2.2 Three main strategies that a firm can follow.. 5
2.2.3 Time-based strategies. 6
3.2 Time-series forecasting. 7
3.3 Examples of forecast time horizons. 8
4.2 Short term capacity planning. 9
4.3 Long-term capacity planning. 9
5.1 The process design used by the firm.. 10
6.1 Various product designs. 11
6.3 Legal, ethical and sustainability issues to be considered when designing new product. 12
6.3.3 Sustainability issues. 13
6.4 Dealing with legal, ethical and sustainability issues. 13
8.1 Dimensions and management of quality. 13
Operations Management Practices of Road and Transport Authority UAE
Background of the company and the industry in which the company competes
Roads and transport authority Dubai, mostly termed as RTA is an independent government transportation authority situated in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Establishment of this Company dates back to 2005 with an aim of planning and executing traffic projects along with abiding by the set out regulations and plans in the city. Its launching was spearheaded by Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who was the then ruler of Dubai. RTA offers several products and services to its clients, both active and potential. Major products include the metro, buses, and trams. RTA owns a Dubai Metro, Dubai Water Bus, Water Taxi, and Dubai Ferry among other authorized taxi companies. It operates a fleet of not less than 1442 buses.
Issuing and renewing parking reservation permits and addition of brand on vehicles within Dubai are a few of the notable services that RTA offers. The Company uses commercial licensing for license renewal and vehicle renewals and this helps minimize the issues of misconducts by the respective drivers as well as reduction of the accident cases in the United Arab Emirate roads and other available transport channels.
The company also helps customers in need of various certificates to acquire them in time. Possession, export, transfer, vehicle ownership, and non-ownership are some of the certificates that it helps clients acquire. In case of fine imposition, RTA eases the fine payment process to the clients. Lastly, the company aids the process of switching the Dubai brand plate sizes, thus facilitating the customer’s ability to acquire the standard plate sizes set by the RTA.
RTA belongs to the regulatory and administrative bodies industry. Regulatory and administrative bodies deal in the area of administrative law, rulemaking whereby RTA codify and enforce rules and regulations, imposing supervision or oversight for the benefit of the public at large. Regulatory agencies are always part of the executive branch and have statutory authority to perform their functions with oversights from the legislative branch. Dubai is the location or hub of Roads and Transport Authority UAE.
RTA mission is to develop integrated and sustainable transportation systems and provide distinguished services to all stakeholders to support Dubai’s comprehensive growth plans through policy preparation and legislations, adapting technologies and innovative approaches, and implementing excellent practices and standards.
Much of strategy and management advice that business leaders use is unreliable and impractical, because the guiders underestimate the power of chance. Three elementary strategies are core when dealing with company performance (Bagaeen, 2007 p.180). The first strategy implies
Operations strategy concentrates more on competitions or upgrading of products from other companies other than prices. A company can choose to offer superior non-price benefits such as great brands, exciting styles, excellent functionality, durability, and convenience. In this case, RTA considers quality licenses, cars, roads, and marines. RTA has certain exciting styles that includes mobile app for every phone irrespective of form of transportation available. Businesses require perfect strategies with rightful skills that match customer desires (Bagaeen, 2007 p.187). Clients need to have their own point of view based on the available services. This helps the company understand appropriate actions that spur the intended services.
Quality is the other factor since each customer needs top-notch services in return for their resources. Every company has a role of satisfying customer needs and RTA is not an exception either. Quality car manufacture and infrastructure are some of the services that enable this company to remain relevant in the market over the years. RTA should also consider quality and effective vehicle plates that act as a perfect replacement whenever need be. The company should also focus on quality with an aim of reducing road accidents through maintenance of rigid rules that when one breaks then he or she has to pay huge fines (Beau, Maghazy, & Chiriottie, 2008 p.1140).
Work design is another strategy in which things such as employee safety, productivity, and quality of work life are considered. RTA considers these factors in its marines, buses, and cars, thus achieving its mission through accident reduction. RTA designs its vehicles and marines in a way that enhances sustainable development of the system due to quality maintenance. Flexibility is a major of this design to help meet standards that can match the high speed on the roads as well as the marines.
Time- based strategies focus on reduction of time needed to accomplish tasks through efficient time management. On several occasions, time management results to quality products as well as sufficient output.RTA should consider using short time basis on generating quality products to facilitate fast marketing that help attract the largest number of customers, thus resulting into higher profit generation base. Considering the many types of transport systems in use by RTA, it needs to develop a faster method of acquiring these transportation channels as well as implementation of the right strategies. The main advantage of this is to help in time management of the customers.
Core competence is a unique ability that a company acquires from the founders and it is hard to imitate. Competency gives a company the competitive advantages in creating and delivering value to the customers in their respective fields of operation. RTA wishes to align with the leading enterprises from all sectors by providing long-term global commercial opportunities and holistic synergies across the board, all from the marketing to the business-generating as well as supply enterprise.
The strategic deals tap into segments which either party may not normally have any access. They offer incremental marketing exposure ultimately gaining new customers. The program will leverage complementary brand assets and core competencies, thus bringing in innovations to the existing business assets. Integrated platforms develop marketing activities and generate potential business opportunities resulting in a winning partnership between RTA and the leading brands (Bagaeen, 2007 p.190).
RTA follows differentiation strategy in its operations. It uses the differentiation strategy whereby it ensures it offer quality services unique to the competing companies. This is evidenced through unique operating systems of the red, green, and purple lines. The above operating systems make RTA cuts its niche in the transport industry.RTA uses various transportation means and services that are diverse and not applicable to other companies. Marketing and planning department uses the university students’ apps competitions in which they use their help in identification of right needs and wants of customers.
Business forecast can take various methods or roots. All the available methods fall into either of the two overarching approaches, which are qualitative and quantitative methods. In this case, we discuss two types of forecasting which are Delphi and the time-series technique.
Delphi technique applies mostly when dealing with the qualitative analysis approach. It helps field experts in formation of general opinions and then compiling them into a forecast. The technique has various groups of experts in which they respond to a series of questionnaire. These experts are kept apart and unaware of each other. Results of the first questionnaire are compiled and the second questionnaire based on the results of the first questionnaire is presented to the experts who are asked to reevaluate their responses from the first questionnaire (Beau, Maghazy, & Chiriottie, 2008 p.1137). The questioning, compilation, and questioning continues until the researchers have a narrow range of opinions.
A quantitative forecasting technique, which measures data gathered over time to identify trends. In this technique, data is gathered over an interval, which may be hourly, daily, weekly, annually, or longer. There are four major components of the time series, which entail the trend, seasonality, cyclical, and random variations. The trend component refers to the data’s gradual shifting over time. It I reflect as an upward, downward, or sloping line that represents increase or a decrease in trend respectively. Cyclical components lie above or below the trend line and repeat themselves gradually for a year or longer. Business cycle illustrates a cyclical component.
Seasonal components are similar to cyclical in their repetitive nature, but they occur in one-year periods. Annual increase in gas prices during the summer driving season and the corresponding decrease during the winter months is an example of a seasonal event. Irregular components happen randomly, thus unpredictable. Difference between the time-series methodologies is usually in fine details such as giving recent data more weight or discounting certain outlier points. By tracking what happen in the past (Beau, Maghazy, & Chiriottie, 2008 p.1132), the forecaster hopes to be able to give a better than average prediction about the future. This takes course in business forecasting, because it is cheap and really no better or worse than other methods. RTA uses both Delphi method for the qualitative analysis and the time series for the quantitative analysis.
There are three major forecasting time horizons, which include the short range, medium range and the long range. The short range involves predictions for less than three months and applies for purchasing, work force levels, and production levels. Medium range is the period between three months and three years. It is mainly for sales planning, production planning, and analyzing operation plans. Long range is the period of three years and above and it is applicable for new product development, capital expenditures, and facility planning.
Capacity planning is a process used in determining how much capacity is required to manufacture greater products or begin the production of a new product. Capacity is therefore the equipment, space, and employee skills. When production capabilities fail to meet demand, high costs, strains on resources and customer loss results. There are three major inputs to capacity planning which include the kind of capacity that will be required, how much capacity will be needed and when will it be needed. Various factors help determine whether a company has an effective capacity management (Fernandes, C., & Rodrigues, 2011 p.39). These factors include: facilities, the size and provision for expansions of the facilities. They also include transportation costs, labor supply and energy sources. RTA has effectively considered these cases as they are still expanding their routes and lines.
Product and service factors also entail uniformity of the output whereby there are more opportunities for standardizing methods and materials. This brings about great capacity. RTA has several products, which are all specified to certain standards that entail quality. They have various opportunities being the market leader and therefore have various opportunities (Hoque, 2004 p.51). RTA employs highly skilled personnel and therefore has a great human factor, as most of the tasks required in certain jobs are necessary. Trainings, skills, and experiences are highly required since for any job performance, they affect the potential and actual output. Having these major facilities, products and service factors and the human factor, then they have enough capacity.
This involves capacity-planning concerns of scheduling, labor shifts, and balancing resource capacities. The major goal is to handle unexpected shifts in demand in an efficient economic manner. The period in this type of planning is only few days but may run as long as six months. The commonly used method in increasing capacity in the short term is working overtime, which is a flexible and inexpensive alternative as it foregoes the expense of hiring, training, and paying additional benefits.
A more creative way of dealing with this is modifying the output. Standardizing outputs or offering complimentary services are examples. One may also allow customers do the tasks for themselves such as the Nol Cards that are in use and used by passengers to check in and check out at the gates in their destinations (Bagaeen, 2007 p.190). Producing certificates may also be made online where one would download certificates of interest after providing the right credentials.
Long-term capacity planning issues are interrelated with location decisions. Technology and transferability of the process to other process relate to the long-term capacity planning. These evolve when short-term changes in capacity are insufficient. For instance, if the firm’s additions of a third shift to the current two-shift plan does not produce enough output and subcontracting arrangements cannot be made, one possible alternative is adding capital equipment and modifying the layout of the plant. It may be necessary to add additional plant space or constructing a new facility (Fernandes, C., & Rodrigues, 2011 p.50).
RTA majorly uses the long-term capacity planning where it concentrates more on expanding their business lines within the Dubai CBD. It also operates on other areas, thus ensure track on small increments to maintain pace with increasing demand (Noack, 2007 p.27). RTA also concentrates more on building what they already have and creating extra expansions of the same. They are creating new lines of operation, which is a sign of creating additional plant space, which is in the long-term capacity planning.
Alternative capacity plans used by RTA include the size and timing of added capacity, use of overtime and multiple shifts, use of outside capacity sources, absorption of lost sales or location of new capacity. This means that the firm is managing capacity according to the selected strategy whereby they use the differentiation of ensuring uniqueness through maintaining continued working to create innovations and other strategies (Hoque, 2004 p.53). They ensure work overtime to acquire the perfect competing strategies.
RTA is a great company that has several activities occurring simultaneously. These activities are also independent and therefore never join at any place. Most of these activities undertaken involve the car certificate renewal, transfer certificates, transporting passengers among others. One of the main activities is the transportation as they have all means of transportation (Noack, 2007 p.27). In most cases these metros, buses, rails, and marines pick the passengers at specific preset time and commute them back to their areas of residence. Each of these transporting systems has specific areas of operation. Every driver of these buses knows the path to follow and what time as they concentrate on offering quality services to their customers.
In the case of vehicle renewal, various steps must be followed in order to achieve an effective way of accessing the service. The first step involves calling the RTA, which is free of charge. RTA directs its clients on the service center to the nearest RTA center, where they receive immediate attention. RTA kiosks are also available all over the Emirate, where it is easier for them to acquire the right services. They have websites and a mobile platform where they can still attend to their clients. A customer must get back to the company for service and product delivery (Debnath, et al 2014, p.49) in several delicate operations.
RTA uses the continuous process in which they are able to obtain these quality services and products. Certificates, cars, taxis and the transportation system is a continuous activity, thus prompting them to use the specific continuous process. The process uses variety of raw materials ranging from labor to materials necessary for making final products. Acquisition of labor and time to manufacture these activities is a great activity that requires great investments (Rpp Mapm, 2012 p.114). Most of these materials are not easily available, thus require various activities to acquire. A continuous process means it never stops and completion one marks the beginning of the other. A continuing process requires continuous labor, machinery, and raw materials all through.
Continuous process has equipment flexibility where various equipments apply in other parts and, therefore, various machines are of use at different stages. In this equipment flexibility, most of the raw materials can share tasks, thus relieving the buyer off the burden of buying wide variety of raw materials. Expected volume of output is expected to be high, thus improving output efficiency. Manufacturing cars is the major continuous process (Hvidt, 2009 p.397). Equipments are not easily flexible as most materials are unique to specific cars. The volume attainable upon obtaining the output is great. This process is highly advantageous, because it is very efficient and produces high volume of goods.
Major objective of creating a company layout is to ensure smooth flow of work, material, and information throughout the system. RTA majorly uses the product layout in the operations as it uses standardized processing operations, which aims to achieve smooth, rapid, and high-volume flow. The layout is helpful as it ensures every step takes place at the correct time, therefore the final material is realized. A systematic process ensures that no errors and every step of development is well considered. The RTA is managing the process design and facility layout based on the response other than differentiation, because they are responding to the client needs rather than creating innovations for the market competitions (Hoque, 2004 p.59).
RTA Company has various activities, therefore using various product designs for different products. RTA goes down in history for using various designs to make its transport systems unique. The company own the Dubai metro, which is a driverless, full-automated metro rail network. The red and green lines are operational with other three planned lines. They are air conditioned with platform screen doors with corresponding flash light signals installed at every station for the safety of the passengers.
The Guinness world record declares Dubai metro as the worlds longest fully automated metro network with a route length of 75 kilometers. The metro is designed with a contrasting tactile guidance path, which helps to guide the visually impaired. There are also dedicated spaces for the wheelchair users in all the metro trains. Mobile phone coverage is available across the entire metro network. Dubai Metro has built three large multi-level car parking with an estimated capacity that accommodates over 8,000 vehicles for passengers where they are able to park cars and ride in the metro (Rpp Mapm, 2012 p.114).
RTA products show great sustainability through mode of operations. These products show life-cycle assessment whereby they have assessed environmental impacts of products and services throughout the useful life. These transportation systems are highly considered matters on global warming, smog formation, oxygen depletion, and solid wastes generation. They are highly considerate of the various activities that take place, thus considering ecological sustainability. These products are made from the returned products promoting recycling of goods and services. They entail reduced costs and materials when making of these products (Debnath, et al 2014, p.50).
Unworthy systems recycled and new quality products made out of them. The company is managing product designs based on their selected strategy of differentiation. Most companies concentrate on maximizing profits without minding about the environmental sustainability, but RTA considers ecological sustainability before engaging in any business act. They have manufactured environmentally friendly vehicles and are still holding onto their mission to undertake the best cycles.
Various legal, ethical, and sustainability issues must apply when designing a new product. The legal considerations entail the product liability whereby the product developer faces responsibility over any injuries or damages caused by any faulty product. There are other legal costs associated with product liability such as litigation, legal and insurance costs, settlement costs, cost product recalls, and reputation effects (Hvidt, 2009 p.410).
On ethical basis, designers should always be ethical on any product designing and development. In most cases, designers are always under pressure for money; therefore, they end up speeding up the design process. In process of speeding up the operations, most products are underdeveloped and therefore they are never durable, thus resulting in car crashes or breakdown. Other designers end up cutting costs on the raw materials, thus resulting in the purchase of poor and unworthy materials that cannot make any quality product. Pressures force trade-off decisions in the cases when products have errors.
Most of the customers end up acquiring poor quality goods, which results to bad reputation of the company later. Companies that end up establishing partnership with other companies end up succumbing to great losses. Company reputation is always destroyed, thus making customers lack trust in those companies (Debnath, et al 2014, p.56). Companies end up facing great problems of working out the bugs rather than generating revenues. This brings great losses and in most cases, the company ends up living on great debts that becomes hard to repay.
On sustainability issues, various key aspects are mandatory. Some of these activities include cradle-to-grave assessment, which is a Life-Cycle assessment that assesses factors such as global warming, smog formation, oxygen depletion, and solid waste generation. End of life programs on the other hand apply in reduction of dumping or burning of products that pose hazards to the environment.
RTA is highly dedicated towards generation of high quality products and services that ensure keen consideration of legal, ethical and sustainability to promote a legal and ecological fit area for everyone.
RTA is located in Dubai in United Arab Emirates. A director general and chairperson of the board of executive directors lead the company. It has six agencies, each having its own director and CEO. These agencies include public transport agency, marine, rail, traffic and roads, licensing and Dubai. The company is located in a strategic location, because it is in the central business district (Debnath, et al 2014, p.47).
This is the best location since it is a highly populated region and most of the people commute to the nearby town for their daily jobs. Another factor that make is suitable is the fact that it is a middle income are and several individuals lack personal cars. The major factor that was considered during the decision-making was that Dubai is growing at an alarming rate, thus need for transportation systems that would result in reduced traffic congestion in the town.
Performance describes whether the product or service suits its intended duty. Performance acts as a source of contention between customers and suppliers when definition of deliverables is yet to take course within the specifications (Kaiser, 2007 p.4).
Emerges where product or services possess all the specified characteristics and fits intended purposes. Suppliers designing products or services from performance specifications are familiar with the intended uses, thus maintaining close relationships with the end-users.
Reliability is closely related to performance, since product specification defines parameters for up time or acceptable failure rates. This is the major contributor to brand and company image, thus considered a fundamental dimension of quality.
Conformance is developed based on performance specifications. Once based on design specifications it possesses all defined features, hence making it conform to available criteria as well as needs and purposes.
Durability specifies the period in which a product should last. Durability is closely related to warranty whereby requirements for the product durability are included within procurement contracts and specifications.
Serviceability is the act of total cost of ownership than simple procurement costs. This is also referred to as the reliability.
Aesthetics is the physical look of the product to end-users. Aesthetic properties of a product contribute to a company or brand’s identity. Faults and defects in a product diminish its aesthetic properties; even those that do not reduce alter other dimensions of quality.
Perception is the reality in which a product or service may possess adequate or even superior dimensions of quality, but still fall victim to negative customers. High quality products may get a bad reputation for being low quality based on poor service installation or field technicians.
RTA is highly concentrating on improving quality of the services and products that they offer. The best solution to easy adapting to quality is the ability to address every single dimension of quality and ensuring they all fit to the preset conditions. Every single agency department should be concerned with high quality by ensuring every single dimension is made as per the department (Hvidt, 2009 p.397). Common way of implementing dimensions of quality ensures that some departments do not fit the preset dimension while in others they fit perfectly. The best solution to this is therefore ensuring that every right decision takes course.
Appraisal costs are the costs of activities specifically designed to ensure quality or uncover defects. They are costs incurred after uncovering defects. Prevention costs includes TQ training, TQ planning, customer assessment, press control, quality improvement costs to prevent other defects from occurring. These are great company liabilities resulting from errors in the production stages. Failure costs are the costs incurred by defective parts or products or faulty services (Kaiser, 2007 p.9). They are subdivided into internal failure costs, which are the costs, incurred to fix problems that are detected prior to product delivery to the clients. External failure costs on the other hand are the costs incurred after the product or service reaches the customer.
Road and Transport Authority UAE is a government independent transport body located within Dubai in the United Arab Emirates and it manages the transportation medium of marine and road including various transport vessels. RTA is famous for the products and services it offers to the potential and active clients and this include renewal of and issuing of parking licenses, car plates, ownership certificates, and registration of both personal and other cars as well.
Most of the training services and products that RTA provides aims at satisfying customer needs in terms of quality and durability with the target of reducing the cases of life loss and injuries through reduction of possible accidents and abiding by the available rules and regulations. RTA has a well-formulated mission that it aims to achieve through a few strategies that include operations, time-based, and quality among others.
RTA uses Delphi and time series forecasting method that aims the quality and quantity of the market and products respectively. Location of the company mainly targets the customers who commute to and from the nearby city for different purposes that include job and leisure among others.
9.2 Recommendation
Since customers mainly target quality from any organization or body and Road Transport Authority is not an exception, The company should focus on improving the quality of services as well as products even a notch higher to help it in attracting the largest customer and even curb a higher niche than any other organization in that industry. This will mean higher profit margins as well as income for the RTA.
The second thing that RTA should consider advancing are its employees, because customer satisfaction begins and depends on how the employees relate with them and if the relations is negative then the aspect of trust will automatically diminish.
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