A systems study on the warehousing and distribution of the Century Glass Company

• Main Authors: Domingo, Francisco Manuel G., Legaspi, Johanna B., Miranda, Francis Norman Z.
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 1997
• Subjects: Systems engineering; Production management; Warehouse > Management; Glass trade; Engineering
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etd_bachelors/9193
• Institution: De La Salle University

The Glass Distribution business is one of the most successful ventures in the business world in the Philippines at present. Spearheading the glass distribution business is the Republic Asahi Glass Company which is the only major glass manufacturing business in the Philippines. It is from this multi-billion company where different glass distribution companies, both large-scale and small-scale, get their glass units to be distributed, in turn, to different retailers. The most prominent glass distributors in the country are Quinta Glass Company, Valerie Glass Company, Glass Tech, and Century Glass Company, to name a few. Century Glass Company (CGC) is one of the leaders in the glass distribution business in the country as of today. Being able to meet the quota set by RAGC (minimum of 1,000 tons of glass per month), CGC has garnered over hundreds of customers, about 30% of which are regular (orders at least twice in a year) customers. But just like any other company, CGC has had its share of problems which have trail blazed a number of significant negative outcomes. This dissertation was conducted by the thesis group in order to pinpoint the major problem(s) of the company. The thesis group did a systems study in order to trace the operations and its constituents to their minute movements and behavior in order for the company's major problems to be enumerated. After a quarter time's field observation and analysis, the major problems of CGC have been identified to be 1) Breakages amounting to 68.26% of the thin glass category delivered, 2) Excessive retrieval time of the glass panels in the back rows, and 3) Inconsistent transfer of the cutting section from warehouse to warehouse. Upon evaluating the three major setbacks of the company, the most pertinent and significant one contributory to the sufficient loss in the company's retained earnings is the breakages of the glass panels. These breakages not only contribute to the loss of the company in monetary terms but also to the delay in the succeeding deliveries, the possible accidents posed to the workers, and the excessive number of activities the workers would have to do in cleaning up and re-delivering the broken amount of glass panels. The analysis of the breakages of the glass panels was divided into two categories: the aspect contributed by the workers, and the aspect contributed by the equipment. Concerning the aspect contributed by the workers, observations have been made in order to delineate the breakages brought about by the fatigue and circumstantial errors of the workers. The analysis has shown that these breakages brought about by the workers were not even significant in amount to contribute highly to the 68.26% breakages of the thin glass. The aspect of the equipment however, proved to be the root cause. After a series of observations on the affixing procedures and the transport events, it was observed that the glass oscillated during transport which allowed them to constantly hit each other and thus induce cracks. The oscillation was found out to have been caused by the loose affixation and by the vibration that the A-rack experienced. It was then necessary to find a solution in order for the glass to be affixed properly or the vibration be reduced or do both. There were three alternatives chosen; the first was to design a new glass fixture, the second was to design a new A-rack, and the third was to design a flatbed shock absorber. The first alternative's aim was to be able to affix the glass firmly. This was done by designing a C-clamp shaped fixture which will apply a significant amount of force which will hold the glass panels throughout the transportation process. The second alternative's aim was to be able to reduce the stress being experienced by the glass panels. This was done by reducing the size of the holes in the A-rack in order for the glass panels to experience more support and less stress. The third alternative's aim was to be able to reduce the vibration experienced by the glass panels. This was done by incorporating a series of high-compression spring coils underneath in order for the A-rack to resist motion while in transport. After doing the Kepner-Tregoe analysis, the most valuable alternative was the first alternative. Moreover, the cost-benefit analysis showed that the first alternative outweighed the cost in implementation by incorporating a net benefit of P 109,717.12. In this manner, the new glass fixture proposal was able to benefit the company in decreasing its cost due to breakages.