Ch. 3 Process Analysis

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

works at

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

capacity

What are appropriate units for throughput?

- Customers/minute - Burgers/second

True or false: A process that is demand-constrained can have utilization of 100%.

False

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

False

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

Triangle

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

True

True or false: If the capacity of a resource consisting of a single employee increases, then the processing time must have decreased.

True

Inventory _blank​_ accumulate between workers in a worker-paced line.

can

When the flow rate is less than the demand rate, the process is referred to as ___-constrained. (Enter only one word per blank.)

capacity

Resources help the flow units change from being a unit of ___ to turning into a unit of ___

input; output

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

inventory

___ is a mismatch between supply and demand.

inventory

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 bottleneck is the resource with the fewest number of employees.

False

True or false: The bottleneck is the resource with the longest processing time.

False

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 flow rate for a process can be less than the demand rate.

True

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

True

Process analysis _blank​_ be used with both manufacturing and service businesses.

can

For a process that is ___ constrained, the bottleneck resource will have 100% utilization.

capacity

If process capacity is 60 units per hour and customers desire 80 units per hour, then the process is ___-constrained.

capacity

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

capacity

An appropriate unit for the capacity of a resource is _blank​_.

customers/minute

An organization that wants to fulfill customer orders more quickly should _blank​_ the cycle time of their fulfillment process.

decrease

From Little's Law we see that if cycle time increases while flow time stays the same, then inventory must _blank​_.

decrease

If the cycle time for a process decreases, then the time to finish X units starting with empty inventory buffers will _blank​_.

decrease

If the flow time for a process decreases, then the time to finish X units starting with empty inventory buffers will _blank​_.

decrease

If process capacity is 100 units per hour and customers desire 80 units per hour, then the process is ___-constrained.

demand

If the utilization of the bottleneck is less than 100%, then the process is ___ constrained.

demand

Inventory is a mismatch between supply and ___

demand

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

demand

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

describe

Processes that are demand-constrained _blank​_ have bottlenecks.

do

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

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

30

What is the capacity of a bank per hour if there are 4 bank tellers and the processing time is 240 seconds per customer?

60 customers per hour

A coffee shop's capacity is ___ per hour if there are 2 baristas and the processing time is 90 seconds per customer.

80

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

Box

How is the time through an empty machined-paced process determined?

By multiplying the number of stations by the cycle time

Which could be an appropriate unit for a demand rate?

Cars per day

What should you do to increase the capacity of a process?

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

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

It will decrease.

If cycle time stays constant, but inventory goes down, what will happen to lead time?

It will go down.

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

It will go down.

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

It will go up.

___ are shown as rectangular boxes in the process flow diagram.

activities

To increase the capacity of a process, one must increase the capacity of the resource that is the ___

bottleneck

Understanding the location of the ___ is critical for improving a process

bottleneck

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

buffer

In a process flow diagram, triangles are used to represent _blank​_ 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 _blank​_.

increase

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

increase

If the cycle time increases, but no new resources are added to the process, then the time needed to serve 100 customers will _blank​_.

increase

As cycle time increases, the time to make Q units _blank​_.

increases

A process flow diagram indicates the _blank​_.

journey a flow unit takes through a process

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

lowest

Process capacity determines the _blank​_ supply of the process.

maximum

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

more

The processing time of a resource is how long that particular resource takes to complete ___ flow unit.

one

A rigorous framework for understanding the detailed operations of a business is known as _blank​_.

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

A ___ ___ ___ is a graphical way to describe a process.

process time diagram

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

processing

The process capacity is found by looking for the ___ capacity in the process.

smallest

Flow rate and ___ are identical.

throughput

A(n) ___ resource is a supplier of the downstream portion of a process.

upstream