430 Exam 1

Front 1

- What is Operations Management?

Back 1

o The processes that effectively produce, transform, and deliver a product or service

Front 2

- What is a process?

Back 2

o Management of the conversion process which transforms inputs such as raw material and labor into outputs in the form of finished goods and services

Front 3

- How do products differ from services?

Back 3

o Manufacturing processes change materials in one or more of the following dimensions:
o – Physical properties
o – Shape
o – Fixed dimensions
o – Surface finish
o – Joining parts and materials


o If a process isn‘t doing at least one of these, then it is a service process.
o – Locational—transportation/logistics
o – Exchange--retailing
o – Storage--warehousing
o – Physiological--health care
o – Informational—exchange of data/information
o – Experience- providing and experience or entertainment

Front 4

- What incorporates a sustainable strategy?

Back 4

o • Lifecycle Analysis: evaluate cost of waste throughout product lifecycle
o – Extraction
o – Production
o – Packaging and Transport
o – Usage
o – Disposal/Recycling

Front 5

- What is an operations and supply chain strategy?

Back 5

o • Setting goals and policies, and creating plans for using the firm’s resources to support the organizational strategy
• Longer range organizational strategy
• Mid range conversion of strategy into more tactical activities
• Shorter range implementation of tactics

Front 6

- What are the competitive priorities for operations?

Back 6

o Competitive Priorities: what the company would like to achieve. How the company would like compete, and beat their competitors.
cost
quality
time
flexibility

Front 7

- What is the difference between order winners and order qualifiers?

Back 7

o Order Winners:
Characteristics causing customers to prefer you over your competitors

o Order Qualifiers:
Characteristics you need to have to be considered by potential customers

Front 8

- What is capacity

Back 8

is the ability to hold, receive, store, absorb, process or transform inputs
o Always a unit of measure over some time period**

Front 9

- How do you improve capacity?

Back 9

Increase Utilization
Improve Efficiency
Increase Yield

Front 10

- How can you plan for capacity?

Back 10

Peak or maximum attainable capacity
best operating level or effective capacity
utilization rate
productitivy
yield

Front 11

- What is utilization? How do you measure utilization?

Back 11

o • Usually expressed as a percentage
o • Pay attention to units of measure
 Output range/ maximum capacity
 Higher Utilization = Longer Lead Time

Front 12

- What do you mean by “economies of scale?”

Back 12

occur when the average unit cost of a service or good can be reduced by spreading fixed costs over a larger volume.

Front 13

- What are the capacity strategies?

Back 13

 – the timing of expansion or contraction
 – the amount of capacity cushion
 – the size of facilities

Front 14

- How do estimate capacity requirements?

Back 14

o • A Wait-and-See strategy typically involves postponing commitments to building or expanding facilities, or acquiring equipment or personnel until after demand has already exceeded capacity

Front 15

- What are the different types of processes?

Back 15

o Traditional- Product first, then design the process around it
*******

Front 16

- What are the 8 types of waste?

Back 16

1. over production
2. set up time
3. processing too much
4. waiting
5. transportation
6. movement
7. inventory
8. poor quality

Front 17

- How do you measure processes?

Back 17

operation time
flow time
process velocity

Front 18

how can you improve process

Back 18

• Perform activities in parallel
• Change the sequence of activities
• Reduce interruptions

Front 19

- What is Little’s Law?

Back 19

the long-term average number of units/customers in a stable system (or the system inventory) is equal to the average arrival rate multiplied by the average time in the system. It is a relationship between units and time.
 Inventory = Throughput rate x Flow time

Front 20

- What is JIT? How does it differ from Lean?

Back 20

o The notion of JIT focuses primarily on inputs (the right quantity delivered when needed). This tends to emphasize inbound transport and delivery to specific locations.
o The more encompassing term LEAN is a holistic approach emphasizing high quality and waste reduction in ALL activities

Front 21

- Difference between push vs pull production system

Back 21

• Push method: A method in which production of the item begins in advance of customer needs.
 units are started and moved through the system without tight linkage to demand

• Pull Method: A method in which customer demand activates production of the service or item.
 units are started and moved through the system only when an authorization signal indicates need

Front 22

Describe the Kanban system

Back 22

A system used to link production rate to demand.
, the demand ―pulls‖ products through the system

Front 23

What is a VSM (value stream map)?

Back 23

• Links material and information flow for full value stream
• Includes critical process data to make waste visible
• Summarizes actual lead times and process times
• Establishes a common language
• Provides a blueprint for improvement
• Exposes opportunities for Waste Elimination and Variation Reduction projects

Front 24

- Lean in Services

Back 24

• Improvements from workers
• 5S
• Quality
• Process flow
• Equipment and Technology
• Level load
• Waste reduction
• Work area configuration
• Demand-pull scheduling
• Supplier network

Front 25

- What are the strategies of Production?

Back 25

o Engineer to order (ETO): No processing begins until the design is completed.
o Make to order (MTO): Begin processing only after receiving a customer order
o Assemble to order (ATO): Begin processing prior to receiving customer order; complete after receiving customer order.
o Make to stock (MTS): Complete processing prior to, and hold until, receipt of customer order

Front 26

Product Process Matrix

Back 26

o Low-volume, ETO MTO processes
• More complexity, more divergence, more flexible flows
• More customer involvement
• More resource flexibility
• Less capital intensity

High-volume, ATO MTS processes
• Less complexity, less divergence, more fixed flows
• Less customer involvement
• Less resource flexibility
• More capital intensit

Front 27

What is break-even analysis? How do you calculate it?

Back 27

o This technique takes the fixed costs of buying or developing a process or technology, adds the variable costs for producing each unit, and finds the break-even point at which the cost of two or more processes is equal

Total Revenue = Total Cost

Front 28

What is a service package?

Back 28

o Supporting facilities: the physical resources that must be in place to provide the service
o Facilitating goods: Material purchased or consumed by the customer while receiving the service
o Information: data needed to provide the service
o Explicit services: Benefits readily observable by customer and an essential feature of the service
o Implicit services: Psychological benefits that the customer may vaguely sense or are nonessential features of the service

Front 29

- What is a project

Back 29

o Project: a unique, temporary endeavor with a specific objective to be met within prescribed time, budget and resource limitations made up of an interrelated set of activities that have a definite starting and ending point

Front 30

What are the characteristics of a project?

Back 30

• Goal-oriented
• Numerous sequential and interrelated activities
• Finite with definite beginning and end dates
• Unique set of events
• Limited resources and budget
• Many people are involved, often cross functional
• Specific end product or service must result
• Methods for handling problems during execution

Front 31

What is project management?

Back 31

o • Project Management: application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to successfully plan, direct, and control resources to meet the technical, cost, and time constraints of the project.

Front 32

- What are the tools used in project management?

Back 32

– Statement of Work
– Work Breakdown Structure
– Gantt Chart
– Network Diagram
– Critical Path Method (CPM)
– Cost and Time Tradeoff Analysis (Crashing)
– Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT)
– Resource Management

Front 33

What is CPM

Back 33

Critical Path: The sequence of activities that has the longest cumulative lead time, and therefore determines the expected length of time to complete the project.
There is no time slack for activities along the path. If the time to complete one or more jobs in the critical path increases, the total project time increases

Front 34

What is meant by project crashing

Back 34

• Projects have cost & time tradeoffs
•May be worthwhile to spend more to complete a project sooner

Front 35

Functional Organization structures. Pros and cons

Back 35

Functional Pros
• Maximum flexibility in the use of staff.
• Individual experts can be assigned many different projects.
•serves as a base of technological continuity.
•contains the normal paths of advancement.

Functional Cons
• The project is not the focus of activity and concern.
•oriented toward the activities particular to its function.
• No individual is given full responsibility for the project.
• The motivation of people assigned to the project tends to be weak.

Front 36

Pure Project organizational pros and cons

Back 36

Pure Project Pros
• The project manager has full authority over the project.
• All members of the project are directly responsible to the Project Manager.
• Lines of communication are shortened.
• Strong and separate identity of its own –React rapidly.
• Unity of command; each subordinate has only one boss.

Pure Project Cons
• Need more staffing.
• To ensure access to technological knowledge and skills the PM may stockpile equipment and technical assistance in order to be certain that it will be available.
• Team members can fall behind in other areas of their technical expertise.
• PROJECTITIS – a “we versus they” divisiveness grows. Friendly rivalry may become bitter competition.
• Life after the project uncertain.

Front 37

Matrix Project Pros and Cons

Back 37

Matrix Project Pros
• Access to a talents/technology of all functional divisions. Reduce overstaffing.
• Less anxiety about what happens when a project is completed.
• Consistency with policies and practices of the parent organization – foster project credibility.
• Allows better balance of resources.

Matrix Project Cons
• Difficult to achieve balance between the functional organization and the project.
•Matrix mgt violates unity of command; project workers have at least two bosses.
• Success is difficult without strong negotiating skills on behalf of the PM.