeding ranches account for the vast amount of beef available in the US.
These institutions have capitalized on different aspects of operations management to ensure that they meet the high demand of beef that exists in the US. Some of them even spare some beef for export. This case study was critical in demonstrating that operations management principles work.
Works Cited
Kwon, Yul. The American Steak- America Revealed. 2013. Web.
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