Operations Management Chapter 3

True or false: A process flow diagram outlines a directional flow in the process.

True

In a machine-paced line, each step ______ at the same rate.

works at

Which could be an appropriate unit for a demand rate?

Cars per day

True or false: The utilization of a non-bottleneck resource can be greater than that of the bottleneck.

False

True or false: Utilization can be greater than 100%.

False

If cycle time goes up what will happen to lead time?

It will go up

Inventory is a mismatch between supply and .

demand

A process flow diagram

is a graphical way to describe a process.

If the cycle time is 2 minutes/customer then how many customers are served per hour?

30

Throughput is generally equal to which thing?

Arrival rate

What shape is used to represent resources in a process flow diagram?

Box

Is the capacity of the bottleneck larger than, equal to, or smaller than the capacity of the process?

Equal to

True or false: If the capacity at a resource with multiple employees went up then the processing time definitely decreased.

False

True or false: In a worker-paced line each worker always works at the same rate.

False

True or false: Process analysis is only applicable to manufacturing settings.

False

True or false: The flow rate for a process should be greater than the demand rate.

False

Imagine a capacity constrained, single resource process with multiple employees working at the single resource. If the number of employees increases then what will happen to the cycle time for the process?

It will decrease

What is the relationship between the processing time at a resource and its capacity?

They are reciprocals of each other.

What shape is used to represent flow units waiting in a system (buffer inventory)?

Triangle

If the capacity of a resource with a single employee increased then the processing time must have decreased

True

True or false: In a machine-paced process, all steps are connected through a conveyor belt and all of the steps must work at the same rate.

True

True or false: The utilization of a process is defined as the ratio between the flow rate and the process capacity.

True

Resources

are shown as rectangular boxes in the process flow diagram.

A process flow diagram indicates

both where a flow unit is processed and where it is held in inventory.

Flow units waiting in the process without being worked on are often referred to as

buffer inventory

Process analysis ______ be used with both manufacturing and service businesses.

can

When the flow rate is less than the demand rate the process is referred to as

capacity restrained

An appropriate unit for throughput is ______. (Check all that apply.)

customers/minute burgers/second

An organization that wants to fulfill customer orders more quickly should make the cycle time of their fulfillment process __________.

decrease

If the cycle time for a process goes down then the time to finish X units starting with empty inventory buffers will _________.

decrease

If the flow time for a process goes down then the time to finish X units starting with empty inventory buffers will ________.

decrease

If processing time increases, then the capacity at a resource with a single employee ______.

decreases

f process capacity is 100 units per hour and customers desire 80 units per hour then the process is

demand constrained

The bottleneck will have utilization that is less than 100% when the process is

demand-constrained

A process flow diagram is a graphical way to _______ the process.

describe

process capacity

determines the maximum flow rate a process can provide per unit of time.

For inventory to accumulate in a process the bottleneck must be _______.

downstream

In a process flow diagram, we refer to the beginning of the flow as the upstream of the process and the end of the process as the

downstream

A process can have capacity that is _________ the capacity of a bottleneck.

equal to

The simplest way to think about throughput is the quantity of work completed.

false

In a process flow diagram, triangles are used to represent ________ waiting in a system.

flow units

From Little's Law we see that if flow time stays the same while cycle time decreases then inventory must _______.

increase

From Little's Law we see that if inventory stays the same but flow time increases then cycle time must ________.

increase

To increase the capacity of a process, one should __________.

increase the capacity of the bottleneck resource regardless of where it is located in the process

As cycle time increases, the time to make Q units __________.

increases

Resources help the flow units to move from being a unit of

input to a unit of output

Flow units waiting in the process without being worked on are often referred to as buffer .

inventory

inventory

is a mismatch between supply and demand.

An upstream resource

is a supplier of the downstream portion of a process

Understanding the location of the bottleneck

is critical for improving a process.

The demand rate

is the number of flow units that customers want per unit of time.

If inventory goes up but flow time stays constant what will happen to cycle time?

it will go down

Flow rate can be __________ process capacity.(Check all that apply)

less than equal to

The more stations in a process, the ______ the time the first flow unit needs to flow through the system when it is empty.

longer

The bottleneck in a process is the resource with the ______ capacity.

lowest

Process capacity determines the ______ supply of the process.

maximum

The time through an empty machined-paced process is determined by ______ the # of stations by the cycle time.

multiplying

The processing time

of a resource is how long that particular resource takes to complete one flow unit.

The processing time of a resource is how long that particular resource takes to complete processing

one flow unit

A rigorous framework for understanding the detailed operations of a business is known as _____.

process analysis

identifies and analyzes all the activities involved in serving one unit of demand or, put differently, in providing one unit of supply.

process analysis

help the flow units to move from being a unit of input to becoming a unit of output.

resources

An appropriate unit for cycle time is ______.

seconds/customer minutes/burger

The process capacity is found by looking for the

smallest

Flow rate is

throughtput

Processes that are demand constrained _______ have bottlenecks.

do

Inventory ______ accumulate between workers in a worker-paced line.

can

Throughput is a ...?

Rate

Inventory

is a mismatch between supply and demand.