Mike Mass

Byrne Electrical Specialists Inc.

320 Byrne Industrial Drive
Rockford, MI 49341
Dear Mr. Mass:
I have prepared a report for an improved mold organization plan. The one currently in
place works but it could use some improvements that could improve more than just being more
organized. With the proposal in the report I give a suggestion for an organization change along
with benefits of making the change.
The change I am suggesting is adding number ranges to the walls to specify where molds
will be located making finding them much easier. Implementing this change will increase many
things. Some things that would be affected would be decreased mold change times, decreased
machine down time, and reduced day to day stress. Also by doing this individuals will be more
enthusiastic, they and the company will be more efficient and productive.
What to do is simple enough, the way to get the smoothest transition is to inform
everyone during meetings, and especially in casual conversation. Doing these things will help
make the transition go smoothly and everyone will be informed and aware that change is
coming. It is important though to not think once the change is in place that it will take care of
itself. Someone will have to do sweeps to ensure the system is being used correctly along with
collecting feedback about it.

Sincerely,

Matt VanDerZanden

Mold Organization Proposal

Unsolicited Report

Prepared by Matt VanDerZanden

Former Employee and Student at Ferris State University

Report Distributed November 18, 2014

Prepared for
Mike Mass
Byrne Electrical Specialists Inc.

Table of Contents

Executive Summary1
Introduction2
Problem.2
Recommendation3
Conclusion4
Appendix5
Works Cited.6

Executive Summary
The proposal I wish to implement is adding a number range to the existing places that
specific molds are kept to make them easier to find. I propose this idea so that finding a mold
will be much faster than it currently is. In turn with finding a mold faster, can reduce mold
change time and machine downtime saving the company that much more money. So
introducing this change to the plant will increase productivity making it that much more
efficient, allowing more profits to be made.
Not only will this change help the company it will help the mold technicians with the day
to day grind. It will improve attitudes at work, thereby making them more efficient at any given
task. Along with individual productivity and enthusiasm reflects on company productivity and
quality. All this can be achieved by just adding a little more organization.
Changing an organization structure is not an easy task but just adding a little
specification to one thats already in place should make for an easier shift. This type of change
would need to be brought up in meetings, both formal and informal. Probably the one that will
stick the best is casual conversation with those involved with the change.
After the change is finished the work to maintain it begins. The maintenance I believe
would require someone to do a sweep and make sure that the molds are in the correct places.
Doing this will greatly increase the chances of keeping the change in effect and useful. Also in
the time after the change keep asking for feedback on how its working and what could be
implemented to improve it.
The struggle of this new organization system will be to maintain it. Some mold
technicians might just put a mold back in an empty spot on the shelf in the general location
without thinking of the number ranges. This is why having someone do sweeps is an important
task. It will only take more time if not everyone is using the system correctly. It is easier to
maintain than it will be to fix it if it is used incorrectly. As long as these things are accomplished
things will run smoothly when it comes to mold changes.

Introduction
This report brings up the issue of how the molds at Byrne Electrical Specialists are
organized and the improvements that could be made about it to make a better system for
organization. In the report I will propose how the molds could be organized, and support why
this change will be a benefit. I believe that implementing my proposal will have a positive
impact on the company and the involved employees. It will help everyone involved and make
operations run smoother.

Problem
The processing department of plant one is solely where the problem that I am bringing
up occurs and is in need of re-organizing. The situation that I am bringing up is the lack of a
well defined organizational system of the molds at Byrne Electrical Specialist Inc. Although
there is a system put in place that organizes the molds, it has a shortcoming.
This shortcoming is that the molds only have a general location that they could be in.
The current system in place gives a general location as to where a mold might be but it lacks a
specific location where it could be found. The current system can lead to the wall or table that
a mold might be found if it was put away in the right spot. But there were numerous times
while I was working at Byrne that I was sent to find a mold and have had one of three situations
occur. One of these three situations is that I spent more than 20 minutes looking for a mold.
Another of the three situations was finding out that the mold I was sent to look for doesnt
exist. The last of the three situations was the mold was not where it should have been. Not
only is it hard enough to find the right mold sometimes, but a few molds in the plant are
marked with the wrong numbers, so the number of the mold on paper doesnt match the
number written on the mold.
These problems cause more than just a headache for the mold technicians looking for
them. The most important problem these issues cause is they are costing the company
resources, time, and money. These resources, time, and money include a mold technician
looking for a mold which costs money for him to look, takes away from the possible mold
technician to fix a process on a machine, and costing the company money by leaving a machine
down waiting for the new mold.
Problems other than fiscal ones should also be taken into consideration. These
problems affect an individual as a result of being unable to find something. The individual will
then have increased stress, decreased efficiency, and less enthusiasm in the work place
because of the stress on the individual.

All of these problems are associated with the unspecified locations of where molds are
located. A more specified organization system could help reduce all of the problems caused by
the current organization system.

Recommendations
I propose that a better system be put into place to organize the molds in the processing
plant. According to Ben-ner and Lluis, organizations are under constant competitive pressure
to improve their organization structure to get workers and managers to perform better (2010).
This system would be built off of the old system by just adding in a specification to the shelving
that allows for a more specified location for molds to be placed. This would be done by adding
a series of number ranges for the specification of the general location that the molds go to
making the process of finding the right mold much easier.
This way when anyone is handed a mold change sheet they can go to the general
location of that type of mold, and from there follow the numbered ranges until the one on
paper fits within the range marked on the shelf. This would allow for a faster mold change by
eliminating the guess work on where a mold is located. According to Ben-ner and Lluis, the
organization that succeeds in extracting better, smarter, and more economical effort from its
employees will perform better than other organizations (2010). Mold changes can be done by
the mold technicians very quickly when the mold is ready to be put into the machine. According
to Ben-ner and Lluis, better performance consists of many elements, two of which are central
to understanding organizational change: identifying practices that impact behavior in desirable
ways, and figuring out how to combine various practices to obtain maximum synergy among
them (2010). This is why I am writing this report to try and make the process of changing the
molds as a whole that much faster.
Changing an organization structure, though, is not an easy task. According to Ingram, a
transition in organizational structure can present unique challenges to managers and business
owners (no date). Along with the challenges for manager and business owners, there is a
challenge that employees have as well in trying to function with the new system. With this
newly proposed organization plan the hardest part for employees would be to ensure that
molds get put back in the proper places. Along with this addition to the system someone will
be charged with going through and checking if all the molds are in their correct places at least
once a month.
Keeping the molds in their respective places are key to this proposal. This step of having
someone checking that the molds are in the correct place is a task that can never be stopped
doing. Looking at this change in organization structure should not be viewed as a project that is

done when the change is implemented. According to Ingram, keep feedback mechanisms in
place after implementing the transition. Rather than viewing the transition as a finished project,
consider it a work in progress; use feedback from employees to fine-tune or alter specific
aspects of the new structure (no date). This way after the implementation is put into place
improvements can be made or just minor tweaks in the plan can be addressed to have this
organization be the best it can possibly be.

Conclusion
Implementing the task of adding number ranges to the mold change sheet, and for
where the molds are placed on the shelves, will fix many issues for Byrne Electrical Specialists
Inc. Mold technicians will no longer have to just simply look for a mold with no idea of where it
could be for more than a few minutes. They will be able to find the general location of the
mold, find the exact mold needed, and only take about three minutes tops to do this process.
Improved organization can have many positive results for the individuals working at Byrne
Electrical Specialists Inc. According to Glen Ebersole, Jr, good organization improves focus,
productivity, energy, and enthusiasm (2014). This improved individual makes for a more
productive day with less stress overall and can only bring about good things for the company as
a whole.
For the company, this new organization structure will increase productivity. It will
increase productivity because it will take less time for the mold to be found, and in turn, this
will reduce down time for the machines. By increasing productivity the company will be making
more money due to the down time of machines being shortened. Another positive from this
organizational change for Byrne Electrical Specialists Inc, would be that it will reflect positively
on the company. It will reflect positively on the company by showing that it is open to change
for the better whether in a big or small way.
The biggest challenge will be to ensure that the mold technicians keep the system
working by returning molds to their proper places after they are used. If the molds are not
properly returned to their specific home, then Byrne Electrical Specialists Inc will go right back
to their old organizational structure problems, making this change worthless. If the mold
technicians return the molds to the correct place though, this will not be the case. Another
challenge will be to not to forget the task of going through the plant to make sure the molds are
properly put away. Finally, one last challenge will be to keep getting feedback about the
system whether it is on how its working and what could be done to improve it. Feedback from
the front hand people involved with this organizational change will only help to improve the
organization and production as a whole.

Fact Sheet
What is a good organization system?
A good organization system requires little to no time spent on finding what it is being looked
for. In a well organized system anyone should be able to come in know the basics of it and find
what they are looking for with relative ease. This means groups of similar objects are separated
into broad categories and then have a specified location by some key of identification.

How do you know when an organization system isnt working as well as it should?
A system isnt working when objects are being lost that should be easily found. Another way to
tell is if it takes more than a few minutes of looking before locating what it is youre looking for.
These indicators suggest that a change in the system needs to be done.

Is changing a system a quick and easy process?

Set up for the change would be the longest part of the process if the contents are disorganized.
After set up the people using the system have to be trained to use the system. Also periodic
checks need to be put into place to assure that the system is working better than the other and
that the system is being used and maintained properly.

What are the benefits of a well organized system that works?

Many benefits are associated with a working organization system such as
Being more productive
Managing time better
Saving money
Less stressful of a workplace
More energetic workers
Workers will be more enthusiastic
More time is available for other projects
These points should be what an individual should strive for, and as each individual works to
accomplish these goals a company will flourish with good spirits.

References

Ben-ner, A., & Lluis, S. (2010). Learning: What and how? An empirical study of adjustments in
workplace organization structure [Electronic version]. Industrial Relations: A Journal of
Economy and Society, 50(1), 76-108. doi:10.1111/j.1468-232X.2010.00626.x
Ebersole, G. J. (2014). Twelve major benefits for being well organized, According to your
strategic thinking business coach. Retrieved from
http://www.evancarmichael.com/Business-Coach/223/Twelve-Major-Benefits-ForBeing-Well-Organized-According-To-Your-Strategic-Thinking-Business-Coach.html
Ingram, D. (n.d.). Steps to manage the transition from the old organizational structure to the
new structure. Retrieved from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/steps-managetransition-old-organizational-structure-new-structure-3832.html