Zack Muldoon, owner of ABC Construction Company, has a standing policy that is in effect at all of his company's building sites. Employees stop working at about 20-25 minutes prior to quitting time and began a site "cleanup" that includes collection, cleaning, and storage of tools. Any equipment that is in need of repair or replacement is removed for off-site service (or replacement) prior to the next day.
1. What Principles of Operations Management are supported by this policy?
2. How might the same policy be applied in an office setting?
3. How might the policy be applied at a shared workstation in a student-run newspaper?
4. Such a clean-up-at-the-end policy makes obvious sense for fire stations, hospital emergency rooms, and disaster-relief operations. But is it really necessary for construction sites? Offices? In other words, what is wrong with spending the first few minutes of the next day performing these sorts of duties? Explain the logic of your response.