.Why Did the Problems of Overtime and Truck Waiting Occur at Ncc only Recently?


1.Why did the problems of overtime and truck waiting occur at NCC only recently?

Recently, 99% of the industry became serviced by the Cranberry cooperative. This shift created higher processing volumes. At an increase of 20% over dry harvesting is due in part by increases in technology, and water harvesting. Higher yields from water harvesting and the reduction of or elimination of the destoning process have all contributed to the increased volumes. For these reasons the industry has grown. However, failure to adjust to these constrains has left NCC at a disadvantage in terms of processing capacity. The drying part of the operation has only three dryers available in the continuous process. The additional volume burden on the dryers comes from a recent shift in major production (70% volume) from dry harvesting to wet harvesting. The 3 unit (Dryer) operation only has an average capacity of 5,400 bbls per 12-hour shift. Truck waiting times can be reduced by the purchase of one additional dryer unit. In addition an extension of production times in this area during peak season, from 12 hours to 22 hours if needed and based on daily production demands can alleviate some of the demand pressure. If operation starts at 7am, there will be no wait if you have four dryers.

The other problem with overtime is inaccurate scheduling and high absents which could be tied to poor morale.

Why did increasing the capacity of the holding bins not help solve the problem of truck waiting to any great extent?

The NCC management team did not review the issue in detail, and assumed the bottleneck in the operation was at the beginning of the process, or the receiving/testing, and dumping operations. After a review of the second season, the management team realized the purchase of the additional Kiwanee dumper did not substantially increase operating results on the continuous processing line.

Although, the addition of dumper definitely did increase operating volumes at dumping operation, the bottleneck of the operation was further down the continuous processing line, and more specifically first at the dryer operation, second at the bulking/bagging operation and third at the separation operation.

The first bottleneck, the dryer operation, only had three units, with a total capacity of 5,400 bbls per day, which was well under the maximum 19,000 bbls per day, seasonally dependent. With an increase of capacity in this area, the next bottleneck would be in the bulking/bagging operation, where a substantial increase in operating hours, from 12 hours to 22 hours, should increase this areas capacity, seasonally dependent. Finally, based on forecasted industry