CASE STUDY 2014
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Case Study I
In the Canadian manufacturing plant of a global automotive company with headquarters in Canada, a large number of engineering activities are carried out in a wide range of areas. These activities include design, production of parts, assembly, testing, and quality assurance.
Many of the manufacturing processes in the plant are performed using automated technologies and equipment. People also perform some of the
manufacturing tasks and the plant employs over 400
workers. The decision on whether people or machines will be used for a particular task is dependent on many factors, including costs, time, quality and worker health and safety.
The plant considered here produces a many parts for vehicles and assembles them. Among the parts produced are engine materials and parts, pumps, fans,
some exterior parts, and electronics components. The
plant normally operates three shifts per day and has production lines including machining equipment, conveyers and overhead cranes, punch presses, and paint-spray booths. The plant utilizes electricity and natural gas extensively.
A number of workers at the plant have over the last six months been subject to several different health problems. The following information has been
received by the head engineer at the plant.
a) In an assembly area that was installed recently, workers have to bend to the ground throughout the day to attach several small parts onto a large and heavy vehicle component. Some workers have begun to develop lower back pain, likely due to the repetitive bending. The problem has become so severe for one of the workers that he has been told by his doctor to stay off work for two weeks so his back can recover. The manufacturing engineers who designed the assembly operation had wanted to use an automated system, but that option was deemed not to be economic. So they used a manual operation, but did not take into account industrial ergonomics, as they had no expertise in that discipline.
b) An increased incidence of respiratory illnesses has been reported over the last month by workers operating near the paint-spray booths. Many of
the substances used in the booths (paints,
solvents, etc.) are known to be causes of the observed respiratory illnesses. But the workers are not supposed to come into contact with any of the substances because the paint-spray booths are designed to ensure that all materials exit the plant through a high-capacity ventilation system and that no materials can leak back into the plant. No tests had been carried out on the ventilation system, or on the air quality around the paint- spray booths, so it is uncertain whether or not there have been any leaks into the plant from the paint-spray booths.
c) In an area of the plant where metal cutting occurs and workers use protective eyewear, workers have reported minor eye injuries. The area in question is one where it is common knowledge that the workers do not routinely use the protective eyewear. It is often observed to be hanging on nearby hooks or to be loosely hanging around the necks of workers. Workers complain that they find the protective eyewear uncomfortable and do not think it is needed or important. The plant manager knows of this behaviour but overlooks it, since enforcing the use of the protective eyewear seems may make the workers unhappy and, consequently, less productive. That, he feels, could render the plant non-competitive.
Questions:
a) How would you go about investigating the causes of the observed health problems?
b) What are the unsafe conditions and acts in the plant?
c) Which of the unsafe conditions and acts identified in part b are (1) of a technical nature, or (2)
related to human behaviour or management?
d) What are some steps can be taken to rectify the health problems observed?
e) Should the head engineer endeavour to rectify the health problems on her own, or should she report
the problems to the plant manager beforehand?
The head engineer is not sure if she will receive the support of the plant manager in rectifying the problems; what should she do if support is not provided?
f) Do you feel that some of the health problems that have occurred are due to worker health and safety being unduly compromised to allow the plant to
be more productive or profitable?
Case Study II
Consider again the plant described in Case Study I. The head engineer at the plant wants to ensure that the plant provides a safe and healthy environment. So, she decides to ask an engineering health and safety consulting company to do a health and safety audit of the plant. The report provided by the consulting company lists the following safety problems:
a) An expert on fires and explosions notes that the extensive use of natural gas in the plant could lead to an explosion in the plant in some circumstances. The force of such an explosion could lead to severe injuries or deaths of workers and, possibly, cause the building to be damaged or to collapse. The potential for an explosion could develop if a sufficient natural gas leak occurs or the plant ventilation system fails to perform properly or certain controls or sensors fail. But, the expert further notes, there is insufficient information available on the concentration of natural gas in the plant air, as only one natural gas sensor is in place at the plant, but it is not located in the main area where an accumulation of natural gas is likely to occur. Thus, the potential for an explosion could exist, yet not be detected or acted upon. In addition, the expert is concerned because the natural gas sensor is connected neither to an automated shut-off system for the natural gas supply nor to an alarm, thus increasing the likelihood of an incident and its potential severity.
b) Although maintenance is supposed to be done quarterly on the natural gas lines and equipment, no evidence is found that maintenance has ever been performed since they were first installed four years ago. Such maintenance typically involves checking for and fixing gas leaks. Also, no training has been provided to workers on either understanding the potential for explosion, or the steps to take to avoid an explosion. In fact, most workers did not even realize the potential for an explosion existed. Furthermore, no written procedures relating explosions exist within the plant.
c) The plant contains toxic materials that can harm people and animals. The way this material is
stored in the plant, it could, in the event of a plant
explosion, be released and impact an area within one kilometer of the plant. Such an incident could lead to illnesses or deaths among members of the public and could harm animals in the environment.
Questions:
a) What are the unsafe conditions and acts in the plant?
b) What are some steps can be taken to rectify the noted safety concerns?
c) From point c) in the consulting company report, it is clear that the problem affects not just worker safety, but also the safety of the public and the environment. Should the difference in who or what is affected cause head engineer to modify her actions in addressing the problem? If so, how?
d) Can the head engineer choose to ignore or not act fully upon the safety concerns raised by the consulting company? If yes, in what instances and under what conditions?
e) If the head engineer at the plant decides that measures must be taken to protect health and safety, but the plant manager refuses to approve the measures, what are the obligations of the head engineer?
f) Do any of the problems cited demonstrate that it is best to address health and safety comprehensively in the early stages of an engineering activity, preferably within the design process and not as an afterthought? For instance, can you indicate some measures that will likely be more expensive to implement to fix the problem compared to the cost that would have been incurred during the design process to resolve the problem then?
Case Study III
Consider again the plant described in Case Studies I and II. The head engineer at the plant realizes that the company has a similar plant operating in a developing country with different — and usually less stringent — occupational health and safety requirements, standards and codes than Canada. The head engineer is certain that the same problems that have been identified in Case Studies I and II for the Canadian plant also exist in the company’s foreign plant. The head engineer recommends to company management that the problems be fixed at the foreign plant, like they were for the Canadian plant. Company management refuses to authorize the work required to fix the safety problems in the foreign plant, and gives the following reasons:
a) The regulations and laws in the foreign country do not require the problems identified at the Canadian plant, should they exist in the foreign plant, to be rectified. The head engineer checks and learns that this is so, even though in Canada, where the company’s headquarters are located and where the head engineer is licensed, the company has an obligation to rectify the situation.
b) The work required would not be economically feasible in the foreign plant.
c) Even if one agrees that the company should be obliged by the foreign country to rectify the safety
issues in that plant, the problem is associated with the country’s laws and regulations, and not the
company’s policies or decisions.
Questions:
a) As a licensed engineer in a Canadian province, the head engineer is obliged to adhere to the code of ethics for engineers in her province. Mindful of this obligation, what actions should she take — if any — regarding the companies refusal to fix the safety problems in the foreign plant?
b) Select a province or territory in Canada. What are the relevant clauses in the engineering code of ethics of that province or territory that provide guidance on how the head engineer should deal with the dilemma she faces?
c) Are all of the reasons cited by the company for not fixing the safety problems in the foreign plant valid? For instance, can you give a scenario in which doing the required work might be economic?
Dear Students,
SMU MBA FALL 2014-2015 Assignments are available. For Booking ,Kindly mail us on kvsude@gmail.com OR call us to +91 9995105420 or S M S your “ Email ID ” us in the following Format “ On +91 9995105420 we will reach back you with in 24H ”