The ABC Manufacturing Plant

A risk refers to anything which puts the normal operations of a business into turmoil by way of inhibiting its operations altogether. This means that when an organization is exposed to the various types of risks then it becomes completely vulnerable to any form of negative influence it comes across with. There are various types of risks and each type is expounded by the exact environment upon which it is found. This means that risks are differentiated according to the environment upon which they exist. This assignment will therefore involve itself in finding out the specific risks which are exposed in this particular case study while ABC Manufacturing Plant engages itself in its normal daily routine of manufacturing brass products (Kneller, 2009).

Firstly, there is the risk of theft both from the employees and the outside environment. This is possible because the ABC Manufacturing Plant lacks fencing. The neighborhood is also occupied by the less fortunate members of the society who might have perceived the loophole created by the lack of the fencing for the company. This loophole may have enticed them to steal raw materials as well as the finished products, especially during the night when visibility is completely inhibited altogether. Visibility is poor throughout the premises since there are only a few units of mercury vapor street lights located at the corners of each intersection. It should be noted that the level of security in the firm is somehow insufficient. An evaluation into the case study indicates that the firm is only guarded by a few security personnel. When these security personnel are overworked and become tired then the loophole is created.

The diagram of the plant also indicates that there are two exit terminals. It may be very hard for the security deployed to manage these two entries and exit points. The loophole created in this particular situation is considered unworkable since it will be almost impossible for the security team to keep a stringent watch of all the employees entering and leaving the company.    The great number of employees is also another fact which is capable of enhancing the loophole created. This is because the employees are not identified formally as they leave or enter the gate.

The fact that the employees working with the administration possess so much freedom at their disposal is a fact which is somehow suspicious. These employees are allowed to enter and leave the premises at whichever time they see fit. It is known for a fact that not all employees are ethically moral and some of them despite their relationship with ABC will perceive the loophole and move ahead to steal the brass products at the expense of the Plant (Amanner, 2010). It is not clear whether these employees are inspected when they enter or leave the premises but assuming the worst it is possible that they also participate in the theft of both raw materials and finished brass products.

 All in all, it is evidently clear that the theft experienced within the business premises is the major contributing factor to the amount of losses experienced altogether. The best solution to be effected to curb this menace will therefore include increasing the number of security personnel within the premises. These security personnel should also be qualified and experienced in their line of duty so that they are able to understand the different loopholes created whenever the security matter is eased; the management of the Plant and probably its stakeholders should embark on erecting the fencing around the premises. Fencing will reduce the level of unnecessary movements in and out of the premises.

The management should devise ways of identifying genuine employees from thieves. The most suitable solution is to provide the work identification cards to each and every employee. It is also unclear that the most senior management team has been awarded an unnecessary pass to enter and leave the premises. This is a loophole created within the operational policies of the company. The most suitable solution to curb this exposure affecting the operation policies is by way of formulating totally new policies the aim of which will be to regulate the unnecessary movements of these potential thieves. The security personnel should also be involved in these policies so that in the long run these employees follow these new policies to the latter.

After a critical analysis of the case study, I happened to find out that there is also the likelihood of immense loss as a result of the risk of fire. It is indicated that the premises lack the capacity to tackle the fire as it lacks effective equipments to put out fire in case it arises within the premise. It is stipulated that there is a limited visibility within the premises as there is only a few sources of lighting provided by the outdated modes of lighting structures within the manufacturing plant. It is also stipulated the whole premise is served by a single dry pipe sprinkler- system meaning that in case of fire it would be very inflexible for the fire department to contain the situation at hand. The fact that premises are served by fault and less developed fire fixing devices, postulates a clear indication that the management team is  not in any way concerned with preventing the risk before damages are actually experienced. 

The suitable way for which to curb this menace is by way of providing enlightenment to the management to entice them in increasing the activities of the fire department. It can help only by allocating the useful resources to the fire department so that the department is made effective and efficient whenever the need arises. The fire department should also make efforts to set seminars and workshops whereby employees of the Plant are trained on the various ways for which to handle the matter should the threat of fire arise within the premises. Training should include the ways of responding to a fire emergency (Peretrov, 2004).

 Because the manufacturing plant is situated within major streets of the town there will be the likelihood of the risk of accidents, especially by those cars passing along the streets. These streets are namely: Tenth Avenue, Eleventh avenue, Fourth Street and Fifth Street. The fact that the premise is not fenced means that the employees and other personnel are exposed to the risk of accidents altogether. The premise is also exposed to the general public who might make a fortune out of the loophole created by the low-level of security within the premise.

The best solution to be implemented and thus curb this form of risk is by fencing the whole premise with permanent materials so that motor vehicles passing along the roads are prevented from causing unnecessary accidents leading to losses altogether.

The fact that the premise is over-crowded by the presence of the production employees stipulates that there may be the likelihood of the risk of internal accidents especially when the melting of the brass is concerned. It has been indicated in the case that the Plant is experiencing losses out of the fact that more labor hours are spent on the production of finished products. The most likely feature which acts towards the emergence of this condition is the fact that there might be little space for which the employees work upon. The fact that there are more than eight hundred employees within the same premise reduces the productivity level of the Plant as a whole.

The best solution to be implemented in order to eliminate this risk lies with the capability of the management to establish more space which the employees can use to fulfill their duties effectively. The fact that the employees are crowded might also lead to accidents associated with the boiling of brass altogether. Fatigue, stress and lack of fresh air might be causes for the reduction in production (Lena, 1999).

All in all, it is very clear indicated that the main facet which contributes to the Company’s loss is directly linked to theft by both the external and internal persons. The fact that the costs of raw material are increasing might be as a result of theft practiced by the employees working in the shipping and receiving department. The cost of purchasing tools needed for the production process is also mentioned as a contributing factor for the loss which the Plant is experiencing, it will be presumably right to indicate that this increase in the costs of the tools needed for the production exercise might also be linked to a theft of these tools altogether.