Deck 3: Process Choice and Layout Decisions in Manufacturing and Services

Question 1

A product-based layout arranges resources sequentially according to the steps required to make a product.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

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 2

False

Question 3

A cellular layout is another name for a functional layout.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

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.

Question 5

As the degree of service customization decreases,managers have more opportunity to focus on cost and productivity.

Question 6

Cycle time is the sum of all of the task times.

Question 7

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.

Question 8

In a service blueprint,the line of internal interaction falls between the customer and the onstage service provider.

Question 9

The product-process matrix illustrates that low volume,one-of-a-kind products are ideally suited to a job shop process.

Question 10

Takt time is the upper limit on the elapsed time between completions of successive items on a production line.

Question 11

The three dimensions of service positioning are the service package,the degree of customization and the amount of customer contact.

Question 12

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.

Question 13

No manufacturing process can be best at everything.

Question 14

A batch process is less flexible than an assembly line and less efficient that a job shop.

Question 15

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.

Question 16

Make-to-stock products are probably produced using a production line.

Question 17

Products that use standard components,but the final configuration of those components is customer-specific,are called make-to-order products.

Question 18

Activities that take place prior to the point of customization are called upstream activities.

Question 19

The shorter the required takt time,the more workstations that will be required to balance a production line.

Question 20

A job shop manufacturing process is better suited to make a variety of products than a continuous flow process.

Question 21

A manager deciding where 6 departments could be located in a six room office building has over 500 possible arrangements.

Question 22

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

Question 23

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.

Question 24

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

Question 25

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.

Question 26

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.

Question 27

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.

Question 28

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

Question 29

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.

Question 30

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.

Question 31

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%

Question 32

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.

Question 33

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.

Question 34

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.

Question 35

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.

Question 36

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.

Question 37

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

Question 38

Assemble-to-order occurs upstream from:

A)design.
B)material sourcing.
C)fabrication.
D)finishing.

Question 39

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.

Question 40

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

Question 41

In a service blueprint,the two layers the customer sees are the ________ and the ________.

Question 42

A cellular layout is essentially the opposite of a(n)________ layout.

Question 43

A(n)________ is a highly automated batch process that can reduce the cost of making groups of similar products.

Question 44

The maximum allowable cycle time for a production line is the ________.

Question 45

Why are process decisions important?

Question 46

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

Question 47

________ are products that are customized only at the very end of the manufacturing process.

Question 48

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

Question 49

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.

Question 50

________ gets its name from the fact that items are moved through the different manufacturing steps in groups.

Question 51

Service operations compete and position themselves in the marketplace based on the three dimensions - ________,________,and ________.

Question 52

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?

Question 53

The product process matrix uses a scale of ________ and ________.

Question 54

"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."

Question 55

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.

Question 56

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.

Question 57

The ________ includes all value-added physical and intangible activities that a service organization provides to the customer.

Question 58

________ products involve no customization but ________ products are completely customized.

Question 59

Sketch the product-process matrix and discuss the placement of each process choice.

Question 60

As the degree of customer contact decreases,more of the service package is provided by the ________.

Question 61

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.

Question 62

What is a cellular layout and what are its advantages?

Question 63

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?

Question 64

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?

Question 65

Define the term service package and describe management's focus for each activity.

Question 66

What are the four levels of customization and at what place does each occur in the supply chain?

Question 67

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?