Deck 8: Facility and Work Design

Question 1

Process layouts generally require less investment in equipment than product layouts because the equipment is less specialized.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

Product layouts are less flexible than process layouts.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

The facility layout in a library would most likely be a process layout.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

Cycle time is related to the output rate and the available time to produce output.

Question 5

An assembly line is a type of product layout.

Question 6

In a product layout such as an assembly line, a flow blocking delay occurs whenever one stage completes work and no units from the previous stage are waiting processing.

Question 7

Cycle time in assembly line balancing is the maximum amount of time it takes to process a part at some workstation along the line.

Question 8

The objective of assembly line balancing is to group tasks among workstations so that the amount of work assigned to each workstation is highly variable, thus maximizing flexibility.

Question 9

In a product layout, a breakdown of one piece of equipment will not cause the entire process to shut down.

Question 10

Services such as legal and medical specialties employ cellular-type layouts as do manufacturers.

Question 11

Changes in goods and services for a firm's customer benefit package do not impact facility layouts.

Question 12

In a perfectly balanced assembly line, no bottlenecks exist.

Question 13

Cycle time should be smaller than the largest operation time.

Question 14

Product layouts offer higher flexibility with low productivity and process layouts have limited flexibility with high productivity.

Question 15

The predominant layout type used in hospitals is the fixed-position layout.

Question 16

Cellular layouts are designed according to the functional characteristics of equipment much in the same fashion as process layouts.

Question 17

Facility layout is not only concerned with the arrangement of physical facilities, but also the material handling capabilities within the facility.

Question 18

Workers in cellular layouts generally have greater responsibilities than those who work in product or process layouts.

Question 19

A fixed position layout is based on the sequence of operations that is performed during the manufacturing of a good or delivery of a service.

Question 20

Flow-blocking and lack-of-work delays can be reduced by assigning an appropriate level of capacity at each workstation.

Question 21

Because of precedence relationships, assembly-line efficiencies will generally be very high.

Question 22

The production of large goods such as airplanes is best accomplished using a ____ layout.

A)Product
B)Process
C)Cellular
D)Fixed position

Question 23

The typical layout of facilities in a hospital would be an example of a ____ layout.

A)Product
B)Process
C)Cellular
D)Fixed position

Question 24

Ergonomics is the science that is concerned with determining specific job tasks and responsibilities.

Question 25

Assembly line balancing problems involving many distinct products (mixed-model line balancing) are generally easier to solve than single-model balancing problems because there are more alternatives available to assign tasks to workstations.

Question 26

ALDEP is a process layout technique that focuses on materials handling costs as the primary solution.

Question 27

What is the output rate if the cycle time is set at 2.2 minutes?

A)min cycle time = 0.8; max cycle time = 39; output rate = 204.5
B)min cycle time = 2.2; max cycle time = 39; output rate = 204.5
C)min cycle time = 2.2; max cycle time = 31.2; output rate = 562.5
D)min cycle time = 0.8; max cycle time = 2.2; output rate = 562.5

Question 28

A ____ layout consists of a functional grouping of equipment or activities that do similar work.

A)Product
B)Process
C)Cellular
D)Fixed position

Question 29

Virtual teams are empowered work teams that assume many traditional management responsibilities.

Question 30

Job enlargement approaches give workers more variety of work, but not necessarily more responsibility.

Question 31

Self-managed teams perform entire jobs, rather than specialized assembly-line work.

Question 32

Which of the following is not a common reason for facility layout studies?

A)There is significant change in demand or throughput volume.
B)A new good or service is introduced to the customer benefit package.
C)A new material supplier is used.
D)Different process, equipment and/or technology are installed.

Question 33

A line balancing solution has been developed for the assembly line for fertilizer spreaders at Green Grass, Inc. The desired output rate of 30 spreaders per hour will be achieved. The sum of times for all tasks performed on the line is 1200 seconds for each spreader assembled. Which of the following statements must be true?

A)The cycle time is 30 seconds per spreader.
B)The theoretical minimum number of work stations is 10.
C)If the solution calls for 12 stations, the efficiency is 80%.
D)If the solution calls for 11 stations, the efficiency is 80%.

Question 34

A Gallup study showed that workers who are allowed to personalize their workplaces were no more productive than those who are not allowed.

Question 35

All of the following are common objectives of layout studies except

A)Minimize delays in materials handling and customer movement
B)Minimize the number of workstations
C)Provide for good housekeeping and maintenance
D)Maintain flexibility

Question 36

A ____ layout is an arrangement based on the sequence of operations that are performed during the manufacturing of a good or the delivery of a service.

A)Product
B)Process
C)Cellular
D)Fixed position

Question 37

Teams are a way of accomplishing job enrichment.

Question 38

A ____ layout is an arrangement based on self-contained groups of equipment needed to produce a particular set of goods or services.

A)Product
B)Process
C)Cellular
D)Fixed position

Question 39

CRAFT is a process layout technique that tries to improve on a current solution by exchanging two or three departments at a time to determine if total materials handling costs have been reduced.

Question 40

An assembly line with 28 activities is to be balanced. The total amount of time required for all 28 activities is 39 minutes. The line will operate for 450 minutes per day. What must the cycle time be to achieve an output rate of 400 units/day?

A)1.39 minutes
B)11.54 minutes
C)1.125 minutes
D)0.89 minutes

Question 41

Considering ergonomics, which of the following does not fit?

A)Improving productivity
B)Group technology
C)Designing equipment and instrumentation
D)Considering physical capability of people

Question 42

Differentiate among product layout, process layout, cellular layout, and fixed-position layout. State the advantages and disadvantages of each.

Question 43

Discuss four reasons for conducting a facility-layout study.

Question 44

All of the following are limitations to process layout except

A)Higher movement and transportation costs
B)More complicated planning and control systems
C)Longer total processing time
D)Limited range of products

Question 45

For a given cycle time in line balancing, assembly-line efficiency can be increased by

A)Speeding the line
B)Slowing the line
C)Decreasing the number of work stations
D)Increasing the number of work stations

Question 46

Which is true for product layout?

A)Very flexible
B)Lower work-in-process inventories
C)High job satisfaction
D)Easy to add new products

Question 47

Which of the following is not a disadvantage of virtual teams?

A)Security
B)Working hours
C)Synchronizing calendars
D)Socialization

Question 48

The determination of specific job tasks and responsibilities is called ____.

A)Job design
B)Ergonomics
C)Job enlargement
D)Job enrichment

Question 49

A(n) ____ performs entire jobs rather than specialized, assembly line work.

A)Virtual team
B)Self-managed team
C)Natural work team
D)Ergonomic team

Question 50

Which type of layout is best for high volumes of demand with few if any setups/changeovers?

A)Product
B)Process
C)Cellular
D)Fixed position

Question 51

____ classifies parts into families so that cellular layouts can be effectively used.

A)Ergonomics
B)Job enlargement
C)Group technology
D)CRAFT

Question 52

____ set their own goals and inspect their own work, often hire their own replacements and prepare their own budgets.

A)Virtual teams
B)Enlarged teams
C)Socio-technical teams
D)Self-managed teams

Question 53

Which of the following is not a common approach for designing process layouts?

A)CRAFT
B)ALDEP
C)NIOSH
D)CORELAP

Question 54

Assembly line balancing

A)Is a one-time activity.
B)Tries to minimize the production rate for a given number of work stations.
C)Tries to minimize the number of work stations for a given production rate.
D)Attempts to load work into early work stations.

Question 55

Explain assembly line balancing. Discuss the three types of information needed to balance an assembly line.

Question 56

Differentiate between a "flow blocking delay" and a "lack of work delay." How can each be reduced?

Question 57

Which one of the following fits best with process layout?

A)Skilled workers
B)Standardization
C)Specialized equipment
D)Little work-in-process inventories

Question 58

All of the following are true regarding assembly lines except

A)Lower cost
B)Only one model can be assembled on a line
C)Makes good affordable to mass markets
D)Used in services,
E)g., insurance policies and sorting mail

Question 59

Which is not true regarding fixed-position layout?

A)Synonymous with project
B)High demand volume
C)An example is a sporting event
D)Used with large items

Question 60

____ is vertical expansion of job duties to give the worker more responsibility.

A)Job enlargement
B)Job rotation
C)Job enrichment
D)Job design

Question 61

An assembly line with 28 activities is to be balanced. The total amount of time required for all 28 activities is 39 minutes. The line will operate for 450 minutes per day. What must the cycle time be to achieve an output rate of 400 units/day?

Question 62

A small electronics company assembles power supplies for use in computers, printers and Fax machines. They want to set up an assembly line to make their operation more efficient and plan to use line balancing with the longest-task-time heuristic. The demand for power supplies is 70 per hour, and the productive time per hour is 52 minutes. The following table provides details on their operation.
a.What is the cycle time?
b.What is the theoretical minimum number of workstations?
c.What tasks go into the first workstation?
d.How many workstations are needed for the entire line?
e.What is the assembly-line efficiency?

Question 63

For the following assembly line data, balance the line for an output of 30 units in a 7.5 hour shift. Use the "longest task time first" rule.

Question 64

The nine tasks necessary to assemble a vacuum cleaner are listed below. The time to perform each task and the tasks that must immediately precede are also listed. 300 vacuums are needed per hour and 50 minutes per hour are productive.
a.Compute the cycle time per unit in minutes.
b.Compute the minimum number of workstations required.
c.Use the longest-task-time heuristic to balance the production line.
d.Compute the efficiency of the assembly line.

Question 65

Explain the socio-technical approach to job design and some ways to implement it.

Question 66

Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of utilizing virtual teams.

Question 67

A company is setting up an assembly line to produce cellular telephones. They intend to use line balancing with the longest-task-time heuristic. They know the demand per hour is 40 phones and the productive time per hour is 54 minutes. Displayed below is the data they have collected regarding task precedence and times.
a.What is the cycle time?
b.What is the theoretical minimum number of workstations?
c.What tasks are assigned to the first workstation?
d.How many workstations are needed for the entire line?
e.What is the assembly-line efficiency?

Question 68

Explain the role of ergonomics in job design.

Question 69

An assembly line with 28 operations is to be balanced. The total amount of time required for all 28 operations is 39 minutes. The longest operation takes 2.2 minutes and the shortest takes 0.8 minutes. The line will operate for 450 minutes per day.
a.Determine the minimum and maximum cycle time.
b.What is the maximum output rate that this assembly line can achieve?
c.What is the output rate if the cycle time is set at 2.2 minutes?

Question 70

In your first job you must set up an assembly line to assemble a computer mouse. The precedence diagram below is defined with task times in parentheses and stated in minutes. There are 480 minutes of assembly time per shift and there is one shift. The forecast (output rate) is 60 units per shift.
a.Compute the cycle time per unit in minutes.
b.Compute the minimum number of workstations required.
c.Use the longest-task-time heuristic to balance the assembly line.
d.Compute the efficiency of your assembly line.

Question 71

List the many questions that must be addressed in designing a workstation.

Question 72

A product requires the following tasks to make it on an assembly line. Assume 7.6 hours per workday and 5 workdays per week.
a.Using only the information given, what would be the maximum output per day that can be achieved?
b.Assume that the activities have been assigned to five workstations. What is the line efficiency for a cycle time of 40 seconds?

Question 73

The twelve tasks necessary to assemble a food blender are listed below. The time to perform each task and the tasks that must immediately precede are also listed. 200 blenders are needed per hour and 50 minutes per hour are productive:
a.Compute the cycle time per unit in minutes.
b.Compute the minimum number of workstations required.
c.Use the longest-task-time heuristic to balance the assembly line.
d.Compute the efficiency of your assembly line.

Question 74

The Florida Appliance Company is installing an assembly line to produce vacuum cleaners, and you, as an operations manager, are responsible for balancing the line. The tasks to be performed are listed, along with their times and immediate predecessors. The company is planning to operate 2 shifts per day, 8 hours per shift. The desired output rate of the line is 480 units per day.
a.Compute the cycle time per unit in minutes.
b.Compute the minimum number of workstations required.
c.Use the longest-task-time heuristic to balance the assembly line.
d.Compute the efficiency of your assembly line.

Question 75

Describe approaches used for process layout design.

Question 76

The eleven tasks necessary to assemble an MP3 player along with their time (in seconds) and immediate predecessor(s) is given below:
Using this information, determine the theoretical minimum number of work stations needed if the company wants to produce 600 units in a 9-hour (32,400 seconds) day.

Question 77

Consider the following assembly line information for manufacturing the latest cell phone. The firm wants to produce 80 cell phones per hour.
a.What is the required cycle time?
b.Balance the assembly line using your choice of balancing heuristic, with the goal of minimizing the number of workstations needed? (Specify the task(s) assigned to each workstation.)
c.What is the efficiency of your assembly line?
d.Is this a good assembly line balancing solution? Explain. What do you recommend?

Question 78

An assembly line with 28 activities is to be balanced. The total amount of time required for all 28 activities is 39 minutes. The longest activity is 2.2 minutes and the shortest is 0.8 minutes. The line will operate for 450 minutes per day. Using a cycle time of 60 seconds, determine an assembly line balance by selecting the longest task available. Compute the total idle time, and assembly line efficiency.

Question 79

An assembly line with 28 activities is to be balanced. The total amount of time required for all 28 activities is 39 minutes. The longest activity is 2.2 minutes and the shortest is 0.8 minutes. The line will operate for 450 minutes per day. What is the assembly line efficiency with 11 stations and a product produced every 5 minutes?