Optimal Solutions
Optimal Solutions
- for [difficult] management 'problems'
To facilitate optimal performance
 
This is the Jobs Done Page
Proven

capability
and drive

for

optimal
services
We will be glad
to provide with
clarification on
any  jobs done
about which
you would like
to be given
more information.
When most
areas
appear to be
in great shape,
it is an optimal
time for a
proactive
check-up.

Let's perform
a
check-up of
your company
or an area of
your company.

It's a wise
move
.
If our analysis
reported
'all is clear',
that would be great
(confidence-wise)
and would allow for
fine-tuning of
strategies and plans
-in optimal allocation
of money, time and
efforts.

This is the
management
process
of
'controlling-planning'
with our
needed
EXTERNAL
FOCUS.
OUR EXPERIENCE with startups and development of projects and organizations,
and
OUR WORK SCHEME guarantee optimal solutions for 'difficult' problems
Just some music:
Beethoven:

    JOBS DONE

    The jobs in this list are selected examples of the work Luis Molina delivers.
    With some exceptions, completion time-frames and other measurements of
    goals are omitted for brevity.  

    The jobs in blue are services rendered in our three areas of Special Services.
    Go to the Special Services page to see our special services listed.


    (4) Integrate a more effective (stronger and more motivated) organization
    in manufacturing management, packing and shipping, maintenance and
    equipment setting up for constantly changing products.

    (5) Make three several-years-old manufacturing plants reach their production
    volume records in less than three months, without overtime. Efficiency was
    very good for 2 of the 3 plants, but it increased substantially for the three
    plants -7%, 11% and 26% respectively.

    (6) Design a project for optimization of use of floor space. Cost reduction
    was US $ 3.3 million per year, with an investment payback period of less
    than nine months.

    (7) Define and induce improved expectations for more challenging goals
    in efficiency, employee turnover and other basic manufacturing factors.

    (8) With emphasis on one plant, promote discipline and enthusiasm and guide
    the staff to focus on priorities, which resulted in a stable delivery of scheduled
    production.

    (9) Recruit and provide leadership to a large management staff and to key
    supervisory, technical and administrative staff. These persons integrated
    as teams of responsible persons, eager and capable of carrying out very
    profitable operations.

    (10) Supervise the construction and equipping of several manufacturing and
    administrative facilities, expediting several phases and proposing design
    changes which improved functionality of the facilities. Also, manage this new
    manufacturing division -a US $ 87 million investment.
                                                                                                   
    (11) Exceed budgeted goals, for several apparel manufacturing facilities -in
    operator levels, efficiency, worked hours, units produced and other indicators;
    in spite of a labor market characterized by full employment, very high employee
    turnover and tough competition with long established non-apparel companies.

    (12) Establish second shift operations early in the development of a cutting and
    laundry divisional complex and begin third shifts. Achieve cutting and finishing
    autonomy -ending need for outside assistance in just a few months.  

    (13) Manage to secure the following for a jeans sewing plant:
    -        More-than-average speed of operator buildup
    -        Making flexibility feasible, with 27 production units and 68 styles daily          
    -        Less than average level of finishing repairs
    -        High employee satisfaction. Employee turnover was decreased from
             85% to a 40% in one year, in spite of full-employment labor market
    -        Setting initial conditions for reaching top efficiency in three years
             from start of operations
    -        Creating the basis for the development of a strong supervisory team
    -        Making the mechanical staff to achieve long-term goals for machine
             trouble in just two years  
    -        Reducing cycle time from 4 weeks to 6 days in less than 2 years. Two
             days of sew work-in-process (WIP) was achieved.  

    (14) Plan and implement cost-effective training programs for all business
    functions.  

    (15) Develop an international purchasing department as a model department
    and training location.

    (16) Make several facilities achieve outstanding results for security and safety
    in one year.

    (17) Establish a cost-effective employee benefit program –making it to be
    regarded as more attractive than competitors’ in the labor market while
    being much less expensive than competitors’.

    (18) Design, negotiate and coordinate the creation and development of
    optimal outside services -(1) security, (2) cafeterias, (3) medical services,
    (4) ground maintenance, (5) employee transportation, and (6) international
    and local cargo traffic. Those outside services, in 3 locations and 3 shifts,
    soon became mutually satisfactory operations for all involved parties.

    (19) Plan and generate extra-savings for about a million dollars per year.

    (20) Direct the preparation of annual budgets coordinated for several facilities
    and negotiate the budgets with Corporate Finances.

    (21) Deal with Mexican Government agencies on: sales tax (IVA) refunds;
    income tax parameters; duties and taxes waiving for importation of construction
    items, furniture, equipment and operating supplies; faster customs procedures;
    construction permits and technical support (in building a gas pipeline); federal
    investment volume incentives; and local and State tax incentives.

    (22) Set standards to create a good image in the four communities of operations
    of a company, as well as before local, state and federal government agencies.

    (23) Create a synchronized shuttle system for optimal trucking of production
    flow, between (a) a cutting facility and parts plant, to (b) several assembly
    factories and back to (c) the finishing and exportation facility, with facilities
    working different numbers of shifts per day and days per week.

    (24) Create a system for optimal administrative control and financial reporting
    for a US corporation’s first operation overseas.

    (25) Develop an overseas operation into a training place for managers,
    engineers and other US and foreign personnel.

    (26) Hire and substantially contribute to the development of several individuals
    expected to become plant managers or functional division managers.

    (27) Create the conditions and the management tools that fostered a solid
    and permanent culture of quality in two plants, which allowed  to make them
    second-to-none in world-class quality.

    (28) Create conditions for consolidating outstanding performance as a result
    of leadership and work in two areas:
           -Enthusiasm, responsibility, efficiency and other work ethics of
             the personnel.
           -Enhancement of the best work methods and techniques the
             experience of the Company could provide.

    (29) Develop permanent results for two manufacturing plants as follows:    
    -        Making of 100% of production schedules, without overtime
    -        Best quality among several dozens of plants, including lowest
             customer returns
    -        Lowest cost per minute ever in the Corporation
    -        Top production efficiency, including (1) optimum cycle time –less than 2
    days of work in process (WIP) in sewing, (2) 'minimum' cost per standard
    dollar (CSD) –negligible machine trouble CSD and no-work CSD, for
    example, and (3) constant 103-104% overall manufacturing efficiency
    -        Best results on surveys of employee satisfaction.

    (30) Make plans and save several millions of dollars on maritime freight costs,
    warehousing, capital expenditures, exchange rates, cash flow management,
    inventory controls (including machine parts management) and maintenance.

    (31) Make the analysis and present the proposals to convince a US
    corporation to design and build its first own facility abroad.

    (32) Create the concept, lead the design and substantially participate in
    the supervising of the construction of a building to be the model for the
    construction of new facilities overseas.

    (33) Survey and prospect the localization of several manufacturing facilities
    in two countries.

    (34) Design, test and implement software for optimal machine parts purchasing,
    with control levels, usage by technician and machine, and other items.

    (35) Design, test and implement software for controlling quality with upper
    control limits by worker, supervisor, manufacturing areas and with weekly-
    updating of 13-week periods.

    (36) Design a system for controlling export-quota visas’ requests, issuance,
    pay and custom validation, without disrupting export operations for nearly 200
    manufacturing plants. Designing a one-page multiple-user form for each
    factory’s visa request and using fax back and forth between the factory and
    the visa-issuing entity were keys for the optimal solution of this problem.

    (37) Plan, organize, carry out as the director and report with recommendations
    on the first European markets mission of a manufacturers association.

    (38) As a response to a nation-wide, 60%-of-time electricity shortage in
    Honduras, feared to last 2 years, create a system for allocation of electrical
    power in order to make each participating company able to operate as many
    hours as possible. Also, negotiate implementation with involved parties –18
    companies, Electricity Company, labor unions, banks and public transportation
    companies. Our system allowed for 44 hours of work weekly to each participant
    by working on Saturdays and Sundays on a 7-week rotatory basis, with the 18
    companies in 3 groups. This system was adopted by other industrial and
    commercial geographical groups.

    (39) Develop the first export project involving three US companies and three
    Honduran companies, for a private sector institution financed by the US
    Agency for International Development (USAID).

    (40) Plan, organize, direct and control five institutional development projects,
    including their political and financial viability, for:
    -        Honduras Exporters Association (ANEXHON)
    -        Honduran-American Chamber of Commerce (HAMCHAM)
    -        Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Cortes (CCIC) –including a
    proposal which secured financial resources from USAID
    -        Private Sector Council of Honduras (COHEP), the umbrella private
    sector organization in Honduras –including the design and coordination
    of a general national assembly to reach agreement in recommended
    institutional changes which were implemented
    -        Government of Honduras (in export and investment promotion areas)

    (41) Elaborate position papers on economic policy, and evaluation of several
    projects and studies for ANEXHON, CCIC, COHEP, Government of Honduras
    and the USAID.

    (42) Advise the Government of Honduras (GOH) on the preparation of
    negotiation positions for the 807 system of access levels of textile and
    apparel products into the US market.

    (43) Lead the preparation of (1) the Export Promotion Law
    and (2) the Temporary Import Law, and design mechanisms
    for the efficient implementation of these two laws.

    (44) Participate in designing a scheme for channeling two
    financial funds in US dollars and local currency, for export
    promotion under an USAID's program; and analyze the
    problem of pre-investment financing in Honduras.

    (45) Advise both private sector and GOH on US regulations on 807 operations.

    (46) Advise the GOH and integrate lobbying and negotiation missions in
    Washington, D.C., opposing establishment of 807 quotas by the US Trade
    Representative (USTR). Honduras was not established quotas.

    (47) Evaluate the project for the development of export industrial parks in
    Honduras and collaborate in the preparation of the corresponding law and
    in the promotion of the project. This project was basis for the development
    of the maquila industry in Honduras, which resulted in the simultaneous
    operation of about 200 new apparel plants in Honduras.

    (48) Provide individual counsel to representatives of US companies
    considering establishing operations in Honduras.

    (49) Participate in the organization of the country’s counterpart activities in a
    Korean prospective investment mission to Honduras –participating basically
    in the selling of the attractiveness for foreign investment in Honduras. This
    forum leaded to the establishment of several dozens Korean companies in
    Honduras.

    (50) Lead two investment promotion missions -one to the USA and Mexico
    and the other one to Europe.

    (51) Design a quantitative procedure for the screening and classification
    of clients and potential clients of a US-financed private sector institution.

    (52) Analyze the monetary and foreign currency exchange systems. Policy
    changes by the GOH allowed the growth of the maquila industry.

    (53) Elaborate the first-year work plan of a GOH's agency for foreign
    investment promotion.
     
    (54) Integrate several committees and task forces made up by Government
    and private sector representatives, and participate in the delegations of
    Honduras to several international meetings.

    (55) Act as the Country Coordinator of the US Caribbean Basin Initiative. This
    included the preparation of Honduras’ request for eligibility, work plan, food
    plan, as well as promotional efforts. An important acceleration of the growth
    of the economy was registered.

    (56) Design policies, strategies and measurements to solve problems
    concerning the Country’s supply of petroleum and oil fuels.

    (57) Perform financial analysis of the operations of the refinery and distributors
    of oil fuels in Honduras, in order to set adequate prices for gasoline, diesel and
    other products –as to permit the economy of the Country to continue growing
    in difficult times without adding disruption to the supply of oil fuels during the
    second world energy crisis.

    (58) Conclude favorable negotiation of contracts with Venezuela for the
    supplying of reconstituted petroleum to Honduras.

    (59) Coordinate the National Energy Committee which was integrated as an
    answer to the second world oil crisis. Duties included:
    -        International technical and financial cooperation
    -        Alternate sources of energy and energy conservation
    -        Organizational and institutional changes in the energy field

    (60) Perform financial and operational evaluations of companies producing
    or distributing products under price control by the GOH and elaborate
    recommendations.
                                   
    (61) Design a special system for the control of prices of medicines during
    difficult times in the economy of Honduras, making the control effective
    in all the Country in spite of freight costs differentials, while decreasing
    negative effects on investment and supply.

    (62) Elaborate a study on the effects of price control on the inflation rate
    in Honduras.

    (63) Perform economic studies in important production sectors
    and companies: sugar, cement, transportation, fuels, meat.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    (1) Propose the basics of our scheme for the development of Honduras,
    aiming for plentiful peace and prosperity for all, by means of ethics and
    productivity -with two key elements: economic pragmatism and management
    excellence.                  

    (2) Per our proposal to the board of directors of a national development
    bank, immediately increase by 100% the efficiency of the audit department
    –in operations for more than 50 years; directing and motivating the personnel
    adequately, and optimizing the coverage regarding periods of time, auditing
    subjects and frequency of works. This achievement, with no precedent in that
    bank, also satisfied the requirements of the national authorities, external to
    the bank –of both (a) the controlling authority (which gave us their maximum
    grade) and (b) the banking-policies authority as well.    

    (3) In three months, increase by more than 50% the yearly quantity of loans
    granted by the agricultural state bank of Honduras; since, due to a massive
    use of corn for fuel in USA in 2006, for 2007 and 2008 it was expected that
    severe inflation would affect several food products in Honduras: chicken,
    meat, pork, milk, eggs. However, inflation resulted to be almost imperceptible,
    partially thanks to that massive increase in financing of corn production which
    required a marketing campaign to potential producers (who had abandoned
    corn production in Honduras) and effective organizational and operative work.
    Besides, yearly loans to other items were doubled. At the same time, loan
    default was decreased by about 50% in loans with own funds and by
    nearly 25% in loans with other funds.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The 63 jobs listed above are selected examples of the work
    Luis Molina delivers. With some exceptions, goal dates and
    quantities are not included for brevity.

    The jobs in blue are services we have rendered in OS' three areas
    of Special Services. Go to the Special Services page to see a list of
    our special services.

.............Don't
.. .... .wait.

...... .Don't
......get
...behind.

...Lead.
/
Creativity
and sound management

.............Don't
.. .... .wait.

...... .Don't
......get
...behind.

...Lead.
A company does
not need to be in
need of a
'prescription'
to get a check up
and diagnosis.
Luis Molina has written
position papers,
proposals and
recommendations
on public issues,
including:
This OS' logo glimpses several images: a winding road (the S of Solutions in the O of Optimal), two complementary parts like matching parts of a puzzle, ocean and land meeting, the clasp of two hands
YOUR PEOPLE WILL PROVIDE BENEFITS BEYOND EXPECTATION
SAMPLES OF RESULTS
BEYOND EXPECTATION
THAT YOUR PEOPLE CAN PROVIDE
YOUR PEOPLE WILL PROVIDE BENEFITS BEYOND EXPECTATION
SAMPLES OF RESULTS
BEYOND EXPECTATION
THAT YOUR PEOPLE CAN PROVIDE
Beethoven:
Just some music:
For more about
our scheme for
the development
of Honduras
,
and other articles,
go to
:
OptimumAnswer:
SEE OUR SERVICES LISTED