OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT INTRODUCTION

IN-LINE EXERCISES

Production Chain

See if you can match the following activities for producing frozen dinners with the appropriate production chain activity:

Packing and sealing food cartons Raw material extraction

Harvesting vegetables Materials processing

Mixing vegetables with other dinner ingredients Parts fabrication or formation

Cleaning, sorting, and sterilizing vegetables Assembly

Cutting and dicing vegetables Packing and finishing

Productivity

Tried and True Clothing has opened four new stores in college towns across the state.  Data on monthly sales volume and labor hours are given below.  Which store location has the highest

productivity?

 Store

Annan-dale

Blacks-burg

Charlottes-ville Danville

Sales Volume $40,000 $12,000 $60,000 $25,000

Labor Hours        250    60  500    200

PRODUCTIVITY REVIEW EXERCISE

Try to define each of the terms below (efficient to breakthroughs) by stating whether the numerator or denominator in the productivity equation increases or decreases.  If both the numerator and denominator increase or decrease, place two x's by the term that increases or decreases faster.

What happens to the numerator (output) and denominator (input) in the productivity equation when a firm:

1. becomes more efficient? output : increases ____ decreases ____ stays the same ____ input: increases ____ decreases ____ stays the same ____

2. downsizes? output : increases ____ decreases ____ stays the same ____ input: increases ____ decreases _____ stays the same ____

3. expands? output : increases ____ decreases _____ stays the same ____ input: increases ____ decreases _____ stays the same ____

4. retrenches? output : increases ____ decreases _____ stays the same ____ input: increases ____ decreases _____ stays the same ____

5. achieves breakthroughs? output : increases ____ decreases _____ stays the same ____ input: increases ____ decreases _____ stays the same ____

History Review

1. Listed below are five of the six major events or periods of history in production and operations management. Which one is missing?

Industrial RevolutionScientific Management

Modern Age DevelopmentInformation Age and InternetGlobalization

2. Who invented the steam engine?a. Henry Fordb. Eli Whitneyc. James Wattd. Frederick Taylor

3. Who is known for interchangeable parts?a. Henry Fordb. Eli Whitneyc. James Wattd. Frederick Taylor

4. Who is known for the assembly line?

a. Henry Fordb. Eli Whitneyc. James Wattd. Frederick Taylor

5. For what is Frederick Taylor known?a. Globalizationb. Reducing the time to make a car from 728 hours to 1 ½ hoursc. Hawthorne Studiesd. Time and Motion Studies

6. What is the value of the steam engine?a. Allows the use of standardized partsb. Substitutes machine power for human powerc. Creates specializationd. Division of labor

7. What event helped start the human relations movement?a. Hawthorne Studies and lighting experimentsb. Steam Engine and development of electricityc. Discovery of coal and iron in the New Worldd. Time and Motion Studies

8. About what subject is The Wealth of Nations?a. Power generationb. Lovec. Capitalismd. Technology

9. These inventions are part of what historical period?

Flexible Manufacturing SystemsRoboticsWorld Wide WebEcommerce

a. Scientific Managementb. Human Relations Movementc. Information Aged. Globalization

Operations Strategy

INLINE EXERCISESa. Think of the hotel/motel industry. Identify the companies below with a low cost strategic

objective and those with a high quality strategic objective.

1. Motel 62. Hyatt Regency3. Hilton4. Super 8

b. Are any order qualifiers (minimum expectations) associated with each hotel, and if so, what are they?

c. Some companies describe "mass customization" as simultaneously achieving all four strategic objectives.  In essence, this is the ability to custom- tailor products to each customer’s unique tastes and provide the finished item at low mass production cost. Look at the items below and choose those which are associated with "mass customization."

1. Computerization2. Fixed automation3. Quick changeover from one product to another4. Long wait times

d. Match the products with the following four process types:

Project Tricycles

Custom or Batch Production Beer

Mass Production Office Buildings

Continuous Flow Production Leather Saddles

e. Contrast the internal strategic consistencies of Quick Lube service stations with those of a full service auto repair shop. Show whether the type of strategic choice goes with Quick Lube or the full service auto repair shop.

Products and Services: Standard Product (Same thing for everyone)

        a.  Quick Lube        b.  Full Service Shop

  Process and Technology: Batch or Job Shop Process

       a.  Quick Lube       b.  Full Service Shop

Capacity and Facilities: Many small, dispersed, special purpose shops

       a.  Quick Lube        b.  Full Service Shop

Human Resources: Multi-skilled and highly trained

a. Quick Lubeb. Full Service Shop

Operating System: Highly structured and routine

a. Quick Lubeb. Full Service Shop

PRODUCT DESIGN IN-LINE EXERCISES

     The following factors must be considered when designing refrigerators. Indicate whether each factor is controllable or uncontrollable.

1. Number of times the door is opened and shut2. Number of BTU’s of thermal energy extracted by the refrigeration unit3. Number of shelves4. Amount of food stored in the refrigerator5. Size of the storage compartments

FormulasSeries Parallel

Rs = R1R2R3 . . . Rn, Rp = 1 - (1 - R1)(1 - R2). . . (1 - R n),     or RP=R1+R2(1-R1)   if only two parallel components are present

EXAMPLE

We can compute system reliabilities for different systems by reducing each component into its equivalent series reliability. Suppose we have the following system: 

What is the system reliability?

The first step is to reduce the parallel reliabilities into the equivalent series reliability, so we must find the reliability of the RB - RB parallel system:

RBB = 1 - (1 - RB)(1 - RB) RBB = 1 - (1 - 0.92)(1 - 0.92)

RBB = 1 - (0.08)(0.08) RBB = 0.9936

The equivalent system is now:

It is now possible to compute the system reliability since all components are at their series equivalents: 

RS = RA RBBRC RS = (0.95)(0.9936)(0.99)

RS = 0.9345

IN-LINE EXERCISE

Compute the system reliability for the system below. First compute the series equivalent for the two parallel systems, then compute the reliability for the entire system.

Compute these:

RAA = RB = RCC =

Then compute RS. RS =

IN-LINE EXERCISE

Indicate whether each factor below is a physical item, a sensing benefit, or a psychological benefit provided by the service. The factors are all present in a beauty salon.

1. Soft background music2. A beautiful haircut3. The enjoyment of spending $100 at Antoine’s (and telling your friends

about it)4. A chat with the hairdresser about how your new look will impress your

significant other.

PROCESS AND TECHNOLOGY DECISIONS CHAPTER

IN-LINE EXERCISES

1. Indicate whether each of the following characteristics is associated with a) batch production, b) mass production, or c) continuous process production:

1. Jumbled flow patterns, frequent changeovers, high work-in-process inventory2. Example of product produced: oil3. Standardized discrete products and inflexibility4. High production costs, parts bottlenecks, lengthy customer wait5. Flexible, customized products6. Low cost production of discrete items

2. An upscale toy developer wants to market and sell wooden toy backhoes. The toy can be make from equipment that costs $20,000. Variable costs for the toy are $7.00/unit, and the price will be $12.00/unit.

a. What is the breakeven point?

b. The toymaker can get different equipment that costs $60,000. Variable costs would then be $3.00/unit. What is the breakeven point for this process?

c. Calculate the point of indifference for the two processes.

   

d. If the demand for the toys is expected to be 12,000 units, should the first process or the second process be used?

e. If the demand for the toys is expected to be 3,000 units, should the first process or the second process be used?

FACILITY LAYOUT CHAPTER

IN-LINE EXERCISE

1. Choose which resulting characteristic is associated with functional (process) layouts:

i) Scheduling customer orders for production is

a) easy b) difficult

ii) A functional (process) layout tends to be

a) flexible b) efficient

iii) WIP inventory

a) tends to build up b) is generally low

 iv) Product queues (or waits)

a) tend to be short and are not a problem b) tend to be long and are a big problem

v) Work stations and workers tend to have

a) balanced work flow throughout the day b) unbalanced work flow throughout the day

vi) Machine set-ups to change from one product to another tend to be:

a) long b) short

Block Diagramming:

2. What is the score for non-adjacent departments for the diagram below? (Diagonals are OK as adjacents, but they must not pass another department. For example, 6 and 2 are adjacent, but 6 and 5 are not)

1 and 2 -- 8000 1 and 3 -- 3000 1 and 4 -- 4700 1 and 5 -- 6000 1 and 6 -- 0 2 and 3 -- 0 2 and 4 -- 1000 2 and 5 -- 2300 2 and 6 -- 5000 3 and 4 -- 600 3 and 5 -- 700 3 and 6 -- 0 4 and 5 -- 2000 4 and 6 -- 05 and 6 -- 0

Line Balancing:

3. On observation, a consultant notices that the ball-point pen company can get rid of one worker by combining the activities at workstation 2 with those at workstation 3. The new line has 4 workers and moves units at the rate of 1 every 8 seconds. The first worker uses 8 seconds of the time available, the second uses 6 seconds (combining a 4 second activity with a 2 second activity), the third uses 8 seconds, and the fourth uses 6 seconds. What is the new system efficiency?

4. A toy manufacturer makes tricycles at the rate of 1 tricycle every 40 seconds. How many tricycles are produced per 8-hour day?

5. The chart below shows the work elements associated with assembling tricycles. Work elements are listed along with their predecessors. The tricycle manufacturer must make 160 tricycles in an 8 hour day.  Follow the instructions.

Element No.

Immediate Predecessors Time, ti Instructions

1 0 100 sec a.       Calculate the cycle time needed to produce 160 tricycles in an 8 hour day.

b.      Calculate the theoretical minimum number of workstations.c.       Draw a precedence diagram and group elements.d.      How many workstations does your grouping require?e.       At the second workstation, what is the time to complete the

assigned activities?f.        Calculate the line’s system efficiency.g.       Is the balance adequate? 

4 0 50 sec7 0 90 sec2 1, 4 70 sec3 2 140 sec5 3, 7 50 sec6 5 60 sec8 6 60 sec9 8 90 sec10 9 90 sec

Total   800 sec

 

FACILITY LOCATION TECHNIQUES – PART 1

IN-LINE EXERCISE

A city is trying to decide where to locate a new community swimming pool. City leaders held a public hearing to determine what factors are important to citizens in the location decision. They also contacted contractors, recreation experts, environment specialists, and realtors to learn what factors are important for the location of the swimming pool. After compiling a list of factors, citizens and experts scored each site on the factors. The following chart summarizes their findings:  

Scores (1-100)

Location Factor Weight Neighbor-hood 1

Neighbor-hood 2  

Neighbor-hood 3

Family demographics 0.3 100 30 90

Traffic safety 0.25 20 40 75

Availability of land 0.2 60 95 70

Construction costs 0.1 90 80 60

Water connection 0.05 65 50 95

Proximity to homes 0.05 85 50 95

Proximity to parks 0.05 20 80 70

1.00

a.  What is the weighted score for Neighborhood 1 on family demographics?

 b. What is the weighted score for Neighborhood 2 on family demographics?

Complete the comparative ratings for each site.