ITBA END TERM PROJECT

CASE: THE CENTRAL STORE CRISIS

Submitted by

Group No :3 Harshit Taunk (08FN047)

Balaji S (08FN029)
Navdeep Gupta (08IT025)
Pankaj R.Chandalia (08IT025)
INTRODUCTION

The case unfolds in a manufacturing plant of ElektraPaK Industries. The industry was a
manufacturer of small batteries. It was a 500-person plant in a rural suburb.

There were many sections of the plant namely-

• the offices
• Mixing
• Forming
• Some warehouse
• Central stores
• Maintenance shop
• and Assembly

There was no problem in the plant except in the central stores.

The store room was an inventory of the machine and general parts used for fixing any
machine which broke down in the plant. It was not an inventory for the batteries that were
manufactured in the plant. The store had around 11000 different items of repair parts and
miscellaneous supplies worth $6million.

The problem at the store was that the store clerks were not able to recognize and locate
the required part in the store. When the repair crew asked for a particular part, the clerks took a
very long time to deliver the required item which meant that the lines in the other sections were
idle and hence the whole work was on a hold. This was hurting the operations of the plant and
was a matter of concern for the plant manager as well as the store manager.

To analyze and solve the store problem, Harvey Hill, the materials manager had asked
Kyd Johnson, an MBA student to evaluate the situation.

Kyd spoke to almost everybody who was in direct relation to the store. He got much
information about the stores and its working. The plant had basically 2 types of item parts-
Machine part and general part. Machine parts were the major parts and were specific to each
type of machine in the plant. The general parts were the common parts like screws etc which
could be used in any of the repairs. The store had a computer which had much information about
the items in the store along with the drawings of items provided by the engineering department.

Everything seemed to be in place and the store manager was doing everything possible to
overcome the problem and yet the problem was very much in the store.

DATA FLOW DIAGRAMS

A data-flow diagram (DFD) is a graphical representation of the "flow" of data through an

information system. DFDs can also be used for the visualization of data processing (structured
design).

On a DFD, data items flow from an external data source or an internal data store to an internal
data store or an external data sink, via an internal process.

A DFD provides no information about the timing or ordering of processes, or about whether
processes will operate in sequence or in parallel. It is therefore quite different from a flowchart,
which shows the flow of control through an algorithm, allowing a reader to determine what
operations will be performed, in what order, and under what circumstances, but not what kinds
of data will be input to and output from the system, nor where the data will come from and go
to, nor where the data will be stored (all of which are shown on a DFD).

Data flow diagrams are used to describe how the system transforms information. They define
how information is processed and stored and identify how the information flows through the
processes. When building a data flow diagram, the following items should be considered:

· where does the data that passes through the system come from and where does it go,

· what happens to the data once it enters the system (i.e., the inputs) and before it leaves
the system (i.e., the outputs),

· what delays occur between the inputs and outputs (i.e., identifying the need for data
stores).
CONTEXT DIAGRAM

LEVEL – 0 DFD
LEVEL – 1 DFD FOR REQUISITION PROCESS
LEVEL – 1 DFD FOR STOCKING PROCESS
As is
system

New
Maintenance
Store
(MEmpName,
(SEmpName,
receives
brings
(PartName,
Part
(PartShape,
Inventory
Purchase
(PartType,
(PartID,
are
makes
updates
generates
is
issent
brought
received
updated
made
found
generated
made
taken
Broken
Diagram(s)
Purchase
Part(s)
Clerk(s)
Comparision
to
PartShape,
PartLocation,
NoOfParts,
with
for
through
by
Search
Department
for
List
PartName,
by
by
PartID,
Part(s)
PartSize,
from
MEmpNo,
Order
Personnel
MShiftNo,
SEmpNo,
Dept,
PartLocation)
PartSize,
PartID,
NoOfParts,
DeliveryDate)
MachName)
MachName,
CabinetNo,
CabinetNo,
SShiftNo,
Dept,
OrderDate)
MQual)
SQual) PartShape,
PartSize,
DrawerNo)
DrawerNo, PartShape)
NoOfParts)
CabinetNo, DrawerNo)

USE CASE MODEL

A Use Case Model describes the proposed functionality of a new system. A Use Case represents
a discrete unit of interaction between a user (human or machine) and the system. This interaction
is a single unit of meaningful work, such as Create Account or View Account Details. The figure
below shows the Use Case Model for the Central Store crisis. The main activities of the system
are request for spare parts, issue of part and arranging parts.

Use Cases are typically related to 'actors', which are human or machine entities that use or
interact with the system to perform a piece of meaningful work that helps them to achieve a
goal. The set of Use Cases an actor has access to define their overall role in the system and the
scope of their action. For the case we have identified 3 actors maintenance person, store room
clerk and store room.

System

«uses» Request For spare «uses»

Part

«uses»

Top Package ::maintainance Person Top Package ::Store room

«uses»
Part Issue
«uses»

«uses»

Arranging Parts

Top Package ::Store Room Clerk

ACTIVITY DIAGRAM
Activity diagrams are a loosely defined diagram technique for showing workflows of stepwise
activities and actions, with support for choice, iteration and concurrency. It is typically used for
business process modeling, for modeling the logic captured by a single use case or usage
scenario, or for modeling the detailed logic of a business rule.

As mentioned above there are 3 activities which the system performs. Diagram for them are
given below
Issuing / Stockout of the spare part
 Fig A Fig B

Fig A shows the activity diagram of that instance when the part no is not visible on the machine
part. The clerk searches in the engineering department and if he doesn’t find it he notes it in the
daily outage list.

Fig B on the other hand shows the activity diagram when the part no is visible on the machine
part. The system locates the part and gives the location from where the part can be retrieved.

New Arrangement Of Inventory

The above diagram shows the process by which new arrangement of inventory is going on in
progress in the store. Common items are clubbed together in logical cabinets on basis of
machine type/item type. Help of maintenance personnel’s is also taken.

SEQUENCE DIAGRAM OF ISSUING SPARE PART

Sequence diagrams provide a graphical representation of object interactions over time. These
typically show a user or actor, and the objects and components they interact with in the
execution of a use case. One sequence diagram typically represents a single Use Case 'scenario'
or flow of events.

Sequence diagrams are an excellent way of documenting usage scenarios and both capturing
required objects early in analysis and verifying object use later in design. The diagrams show the
flow of messages from one object to another, and as such correspond to the methods and events
supported by a class/object.

The diagram below shows the sequence in which the whole process of requisition of part is
done.

RECOMMENDED SOLUTION