Operations, Despatch

and Transport
The Operations Office
Objectives
• Explain the functions of the operations office.
• Outline the duties of an operations office clerk.
The Operations Office
• Also known as the Production department, Factory office
or Works control office.
• This office is concerned with coordinating the activities
related to production, i.e. the production process where
raw materials are converted into finished products.
• It is important to note that businesses other than
manufacturers and factories will have an operations
office.
Methods of Production
• Job Production also called unit production, refers to the
process of making a single item of a specific design from
start to finish. Usually used for custom orders.
Methods of Production

• Batch Production is where

groups of similar products
are made in batches,
sometimes on a production
line. One batch is
completed before another
begins.
Methods of Production
• Flow Production also known as mass
production, refers to the continuous
production of large quantities of items
on a production line.
Functions of the Operations Office
• Coordinating activities related to production
• Protecting workers and the environment
• Maintenance of factory records
• Quality Assurance
• Costing finished products
• Liaising with other departments
Coordinating Production activities
• The use of materials, machines and labour must be
planned so that goods are completed on time to meet
customers’ requirements
• Operations must check that enough materials are in stock
before a product is made.
Protecting workers and the
environment
• Employers have a duty to protect their workers by
reducing the likelihood of accidents occurring.
• They must provide equipment and materials that are safe
to use, ensuring safe methods of work, and giving staff
proper training.
• Operations office can help to protect the environment by
minimising the waste of materials and power as well as
ensuring unavoidable scrap metal is recycled.
Maintenance of Factory records
• Records used in manufacturing include inspection
reports, efficiency figures and maintenance schedules,
which must be completed accurately and filed carefully
so they can be retrieved easily.
Quality Assurance
• Quality control is a process of inspecting or testing
products during the production process to identify
problems.
• All faulty products are removed and details of the
problem are noted.
• The factory office must check the inspection records and
pass this information promptly to someone who can
correct the problem.
Costing Finished Goods
• Costing a product means calculating how much it costs to
produce.
• This information is important because the sales
department uses it to decide how much to charge a
customer.
• The cost of manufacturing a product is made up of:
• Direct costs – costs that can be directly linked to a product.
For example: raw materials and wages
• Indirect costs – expenses incurred by a factory that cannot be
directly linked to a product. For example: rent and rates
Liaising with other departments
Department Nature of activity
Production Listing order requirement, production schedule, product
costing, scheduling, production reports and other items.
Sales and Receiving orders from customers, including the type of
Marketing product required, quantity and delivery date.
Purchasing Requesting production materials – type, quantity and
date required
Despatch/ Informing when products will be delivered for despatch
transport and transport
Finance Assistance in costing of products – particularly how to
allocate overheads
HRM Assistance with the selection of staff
Duties of an Operations Office clerk
• Preparation of shift rosters
• Preparation of daily production reports
• Preparation of production documents
• Completion of forms used in the office