OpenUCT :: Browsing by Subject "Industrial Administration"

Browsing by Subject "Industrial Administration"

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Open Access
The application of the just-in-time production philosophy to the pharmaceutical industry in South Africa
(1986) Balchin, Keith J
This thesis researches the "Just-in-Time" (JIT) in the production philosophy and its application pharmaceutical industry in South Africa. While JIT is widely accepted in Japan and is gaining some acceptance in the USA, it is virtually unknown in South Africa. Studies of the JIT philosophy in the world at large have been largely confined to the use of JIT in repetitive mass production environments, such as is found in the motor industry. No prior studies have been conducted on the application of the JIT philosophy to the pharmaceutical industry in South Africa. The objectives of the thesis are: •To properly define JIT and establish the extent and nature of its components, having researched existing JIT systems in use throughout the world. •To investigate the application of JIT in South Africa with particular reference to the pharmaceutical manufacturing industry. •To determine to what extent JIT and Manufacturing Resource Planning (MRP II) can complement each other in improving productivity in the South African pharmaceutical industry. The techniques used in carrying out the thesis work included literature searches, attending seminars and conducting surveys, whilst the author participated in a JIT pilot project in the pharmaceutical industry.
Open Access
Designing a maintenance management system for a small to medium sized manufacturing plant
(1985) Drysdale, Gavin John
[page 54, 55 missing] During the last three decades, technology has advanced at an incredible rate. Plants have become more automated and complex, and it is evident thet the quality of service provided by the maintenance department has become a cornerstone of profitability. The idea of a Maintenance Management System is not a new one and considerable research has been carried out on various facets of the subject. However, it appears that much of this research has been directed at large organisations. This thesis covers research which is aimed at small to medium-sized plants with limited resources, and which do not have a developed Maintenance Management System. The objectives of the research concern the iMplementation of a system which will: design and al enable engineering staff to attend to breakdowns and other work in a logical manner, which will increase the overall efficiency of the plant. bl control artisan hours effectively and reduce overtime hours worked cl maintain accurate service and history records dl reduce unnecessary stoppages and obtain optimum plant availability at the minimum possible cost e) improve the attitude of executive management towards maintenance policies and provide a safe working environment fJ identify unreliable machines which are uneconomical to maintain gJ encourage the use of maintenance manuals ( i i ) These objectives were achieved by designing a Management System which included the following: Maintenance 1. A Maintenance Work Order System. This system would ensure that all work was carried out effectively. It would also produce feedback on maintenance performance, costs and equipment history. 2. A Preventive Maintenance System. Such a system would be modest to begin with and could gradually become more comprehensive to include all production equipment. 3. A Maintenance Information System. The trend nowadays is toward computerization. Therefore, a simple computerbased system was designed which could manipulate data on equipment inventory and history records. The system could be expanded to suit individual requirements. 4. Pareto Analysis. This technique could be used to identify key areas needing special attention, such as high downtime costs. 5. Performance Indices. By collecting data related to cost and performance, it was demonstrated how these indices could be calculated and plotted regularly. The research enabled Management Bystem for the author a smal 1 to to design a medium sized Maintenance plant. The investigation and analysis of results demonstrated that Pareto Analysis could be used to identify critical equipment, while performance indices would be useful tools for analysing maintenance or production trends. The importance of selling this system to top management was emphasised, because the success of the system would depend on their complete acceptance. For the plant under investigation, a central maintenance organisation plan was recommended because of its flexibility. The benefits of contract maintenance, and it's limits, were also highlighted. This thesis makes a contribution to the field of maintenance management because it provides clear guidelines on how to desi~n a suitable Maintenance Management System to satisfy individual requirements.
Open Access
The development of an integrated sales forecasting and production planning system for the brewing industry
(1991) Knight, T D; Lister, Gordon
Considerable imminent in change on the this country. political and economic front is There is constant demand on businesses to improve productivity in the face of rising inflation, a trend that is unlikely to reverse given expected high wage demands. The liquor market is consider-ably influenced by government legislation and the state of the economy, hence companies operating within the liquor market are challenged with improving productivity in a changing environment. In order to facilitate productivity improvement, sales and production requirements need to be ascertained. The objective of this thesis is to design personal computer- based sales forecasting planning system that will aid a brewery productivity and minimise costs, through an integrated and production to maximise an ability to accurately forecast beer sales and translate such forecasts into efficient production plans. Fundamental to ensuring that the optimum production scenario is achieved is the need to generate a number of production scenarios for comparative purposes. To this end, the sales forecasting and production planning systems must be fully integrated, thereby allowing for the efficient generation of "what if" type analyses.
Open Access
Effective motivation of Coloured labour in the construction industry of the Cape Peninsula
(1979) Beukes, Edward Peter
Currently, the Coloured population group constitutes approximately 55 percent of the total population of the Cape Peninsula and is growing at a rate of nearly 3 percent per annum. Since 1960, they are playing an increasingly important role in the construction industry of the Cape Peninsula and in terms of the Government's labour policy, are to replace Black labour entirely in this region in the long run. Presently, documented research literature on behavioural aspects of Coloured labour is scarcely available. Behavioural research literature available to South African industrialists is predominantly directed towards either Black labour of this country or labour of European and American countries. This information proved to be insufficient as a theoretical base for effective motivation of Coloured workers to participate in industrial activities and to perform at a high level in their work. For the most efficient utilization of the fast-growing Coloured labour potential of the Cape Peninsula, extensive scientific research into factors influencing the work-participation and work-performance decisions of this labour group is consequently sorely required. This study sets out to investigate the existence of possible barriers to the effective motivation of Coloured workers employed in the construction industry of the Cape Peninsula. It was felt that with a knowledge of the nature of existing motivational barriers and their stimulating factors, industrialists will be in a more favourable position to introduce incentive - schemes and to create conditions at work that will improve the present level of motivation of their Coloured employees.
Open Access
Energy utilization in the domestic sectors.
(1979) Stone, Andrew John; Dutkiewicz, Ryszard Karol; Bennett, Kevin Frank
In South Africa the domestic sector is an important energy user. Information is available on how much energy is supplied to this sector but little is known about how this energy is utilized. The purpose of this thesis is to try and gather information on this area of domestic energy utilization. As the domestic sector is made up of a large number of mall users a selected sample of the users is needed to provide information which is representative of the sector as a whole. A postal survey was used to gather information from a representative sector of the White community. This method was unsuitable for the Black sector but information on Black household energy usage was obtained from a Department of Health report. With the use of a postal survey of a sample group to estimate results for the sector as a whole, inaccurate results will occur unless the sample is truly representative of the sector. To ensure this, independent figures for the income per household and the number of urban and rural households were obtained and the sample results weighted accordingly.
Open Access
The impact of energy conservation on the management and administration of buildings
(1979) Carlin, Stephen; Spoormaker, H
Rapidly rising energy prices have focussed attention on the operating costs of commercial buildings. In order to minimise energy use in new and existing buildings, an effective Energy Management Programme must be implemented .Any Energy Management Prograrme should not conserve energy at the expense of a lowering of comfort standards and subsequent complaints· from occupants. The comfort conditions are determined largely by the lighting and air conditioning systems, which are the two main users of energy in buildings. A hypothetical model building was chosen as the base against which to evaluate measures to conserve energy. This building was based upon a typical modern South African commercial building. As the services systems on buildings are usually quite complex, the performance of each sub-system as well as the interaction between them was analysed using a systems approach.
Open Access
Information processing and computer strategy in mining investment analysis
(1980) Miller, Robert George
This thesis addresses institutional investment management regarding mining capital investment (analysis, decision-making and administration). Emphasised is information processing and computer strategy to support mining investment recommendations. The topic is inter-disciplinary: mining, investment and information system/ computers. It is non-innovative in these individual areas. However, their integration here into a comprehensive strategy contributes to a poorly documented management area. This strategy minimises differences between mining and non-mining institutions as investors. The documentation avoids the theory of economics, investment techniques, stock exchange operations, minerals technology and computers. In deriving a total strategy, the objectives are to: * Identify practical problems in mining investment analysis. * Formulate the broad framework for problem solution. * Examine the existing analytical and administrative procedures. * Provide guidelines for more effective and efficient procedures. * Forecast technical developments over the next decade. The objectives were examined against personal observations during a diversified career in mining and commerce: The thesis was conceived after three years in active mining investment analysis. It matured subsequently in the commercial computer environment; but is firmly rooted in twelve years of earlier practical experience in mineral exploration and mining. The opinions expressed were influenced by contact with technical and financial mining directors, stock brokers, economists, mining and other sector analysts, portfolio and investment managers.
Open Access
An inquiry into significant factors for accident prevention embodied in the Factories Act
(1981) Horne, Jerome; Jervis, W
The Factories, Machinery and Building Work Act of 1941 has embodied in it certain factors which are apparently intended to promote the prevention of accidents in industry. These factors have been lifted out of the Act and Regulations and their significance is discussed in this thesis. The results of a questionnaire posed to firms are presented and analysed. These results indicate a limited degree of effective accident prevention which can be ascribed to the existence of the Factories Act. This thesis is divided into three parts: Part I : What the Factories Act provides for. Part II: The significant factors for accident prevention embodied in the Act. Part III: Conclusions and Recommendations. The history of the Factories Act is briefly traced and the Act in its present form is discussed in considerable detail. The following factors are revealed: - Registration for the purposes of control; - Approvals for the purpose of quality; - The creation of a safe and healthy environment; - The utilisation of competent persons; - The legal obligations of various classes of persons. Case histories of accidents are worked into the text to illustrate aspects under discussion. These are accidents which have been investigated by the Division of Occupational Safety of the Department of Manpower. Identifying features have been omitted. A limited comparison is made between the Factories Act and the British and American occupational safety acts. The proposed Machinery and Occupational Safety Draft Bill is discussed. It is concluded that there are factors for accident prevention embodied in the. Act. These are: legal registration, approvals, specific regulations, written appointments of competent persons, appointment of inspectors and accident enquiries. How effective these factors are, requires further statistical work. Certain recommendations are made which are intended to make the application of the Act more effective. A particular shortcoming of the Act is the small emphasis on training of persons in safety awareness. Greater provision should be made for such training and definite guidelines should be laid down in the Act for safety training of the worker. The Government has published a Machinery and Occupational Safety Draft Bill which retains many of the features of the present Act. If the positive factors discussed in this thesis are retained and added to during the passage of the new Bill through Parliament, industry and its workers should feel the benefits in the years ahead.
Open Access
An investigation into quality assurance with respect to the management of quality in the South African building industry
(1982) Mills, Arthur Rory; Jervis, W
This thesis cont a ins a descriptive research concerning the Building Industry in South Africa and Quality Assurance. The study identifies the Building Industry and investigates the process of quality management. The thesis does not attempt to solve any problems in the industry but shows the need for the application of quality assurance to the industry. Through experience the author has identified this need, which is not confined to the Building Industry alone. The urgency of this need is what has prompted research in this area.
Open Access
The just-in-time system and its applicability in South Africa
(1986) Hands, Kenneth Harry Morkel; Jervis, W
This thesis discusses the philosophy and techniques of the Japanese Just-in-Time manufacturing system and its applicability in South Africa. The Japanese system consists of two types of procedures and techniques. They pertain to: 1) productivity; (2) quality. The aspect of the system dealing most directly with productivity is known as the just-in-time system. Just-in-Time addresses the material cost component of productivity. The diverse indirect effects are even more pronounced. Just-in-Time partially covers Japanese quality improvements but there are a host of other Japanese quality improvement concepts and procedures. Total quality control describes the set of Japanese quality improvement procedures which in turn encompasses some of the Just-in-Time techniques and improves productivity through the avoidance of waste. The two entities of the Japanese manufacturing system overlap.
Open Access
The loss control approach to industrial safety
(1979) Will, Marvin Lee
Because industrial accident rates in many industrialized countries are apparently worsening, efforts are being made to devise new accident prevention techniques. One recent development is Loss Control, which involves a new management approach in which safety is incorporated in an integrated cost reduction programme to reduce all types of non-speculative risks incurred by the business. Shifting the appeal away from the traditional goal of preventing injuries, Loss Control attempts to lower accident rates through improved measures to raise productivity, and thus protect the safety of employees indirectly, by making the business more efficient. Since Loss Control emerged in the United States and Canada during the 1960's, it has been adopted by many firms in various countries throughout the world. Books and articles on the theory of Loss Control have challenged previous assumptions about the best ways to manage industrial safety, but unfortunately, no one has analyzed very carefully the advantages of the new approach over traditional methods, or published any detailed descriptions of specific firms to show how Loss Control has been implemented and what outcome it has actually had. The main objective here is to correct this deficiency, and evaluate Loss Control in both theory and practice.
Open Access
Modelling mechanical systems
(1999) Levin, Ari; Nurick, Gerald N
Education should be one of the highest priorities of any country. The ability to pass on knowledge and understanding effectively is a sign of a good educational system. From an engineering perspective, better teaching tools allow for greater understanding by the students making them better engineers. Educational aids have been with us for a long time. Inventions from the abacus to the personal computer, have aided engineering students in faster understanding and application of their work. These aids are costly and sometimes become affordable only when outdated and redundant. A low-cost device that does not date would be the educationalist's ideal solution. To this end, a concept model of a conveyor sorting system was developed using Lego as the design medium. The model is a conveyor belt along which coloured blocks are sorted into bins by pneumatic cylinders. The model is controlled by a personal computer and the Lego interface box. The software is written in Visual Basic.
Open Access
The organisational change agent as an appreciative system : increasing effectiveness in business process reengineering through the systems approach
(1995) Topp, Warren Kent; Strumpfer, Johan
This thesis is concerned with the effectiveness of change agents within organisations. The argument presented is that the effectiveness of change agents depends on their ability to develop an understanding of the complex situations they are faced with. This includes a rich understanding of their own role within the situation. The systems approach described by Churchman (1971, 1979) and further developed by Ulrich (1983) provides methods that aid the development of a rich understanding of, inquiry into, and intervention in complex socio-technical situations. The structure of the paper will take the following form: Part 1: Appreciative systems and the systems approach. Performance criteria for change agents are declared. The key role of appreciation ineffective change management is highlighted. An explanation of appreciative systems and how the systems approach can make them more effective is presented. Finally an appreciative frame for human populated (social) systems is explained. Part 2: Investigating sources of purpose in traditional Business Process Reengineering (BPR).Before developing the complete the appreciative framework in Part 3, our understanding will be consolidated by applying the human populated systems frame to organisational change (business process reengineering) as a system.
Open Access
Organization theory : historical-theoretical development and the implications of technology
(1979) Van Niekerk, Chris
[page 29 missing] Organization Theory has developed into what has become an interdisciplinary, quasi-independent field of study. It has as its objective the study of the structure and functioning of organizations, and the behaviour of groups and individuals within them. This area of study has, through the years, drawn the attention of writers from diverse backgrounds and with diverse interests. The first focus of this thesis is an examination of the historical and theoretical threads which have contributed to organizational studies. The path followed moves through the following stages : (1) classical theory, (2) scientific management, (3) human factor industrial psychology, (4) the human relations movement, and (5) organizational psychology or "nee-human relations". This thesis looks at landmark contributions, emphasizing the distinct approach, choice of problems, methodology and social attitudes of the proponents. Each stage is characterized by its underlying assumptions concerning the nature of man, ranging from the homo oeaonomiaus of the Taylorians, to the "Complex Man" of writers such as Schein and Bennis. This "pattern" of ... increasing sophistication is further illustrated by the shift from the limited concerns of early writers, for example, the human relationists'concentration on informal social relationships, to more comprehensive analytical schemes. A further feature of this movement is the inclusion by more contemporary writers of the role of organizational environments in their analyses, an area often neglected. This development culminates in a "reconceptualization" of organizations as systems and it is shown that a systems scheme offers distinct advantages in comparison to previous more limited perspectives
Open Access
The process of marketing strategy design : an illustrative example for post graduate courses
(1982) Asher, Clive Masureik; Miller, P; Jervis, W
The marketing of academic courses is a topic receiving increasing attention - both in terms of academic interest and out of practical necessity. In this study an extensive marketing evaluation is done of a particular course - the Industrial Administration Programme (IAP) at the University of Cape Town. This example serves as the specific model used to illustrate the process of marketing strategy design. The primary objective of this study is to illustrate how the principles of marketing strategy design may effectively be used to formulate a specific and detailed marketing strategy and plan for academic courses but particularly those at post graduate level. The illustrative example chosen is the Industrial Administration Programme offered by the Faculty of Engineering at U.C.T. Though the very specific nature of the research done into the IAP precludes the use of this study as a universal model for evolving a marketing strategy for academic courses, it does serve the function of acting as a guide as to how similar marketing problems may be approached. Part I describes the theory, process and procedures adopted to recommend the marketing strategy, while Part II describes in detail the specific plan suggested.
Open Access
Productivity in construction contracting
(1977) Eleuteri, Franco Maria Romano; Dutkiewicz, Ryszard Karol
Increases in productivity in construction contractin0 since 1960 have not been proportional to the large amounts of money spent on mechanization and on the training of labour. Little consideration has been given during this same period to behavioural techniques and the motivation of manpower and it was therefore felt that the adoption of a behavioural approach would result in a significant increase in productivity in the industry. Since any behavioural theoretical generalization requires empiric information about any particular situation, it was necessary to collect data on certain socio-organizational characteristics of construction contracting. Data was collected mainly by means of two attitude questionnaires distributed amongst middle to lower management personnel employed in main contractor and sub-contractor companies in the Western Cape. The analysis of the data centred on the socio-organizational characteristics of contracting, their effect on motivation to obtain increased productivity on both the macro and micro levels, and the relationships between main contractor and sub-contractors. It was apparent that ample scope still existed for the development of behavioural management techniques in construction contracting.
Open Access
A Soft Systems approach to identifying and resolving organisational issues
(1995) Narunsky, Larry; Ryan, Tom
This thesis is concerned with identifying and resolving organisational issues and details research that was undertaken in a manufacturing organisation, Rhomberg Brasier - a company which has been experiencing problems, which have developed in recent years.
Open Access
A systems perspective on enquiry into training & development needs and interventions in an organisation striving for world-class retailing standards
(1998) Ragni, Claudia Graziella; Ryan, Tom

Browsing by Subject "Industrial Administration"

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