Operations MNG 3

Line balancing is the act of allocating activities of a process across the process resources as __________ as possible so that all resources have a comparable __________.

evenly, utilization level

A firm that offers tailor-made suits to its customers is appealing to the __________ dimension of the customers' utility function.

fit

By making many burgers before customers ask for them, a fast-food restaurant is sacrificing the dimension of __________ and improving the dimension of __________ in the customers' utility function.

fit; timing

Which of the following is an appropriate input of a bakery?

flour

A key process metric is __________.

flow rate

Process utilization is the ratio between __________ and __________.

flow rate, process capacity

Which of the following is NOT a key process metric?

flow unit

Flow rate tells us __________.

how much stuff moves through the process per time unit

A doctor can apply his/her knowledge in operations management to __________.

improve his/her work as a doctor

Little's Law

inventory = flow rate x flow time

Which of the following statements about a process flow diagram is FALSE?

it cannot have multiple resources

The capacity of a nonbottleneck resource is __________ the capacity of the process.

larger than

The capacity of a resource determines the __________ number of flow units that can flow through that resource per unit of time.

maximum

The process capacity determines the __________ a process can provide per unit of time.

maximum flow rate

A flow unit is the basic unit that __________.

moves through a process

Which of the following measures is an appropriate flow unit for analyzing the main operation of a supermarket?

number of customers served

"Match supply with demand" means

offering customers what they want while making a profit

Which of the following is NOT a goal of operations management?

offering customers what they want while making a profit

Which dimension of the customer utility function is emphasized with a restaurant's slogan, "Eat Fresh"?

performance

A graphical representation of a process is called a __________.

process flow diagram

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

processing time

The difference between revenue and costs is called __________.

profit

A firm can increase its profitability by __________.

reducing inefficiencies

Which of the following is NOT a way to improve process efficiency?

staffing to meet supply

The set of products or services a business offers to its customers is called __________.

supply

From the perspective of a cashier in a supermarket, the appropriate level for the process scope is __________.

the customer checkout process

Which of the following is measured in an appropriate flow unit for a cinema?

ticket sales

Which of the following is the most appropriate output of a cinema?

ticket sales

A restaurant promising a meal in two minutes or less attempts to cater to which part of the customer utility function?

timing

The inconvenience of obtaining a product or receiving a service is called_

transaction cost

Inventory is shown as __________ in a process flow diagram.

triangles

Refer to the process flow diagram below. Station 1 is _______ from station 2.

upstream (The beginning of the flow (where Station 1 is located) is called the upstream of the process.)

A customer's desire for a product or service is measured by its__________.

utility

A long waiting line at the checkout of a supermarket at some moments in the day is an example of __________ and a symptom of __________.

variability, inflexibility

For the purpose of process analysis, what is an appropriate flow unit to analyze the main operation of a department store?

weekly sales figure

One employee is in charge of the following activities at a bank's drive-through: Activity Activity Time per Customer. Greet customer2 seconds. Take order3 seconds. Process order2 minutes. Print receipt10 seconds. What is the processing time (in seconds) of the drive-through process at the bank?

135 (The processing time of a process is the sum of the activity times of all its activities.)

Which of the following is NOT a challenge of matching supply with demand?

Understanding the drivers of customer utility

When will the utilization of a bottleneck resource be less than 100%?

When the process is demand-constrained

Which of the following is a resource in an outpatient medical clinic?

X-ray machine

Which of the following statements about a process is TRUE?

a process can be measured

Customers drive away after failing to find a place to park at a supermarket. The current process is _________.

capacity constrained

If __________ is the constraint, we should __________ the staffing level to raise capacity.

capacity, raise (If capacity is the constraint, the staffing level should be raised to increase capacity.)

Utility is composed of the following components EXCEPT__________.

customer loyalty

An example of a flow unit at a fast-food restaurant is the __________.

customers

You are filling your prescription at a pharmacy. Right now, you are waiting in line in front of the pickup window. Which process is upstream, relative to your current position in the process?

Dropping off the prescription (An upstream process occurs before the current process; you drop off the prescription before picking it up)

What happens to takt time if demand rate is doubled?

decreases 50%

The set of products or services customers want is called

demand

Capacity is constrained when __________ exceeds __________ and the flow rate is equal to __________.

demand, supply, process capacity

One employee is in charge of the following activities at a bank's drive-through: ActivityActivity Time per Customer. Greet customer2 seconds. Take order3 seconds. Process order2 minutes. Print receipt10 seconds. What is the bank's process capacity (in customers per minute)?

0.44 (Since there is only one employee, the process capacity = 1/[2 + 3 + (2 × 60) + 10] = 0.007 customer per second = 0.007 × 60 (seconds/minute) = 0.44 customer per minute.)

Job candidates are leaving an office every 50 minutes. Each candidate goes through three activities during the office visit: verification, written test, and interview. Verification takes 1 minute, the written test takes 40 minutes, and the interview takes 10 minutes. Assume there is only one resource dedicated to each activity. What is the bottleneck capacity in candidates per hour?

1.5 (Bottleneck capacity = Min(1, 1/40, 1/10) = 0.025 candidate per minute or 1.5 candidates per hour.)

Patients are arriving at a clinic at a rate of two per minute. Each patient's visit consists of four steps: check in, record vital signs, receive treatment, and check out. A receptionist takes 1 minute to check a patient in. A nurse takes 2 minutes to record the patient's vital signs. A doctor spends 10 minutes with a patient. A staff member takes 3 minutes to check a patient out. What is the cycle time of the process in minutes?

10 (Capacity = 1 / Processing time. Capacity at check in, record vital signs, receive treatment, and check out is 1, 0.5, 0.1, and 0.333 patient per minute respectively. The lowest capacity is the bottleneck and is Process capacity = 0.1 patient per minute = 0.1 × 60 (minutes/hour) = 6 patients per hour. Flow rate = Min(Demand, Process capacity) = Min(2, 0.1) = 0.1. Cycle time = 1 / Flow rate = 1 / 0.1 = 10 minutes.)

A bank has three tellers. It takes a teller 6 minutes to serve one customer. What is the capacity of the bank (in customers per hour) over the course of an 8-hour workday?

240 (Capacity = 3/6 × 60 customers per hour × 8 hours = 240 customers per day.)

One employee is in charge of the following activities at a bank's drive-through: Activity Activity Time per Customer. Greet customer 2 seconds. Take order3 seconds. Process order2 minutes. Print receipt10 seconds. What is the capacity (in customers per hour) of the employee?

26.67 (Capacity = 1/[2 + 3 + (2 × 60) + 10] = 0.007 customer per second = 0.007 ×60 (seconds/minute) ×60 (minutes/hour) = 26.67 customers per hour.)

Patients are arriving at a clinic at a rate of two per minute. Each patient's visit consists of four sequential steps: check in, record vital signs, receive treatment, and check out. A receptionist takes 1 minute to check a patient in. A nurse takes 2 minutes to record the patient's vital signs. A doctor spends 10 minutes with a patient. A staff member takes 3 minutes to check a patient out. What is the utilization of the checkout resource?

30% (Capacity = 1 / Processing time. Capacity at check in, record vital signs, receive treatment, and check out is 1, 0.5, 0.1, and 0.333 patient per minute respectively. The lowest capacity is the bottleneck and is Process capacity = 0.1 patient per minute = 0.1 × 60 (minutes/hour) = 6 patients per hour. Flow rate = Min(Demand, Process capacity) = Min(2, 0.1) = 0.1. Utilization of checkout = Flow rate / Capacity of checkout = 0.1 / 0.333 = 30%.)

Patients are arriving at a clinic at a rate of two per minute. Each patient's visit consists of four steps: check in, record vital signs, receive treatment, and check out. A receptionist takes 1 minute to check a patient in. A nurse takes 2 minutes to record the patient's vital signs. A doctor spends 10 minutes with a patient. A staff member takes 3 minutes to check a patient out. What is the process capacity in patients per hour?

6 (Capacity = 1/ Processing time. Capacity at check in, record vital signs, receive treatment, and check out is 1, 0.5, 0.1, and 0.333 patient per minute respectively. The lowest capacity is the bottleneck and is Process capacity = 0.1 patient per minute = 0.1 × 60 (minutes/hour) = 6 patients per hour.)

Job candidates are leaving an office every 50 minutes. Each candidate goes through three activities during the office visit: verification, written test, and interview. Verification takes 1 minute, the written test takes 40 minutes, and the interview takes 10 minutes. Assume there is only one resource dedicated to each activity. What is the utilization of the bottleneck resource?

80% (Cycle time = 50 minutes. Flow rate = 1/50 = 0.02 customer per minute. Bottleneck capacity = Min(1, 1/40, 1/10) = 0.025 customer per minute. Utilization of the bottleneck resource = Flow rate/Capacity = 0.02/0.025 = 80%.)

Which of the following is a definition of the term "process"?

A set of activities that transforms a collection of inputs into outputs.

Which of the following statements about process efficiency is FALSE?

Cost of direct labor goes up if flow rate goes up. (Cost of direct labor = Wages per unit of time/Flow rate. If flow rate goes up, cost of direct labor will go down.)

Which of the following statements about operations management is TRUE?

Every work requires operations.

Cost of direct labor goes up whenever labor content goes up.

FALSE (Cost of direct labor goes up only if the processing time of the bottleneck activity goes up.)

Which of the following statements about process analysis is TRUE?

Process analysis is a framework to understand an organization's detailed operations.

Which of the following strategies is NOT able to off-load the bottleneck?

Slow down work at resources with more capacity to match that of the bottleneck.

Automating some activities at a nonbottleneck resource increases the amount of idle time for that resource without making the process more efficient.

TRUE

Takt time matches cycle time if supply matches demand.

TRUE

Job candidates are leaving an office every 50 minutes. Each candidate goes through three activities during the office visit: verification, written test, and interview. Verification takes 1 minute, the written test takes 40 minutes, and the interview takes 10 minutes. Assume there is only one resource dedicated to each activity. Which of the following conclusions can be drawn?

The process is demand-constrained. (Process capacity = Min(1, 1/40, 1/10) = 0.025 candidate per minute. Flow rate = 1/Cycle time = 1/50 = 0.02 candidate per minute. The process is demand constrained because the flow rate is less than the process capacity.)

A process scope is the set of __________.

activities involved in the process

On a process flow diagram, __________ are used to show the journey of a flow unit from input to output.

arrows

A process can be balanced by moving work away from the __________ to unused capacity elsewhere in the process.

bottleneck

Resources are shown in a process flow diagram as

boxes