Chapter 3 Process Choice and Layout Decisions in Manufacturing and Services
FALSE
Cycle time is the sum of all of the task times.
Answer: B) flexible manufacturing systems.
Highly automated batch processes that can reduce the cost of making similar groups of products are: A) functional layouts. B) flexible manufacturing systems. C) make-to-stock. D) adjacent processes.
TRUE
Make-to-stock products are probably produced using a production line.
TRUE
No manufacturing process can be best at everything
Answer: A) 29.5%
Operations managers and process engineers design a line that contains seven stations. What is the percentage of idle time? A) 29.5% B) 14.3% C) 37.6% D) 19.8%
FALSE
In a service blueprint, the line of internal interaction falls between the customer and the onstage service provider.
Answer: customer action, onstage activities
In a service blueprint, the two layers the customer sees are the ________ and the ________.
TRUE
In a service process, the greater the emphasis on intangible activities is, the more critical is the training and retention of skilled employees and the development and maintenance of the firm's knowledge assets.
Answer: B) assemble-to-order.
Products that are customized only at the very end of the manufacturing process are known as: A) make-to-stock. B) assemble-to-order. C) make-to-order. D) engineer-to-order.
Answer: C) make-to-order.
Products that use standard components but the final configuration of those components is customer-specific are known as: A) make-to-stock. B) assemble-to-order. C) make-to-order. D) engineer-to-order
TRUE
Products that use standard components, but the final configuration of those components is customer-specific, are called make-to-order products.
Answer: degree of customization, degree of customer contact, nature of the service package
Service operations compete and position themselves in the marketplace based on the three dimensions - ________, ________, and ________.
FALSE
The back room refers to the part of the service process where the customer is not visible to the other customers waiting for service.
Answer: B) training employees.
The greater the emphasis on intangible activities, the more management's attention will be directed to: A) buildings and property. B) training employees. C) truck fleets. D) material costs.
Answer: B) M
The manager assigns tasks to workstations and breaks ties using a longest operation heuristic. That is, if two or three tasks could be assigned to a given station, the manager assigns the longest task first and then fills in the remaining time at the workstation as completely as possible. Using this approach, what task(s) would be assigned at the fourth station? A) N, P B) M C) N, O D) O, P
Answer: C) job shop.
The manufacturing process used to make a wide variety of highly customized products in quantities as small as one is a: A) production line. B) continuous flow process. C) job shop. D) fixed position.
Answer: takt time
The maximum allowable cycle time for a production line is the ________.
Answer: A) the front room.
The point where the customer interfaces directly with the service organization is: A) the front room. B) the back room. C) onstage. D) the floor.
Answer: A) B and E
The process design team at a manufacturer has broken an assembly process into eight basic steps, each with a required time, and predecessor as shown in the table. There are 7.5 productive hours available in a day and the manufacturer wishes to produce 400 units. Balance the line by assigning tasks to workstations to fill up as much takt time as possible. Break ties by assigning the longest task first. What task(s) should be assigned at the third workstation? A) B and E B) D C) C, E, and G D) F
Answer: The cycle time is 8∗60∗60/400=72 seconds per unit. The tasks assigned to stations are: Station 1: J =45 seconds, 27 seconds remaining Station 2: K=50 seconds, 22 seconds remaining Station 3: L=40 seconds, 32 seconds remaining Station 4: M=55 seconds, 17 seconds remaining Station 5: O=65 seconds, 7 seconds remaining Station 6: N, P=65 seconds, 7 seconds remaining Station 7: R=35 seconds, 37 seconds remaining The percent idle time is 149/504=29.56% The cycle time can be reduced by as much as 7 seconds while retaining the original assignment. This reduces the idle time to 100 seconds and the percent idle time to 21.9% while boosting output to 443 units per day.
The process design team at a manufacturer has broken an assembly process into eight basic steps, each with a required time, and predecessor as shown in the table. There are 8 productive hours available in a day and the manufacturer wishes to produce 400 units. Balance the line according to the longest operation rule and calculate the percent idle time. Using the same arrangement of tasks at work stations, what is the greatest output that can be achieved in an eight-hour day and what is the percent idle time of this design?
Answer: B) five
The process design team at a manufacturer has broken an assembly process into eight basic steps, each with a required time, and predecessor as shown in the table. There are 8 productive hours available in a day and the manufacturer wishes to produce 400 units. What is the theoretical minimum number of stations? A) four B) five C) six D) seven
Answer: A) 70 seconds
The process design team at a manufacturer has broken an assembly process into eight basic steps, each with a required time, and predecessor as shown in the table. They work a 7 hour day and want to produce at a rate of 360 units per day. What should their takt time be? A) 70 seconds B) 65 seconds C) 52 seconds D) 25 seconds
Answer: volume; standardization
The product process matrix uses a scale of ________ and ________.
TRUE
The product-process matrix illustrates that low volume, one-of-a-kind products are ideally suited to a job shop process.
TRUE
The shorter the required takt time, the more workstations that will be required to balance a production line.
Answer: B) 10%
The table depicts an assembly line that has been balanced with a takt time of 2 minutes. What is the percent idle time of this balance? A) 5% B) 10% C) 15% D) Cannot be determined from the information provided.
TRUE
The three dimensions of service positioning are the service package, the degree of customization and the amount of customer contact.
Answer: A) cycle time.
The time between completions of successive units on a production line is called: A) cycle time. B) takt time. C) elapsed time. D) work time.
Answer: hybrid (manufacturing)
"My tour of the Duff Brewery was the greatest experience of my life," Homer recalled. Lenny's favorite part was the batch process that was evident during the fermenting stage but Carl's favorite part was the high speed continuous flow process evident in the bottling line. "You're both right," Homer declared, "Duff takes both elements to create a(n) ________ process."
Answer: C) $3037.50
These three tables show the floor layout of 5 departments in an office building, the average number of daily trips between each pair of offices, and the distance between each pair of offices. What is the total cost of this layout if there is a $0.50 per foot transportation cost? A) $460.00 B) $2300.00 C) $3037.50 D) $4785.50
Answer: functional
A collection of different departments must be visited by every new student on campus to take care of registration, housing, books, and other campus services. The placement of these departments within the university center is an example of a(n) ________ layout.
FALSE
A customer service function at an insurance firm that handles claims based on the first letter of the customer's last name is an example of applying group technology to a service operation.
Answer: flexible manufacturing system, FMS
A(n) ________ is a highly automated batch process that can reduce the cost of making groups of similar products.
FALSE
According to the law of variability, converting from an assemble-to-order to a make-to-order production process should increase productivity of the manufacturing processes.
Answer: greater, less; lower, more
According to the law of variability, the ________ the random variability either demanded of the process or inherent in the process itself or in the items processed, the ________ productive the process is.
TRUE
Activities that take place prior to the point of customization are called upstream activities.
Answer: C) the per unit cost of items produced on the line.
An advantage of a production line process is: A) the volume of output needed to justify the investment. B) the degree of flexibility of the process. C) the per unit cost of items produced on the line. D) the range of output typically produced on such a process.
Answer: back room
As the degree of customer contact decreases, more of the service package is provided by the ________.
TRUE
As the degree of service customization decreases, managers have more opportunity to focus on cost and productivity.
Answer: D) finishing.
Assemble-to-order occurs upstream from: A) design. B) material sourcing. C) fabrication. D) finishing.
Answer: functional
A cellular layout is essentially the opposite of a(n) ________ layout.
Answer: Assemble-to-order
________ are products that are customized only at the very end of the manufacturing process.
Answer: Batch manufacturing
________ gets its name from the fact that items are moved through the different manufacturing steps in groups.
Answer: Make-to-stock; engineer-to-order
________ products involve no customization but ________ products are completely customized.
FALSE
A batch process is less flexible than an assembly line and less efficient that a job shop.
FALSE
A cellular layout is another name for a functional layout.
TRUE
A job shop manufacturing process is better suited to make a variety of products than a continuous flow process.
Answer: C) high on customization and high on intangible activities.
A legal service in a corporate acquisition probably scores: A) low on customization and high on physical activities. B) high on customer contact and low on intangible activities. C) high on customization and high on intangible activities. D) low on customer contact and low on intangible activities.
TRUE
A manager deciding where 6 departments could be located in a six room office building has over 500 possible arrangements.
The takt time for 300 units in 8 hours is takt time = (8 hr/day x 60 min/hr x 60 sec/min)/(300 Units) = 96 sec/unit
A manufacturer needs to produce 300 coffee pots per 8 hour day. The discrete tasks required to produce a coffee pot have been identified, timed in seconds, and ordered as indicated in the table. Sketch the precedence diagram and then assign tasks to workstations on the production line to achieve the required level of output. Break ties by assigning the longest task first. Determine the efficiency delay of your line balance.
Answer: D) All of the above are correct.
A manufacturing process decision affects: A) the type of workforce needed. B) the type of equipment needed. C) the type of products that can be made. D) All of the above are correct.
TRUE
A product-based layout arranges resources sequentially according to the steps required to make a product.
Answer: B) batch manufacturing.
A sporting apparel manufacturer that produces t-shirts to commemorate significant athletic achievements for proud students and alumni probably uses: A) a fixed position layout. B) batch manufacturing. C) a continuous flow process. D) a production line.
FALSE
Capability variety is the difference in how customers view an identical service outcome. What some customers might view as economical and thrifty others might view as cheap and poor value.
Answer: D) 10
Champion Cooling has just signed a contract to assemble window air conditioners for another company. The list of tasks, including time requirements and immediate predecessors, follows. Initially, the plan was to make 300 units in an eight hour day but as the summer months approach, Champion Cooling finds themselves far behind in total production. They wish to reconfigure their production line in order to produce maximum output. What should their takt time be? A) 5 B) 6 C) 7 D) 10
Answer: A service package includes all the value-added physical and intangible activities that a service organization provides to the customer. For some service operations, the primary sources of value are physical (or tangible) activities. In this case, management's attention must be directed towards capital expenditures, material costs and other tangible assets. For some service operations, the service package consists primarily of intangible activities. If this is the case, management should focus on training and retention of skilled employees.
Define the term service package and describe management's focus for each activity.
Answer: The degree of customer contact determines the relative importance of front room and back-room operations in a service process. The front room in a service organization is the point (either physical or virtual) where the customer interfaces directly with the service organization. As a rule, as the degree of customer contact increases, more of the service package is provided by front-room operations. In designing front-room operations, managers must consider how the customer interfaces with the service. Layout, location, and convenience become key. The physical layout must be comfortable, safe, and attractive, and the location must be convenient. In addition, front-room service must be available when the customer needs it. As the degree of customer contact decreases, more of the service package is provided by backroom operations. The back room refers to the part of a service operation that is completed without direct customer contact. The back room is often hidden from the customer's view. Such services can be located to reduce transportation costs and laid out to improve productivity. Because back-room personnel do not deal directly with customers, the hours of operation are not as crucial as they are in front-room operations, and employees do not have to be skilled in dealing with customers. As you might expect, back-room service operations are usually easier to manage than front-room operations.
Define the terms front room and back room and describe the roles these processes play in service operations. What must operations managers take into consideration when setting up these two processes?
Answer: The product process matrix relates output volume and degree of customization and shows which process technologies have the greatest chance for success in each combination of volume and customization. A job shop is best suited to make low volumes of highly customized (low standardization) products and a production line is best for generating large volumes of highly standardized products. Positions off of the diagonal represent limited chances of company survival and are generally thought to incur high opportunity cost or high out of pocket costs.
Sketch the product-process matrix and discuss the placement of each process choice.
TRUE
Takt time is the upper limit on the elapsed time between completions of successive items on a production line.
Answer: A) a fixed-position layout.
The Devon Tower graces the Oklahoma City skyline and is officially the tallest building in the state. The manufacturing process used to produce this jewel is most probably: A) a fixed-position layout. B) a batch manufacturing process. C) a hybrid process. D) a job shop.
Answer: service package
The ________ includes all value-added physical and intangible activities that a service organization provides to the customer.
Answer: The four levels ranked from least to greatest customization are make-to-stock, assemble-to-order, make-to-order, and engineer-to-order. Make-to-stock products have no customization and are typically produced in large enough volumes to warrant keeping a finished goods inventory. Assemble-to-order products are customized at the very end of the manufacturing process. Make-to-order products use standard components, but the final configuration of those components is customer specific. Engineer-to-order products are designed and produced from the start to meet customer requirements. Engineer-to-order products are customized upstream from design. Make-to-order products are customized downstream from material sourcing and upstream from fabrication. Assemble-to-order products are customized downstream from fabrication and upstream from assembly. The text indicates that make-to-stock products are customized downstream from assembly and upstream from distribution, although this customization may be only in the order quantity.
What are the four levels of customization and at what place does each occur in the supply chain?
Answer: A production line is a type of manufacturing process used to produce a narrow range of standard items with identical or highly similar designs. Production lines have several distinct characteristics. First, they follow a product-based layout, where sources are arranged sequentially according to the steps required to make a product. The various steps are usually linked by some system that moves the items from one step to the next, such as a conveyor belt. Second, items typically move through the production line at a predetermined pace. At each step in the process, equipment or people have a set amount of time to finish each task. By dividing the manufacturing process into a series of discrete, carefully timed steps, production lines achieve high degrees of equipment and worker specialization, as well as consistent quality and high efficiency. Production lines are ideally suited to the high-volume production of a single product or of products characterized by similar design attributes, such as size, material, or manufacturing steps. Production lines have two drawbacks, however. First, high volumes are required to justify the required investment in specialized equipment and labor. Second, lines are inflexible with regard to products that do not fit the design characteristics of the production line. When production volumes are low or product variety is high, other solutions are needed. Continuous flow processes closely resemble production line processes in that they produce highly standardized products using a tightly linked, paced sequence of steps. The main difference is the form of the product, which usually cannot be broken into discrete units until the very end of the process. The nature of the product tends to make shutdowns and start-ups expensive, which discourages flexibility and encourages product standardization. And the highly technical nature of many continuous flow processes means that specialists are needed to control operations. The only responsibilities of direct laborers might be to load and unload materials and monitor the process. Continuous flow processes also tend to be highly capital-intensive and very inflexible with respect to changes in output levels.
What are the two types of product-based layouts? What are their similarities and differences and their advantages and disadvantages compared with other types of layouts and processes?
Answer: Multiple answers are possible; for example, a mirror image of DBEAC yields an identical cost.
What is the optimal location for these departments in the floor plan depicted if the transportation cost is $2 per foot and the departments have a daily number of trips between each other as shown?
Answer: D) continuous flow
Which of these manufacturing processes is most likely dictated by the physical characteristics of the product being produced? A) job shop B) batch C) production line D) continuous flow
Answer: Process decisions are important because they tend to be expensive and far-reaching. A process choice dictates the type and size of the workforce and the type of equipment that is needed. Different processes have different strengths and weaknesses.
Why are process decisions important?