Research and Development of new products: The production department maybe responsible for basic research and producing prototypes of new products being developed. f)
Maintenance of facilities of the organisation: During the course of time, the production facilities of an organisation i.e. factory buildings, equipment, etc. wear and tear or deteriorate. This affects their efficiency and output. Maintenance minimises the deterioration of these facilities and ensures that they are operationally ready all the times. There are three major maintenance policies an organisation could adopt. These are preventive, breakdown and shutdown. g)
Deciding on the appropriate replacement strategy to employ: As machine and equipment are being maintained over years, wear and tear sets in. However, there is a stage in the maintenance lifetime of a machine that the cumulative cost of maintenance will equate the cost of acquiring anew machine and equipment. At this point it is expected that such machine be replaced. Meanwhile, this is applicable mostly to items that fail gradually (fixed assets, machine and equipment. On the other hand, taking a replacement decision on items that fail suddenly (electric bulbs, fan belts, compressors, etc, it is either components are bought and replaced as they fail, or replace massively at regular intervals, or a combination of the two options. h)
Ensuring compliance with health and safety procedures: The human resource department has oversight responsibility for health and safety policies and procedures throughout the organisation but it is the production department that enforces these policies and procedures at the shop floor. The production department’s role in health and safety includes enforcement of safety policies and procedures, training of operatives in health and safety. Others are risk assessment of employees and the work environment, providing hazard and risk information to operatives in the production department and other employees.
B.5
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