208-218 Production Management

The objective of this subject is to enable students to:

• state and evaluate the requirements of various regulations influencing food manufacturing units;

• identify strategies for scheduling of production;

• evaluate critical factors in planning and constructing a dairy food manufacturing unit, and apply an understanding of these factors to the design of a dairy food manufacturing unit;

• identify key components of an effective storage and distribution system for food;

• prepare operating budgets for defined production units;

• develop and implement strategies for the optimisation of production systems and resources;

• identify and evaluate different methods for treating factory effluent;

• implement strategies for preventative maintenance programs in a food production unit;

• understand the principles of factory layout, provision of factory services preventative maintenance, effective cleaning and sanitation practices, retrieval and storage of raw materials, prevention of contamination, effective personal hygiene practices, regulatory requirements and disposal of waste materials;

• understand the factors involved in factory layout and the associated provision of services;

• implement sound principles of raw material handling and storage;

• apply the principles of preventative maintenance;

• identify and manage sources of contamination of foodstuffs;

• have a working knowledge of regulations relevant to factory practice;

• understand factors affecting efficient cleaning and sanitation; and

• apply principles of waste disposal.

The content includes regulations and codes of practice; factory design, planning and construction; production scheduling; production scheduling; concepts, factors influencing production budgeting, factors influencing budget preparation, loss monitoring; stock rotation and control, storage, warehousing, materials handling, transport, regulatory requirements; effective storage and distribution systems, food storage requirements and systems; environment and effluent control, effluent disposal, types of effluent, regulations, costs; factory layout and services; raw material handling; preventative maintenance; contamination of foodstuffs; regulatory requirements; cleaning and sanitation; and waste disposal.

Five industry visit reports of 1000 words (40%); assignment-literature review of 2000 words (20%); 2-hour examination (40%)