SCM Chapter 9
A production line is to be designed for a job with four tasks. The task times are 2.4 minutes, 1.4 minutes, 0.9 minutes, and 1.7 minutes. After line balancing, the largest possible assigned cycle time is ________ minutes, and the smallest possible assigned cycle time is ________ minutes.
C) 6.4; 2.4
Which of the following does NOT support the retail layout objective of maximizing customer exposure to products?
C) Maximize exposure to expensive items.
Which of the following is NOT one of the factors complicating the techniques for addressing the fixed-position layout?
C) Takt times at workstations are dynamic.
What is the primary reason why retailers tend to locate high-draw items around the periphery of the store?
C) This arrangement will help to maximize customer exposure to other items in the store.
Which one of the following is NOT common to repetitive and product-oriented layouts?
C) ability to adjust to changes in demand
The major problem addressed by the warehouse layout strategy is:
C) addressing trade-offs between space and material handling.
For which of the following operations would a fixed-position layout be MOST appropriate?
C) constructing a highway tunnel
One of the major advantages of process-oriented layouts is:
C) flexibility in equipment and labor assignment.
A hospital's layout most closely resembles which of the following?
C) job shop
Which of the following is NOT a heuristic rule for assigning tasks to workstations in a product layout?
C) median tasks first
A production line is to be designed for a product whose completion requires 21 minutes of work. The factory works 400 minutes per day. Can an assembly line with five workstations make 100 units per day?
C) no, it will fall short even with a perfectly balanced line
Workspace can inspire informal and productive encounters if it balances what three physical and social aspects?
C) proximity, privacy, and permission
The assumptions necessary for a successful product-oriented layout include all EXCEPT which of the following?
C) volatile product demand
A process layout problem consists of 4 departments, each of which can be assigned to one of four rooms. The number of different solutions to this problem is ________, although all of them may not have different material handling costs.
D) 24
Four hundred and eighty minutes of production time are available per day. The schedule calls for the production of 80 units per day. Each unit of the product requires 30 minutes of work. What is the theoretical minimum number of workstations?
D) 5
Which of the following is TRUE regarding fabrication lines?
D) They are usually machine-paced as opposed to worker-paced.
The fixed-position layout would be MOST appropriate in which of the following settings?
D) a cruise ship assembly facility
Which of the following is NOT an information requirement for solving a load-distance problem to design a process layout?
D) a list of product cycle times
In assembly-line balancing, the theoretical minimum number of workstations is:
D) all of the above.
In a product-oriented layout, what is the process of deciding how to assign tasks to workstations?
D) assembly-line balancing
Cycle time is computed as:
D) daily operating time divided by the scheduled output.
Ambient conditions; spatial layout and functionality; and signs, symbols, and artifacts are all:
D) elements of servicescapes.
The concept of customizing in a warehouse layout:
D) incorporates value-added activities in warehouses.
The most common tactic followed in process-layout planning is to arrange departments or work centers so they:
D) minimize the costs of material handling.
The major problem addressed by the process-oriented layout strategy is:
D) minimizing difficulties caused by material flow varying with each product.
Which of the following constitutes a major trend influencing office layouts?
D) off-site employees
Because problems with fixed-position layouts are so difficult to solve well onsite, operations managers:
D) often complete as much of the project as possible offsite.
Which of the following is a common heuristic for assembly line balancing?
D) ranked positional weight
A special arrangement of machinery and equipment to focus on production of a single product or group of related products" describes what layout type?
D) work cell
Which of the following is a disadvantage of product-oriented layout?
E) All of the above are disadvantages of product-oriented layouts.
Which of the following is NOT a retail layout practice?
E) All of the above are retail layout practices.
Which of the following is TRUE of random stocking?
E) None of the above is true.
If a layout problem is solved by use of heuristics, this means that:
E) a satisfactory, but not necessarily optimal, solution is acceptable.
A good layout requires determining:
E) all of the above
Slotting fees:
E) all of the above
Which of the following reduces product handling, inventory, and facility costs, but requires both (1) tight scheduling and (2) accurate inbound product information?
E) cross-docking
Which of the following is one of the main advantages of a product-oriented layout?
E) low variable cost per unit
Retail layouts are based on the notion that:
E) maximizing customer exposure rate maximizes sales and profit.
The main goal of retail layout is:
E) maximizing profitability per square foot of floor space.
The central problem in product-oriented layout planning is:
E) minimizing the imbalance in the workloads among workstations.
What layout strategy deals with low-volume, high-variety production?
E) process-oriented layout
The ________ layout's main objective is to equalize the task time for each station.
E) product oriented
The disadvantages of process-oriented layout come from:
E) the flexibility of general-purpose equipment.
Balancing low-cost storage with low-cost material handling is important in which of the following?
E) warehouse layout
A fabrication line and an assembly line are both types of repetitive and product-focused layout, but only the fabrication line utilizes workstations.
False
A focused work center is well suited to the production of a large family of products requiring similar processing, even if their demands are not very stable.
False
A product requires 24 separate tasks, and the sum of those task times is 14 minutes. If the cycle time is 2 minutes, then at least 12 workstations will be needed.
False
Heuristics are problem-solving procedures that mathematically optimize the solution.
False
Product-oriented layouts tend to have high levels of work-in-process inventories.
False
The biggest advantage of a product layout is its flexibility to handle a varied product mix.
False
The dominant problem associated with the fixed-position layout is that workers are fixed in position, and they cannot be reassigned.
False
The layout approach that addresses trade-offs between space and material handling is called the fixed-position layout.
False
The minimum number of workstations depends upon the set of task times and the precedence chart, but not the number of units scheduled.
False
The work cell layout, a special arrangement of machinery and personnel to focus on the production of a single product or group of related products, is for manufacturing applications and has no relevance to services.
False
Utilization of the total "cube" is the dominant consideration in office layout.
False
A process-oriented layout is the traditional way to support a product differentiation strategy.
True
Category management is the use of computer software to evaluate the profitability of various merchandising plans for hundreds of categories.
True
Cross-docking processes items as they are received, rather than placing them in storage.
True
Cycle time is the maximum time that the product is allowed at each workstation.
True
If the schedule calls for the production of 120 units per day and 480 minutes of production time are available per day, the cycle time would be 4 minutes.
True
Job lots are groups or batches of parts processed together.
True
One drawback of a product-oriented layout is that work stoppage at any one point ties up the whole operation.
True
One guideline for a retail layout is to locate high-draw items around the periphery of the store.
True
One guideline for determining the arrangement and space allocation of a retail store is to place high-impulse and high-margin items in prominent locations.
True
Servicescape refers to the physical surrounding in which the service is delivered.
True
The most common tactic to arrange departments in a process-oriented layout is to minimize material handling costs.
True
The objective of layout strategy is to develop an effective and efficient layout that will meet the firm's competitive requirements.
True
The work cell improves layouts by reducing both floor space and direct labor cost.
True
Four hundred and eighty minutes of production time are available per day. Scheduled production is 120 units per day. What is the required cycle time?
A) 4 minutes
In the office relationship chart, which rating reflects the highest importance for two departments' closeness to each other?
A) A
Cross-docking means which of the following?
A) Avoid placing materials or supplies in storage by processing them as they are received.
ASRS stands for which of the following?
A) automated storage and retrieval system
A big advantage of a process-oriented layout is:
A) its flexibility in equipment and labor assignments.
Which of the statements below best describes office layout?
A) positions workers, their equipment, and spaces/offices to provide for movement of information
Which type of layout features departments or other functional groupings in which similar activities are performed?
A) process-oriented
Which of the following is NOT one of McDonald's "seven major innovations"?
A) the Happy Meal
Solving a load-distance problem for a process-oriented layout requires that:
A) the difficulty of movement be the same for all possible paths
Mathematically, takt time is:
A) total work time available divided by units required.
A production line is to be designed to make 500 El-More dolls per day. Each doll requires 11 activities totaling 16 minutes of work. The factory operates 750 minutes per day. What is the required cycle time for this assembly line?
B) 1.5 minutes
Which of the following is NOT one of the requirements of cellular production?
B) adequate volume for high equipment utilization
Balancing a work cell is done:
B) as part of the process of building an efficient work cell.
Which of the following is NOT an advantage of work cells?
B) decreased equipment and machinery utilization
The main issue in designing process-oriented layouts concerns the relative positioning of:
B) departments or work centers.
The objective of layout strategy is to:
B) develop an effective and efficient layout that will meet the firm's competitive requirements.
Deloitte & Touche solved the empty desk problem by:
B) implementing a "hoteling" program.
In assembly-line balancing, cycle time (the ratio of available production time to scheduled production) is the:
B) maximum time that a product is allowed at each workstation.
The typical goal used when developing a process-oriented layout strategy is to:
B) minimize the material handling costs.
A product-oriented layout would be MOST appropriate for which one of the following businesses?
B) steel making
Process-oriented layouts typically have low levels of work-in-process inventory.
false
