In an assembly operation at a furniture factory

Paraphrasing

questions/problems below. It is Open Book but to be done individually and each question/problem is worth 1 point or 10 overall. Short answers should just be a few sentences directed to answering the question in your own words not a half page copied from the text. You may put your answers below the questions (no colored fonts please) or for Problems you can use excel if you prefer (pdf if done by hand) and submit 2 files. Submit files in the Mod 5 Assignment for Midterm by Sunday at 11:59 PM. Please contact me with any questions and remember to put your name on the file you submit.

1) Explain what an operations strategy is and the importance of competitive priorities. Give an example from an organization (public or private, manufacturing or service).

Operation strategy specifies the means by which operations implements corporate strategy and helps to build a customer-driven firm. It likes long-term and short-term operation decisions to corporate strategy and develops the capabilities the firm needs to be competitive. It is at the heart of managing processes and supply chains. A firm’s internal processes are only building blocks: they need to be organized to ultimately be effective in a competitive environment. Operations strategy is the linchpin that brings these processes together to form supply chains that extend beyond the wall of the firm, encompassing suppliers as well as customers. Sine customers constantly desire change; the firm’s operations strategy must be driven by the needs of its customers.

Developing a customer-driven operations strategy begins with corporate strategy, coordinates the firm’s overall goals with its core processes. It determines the markets the firm will serve and the responses the firm will make to changes in the environment. It provides the resources to develop the firm’s core competencies and core processes, and it identifies the strategy the firm will employ in international markets. Bases on corporate strategy, a market analysis categorizes the firm’s customers, identifies their needs, and assesses competitors’ strengths. This information is used to develop competitive priorities. These priorities help managers develop the services or products and the processes needed to be competitive in the marketplace. Competitive priorities are important to the design of existing as well as new services or products, the processes that will deliver them, and the operations strategy that will develop the firm’s capacities to fulfill them. Developing a firm’s operations strategy is a continuous process because the firm’s capabilities to meet the competitive priorities must be periodically checked and any gaps in performance must be addressed in the operations strategy.

2) Draw the network corresponding to the following information. Also, complete the table below, identify the critical path, and specify project completion time.

Activity

Immediate

Predecessor(s)

Time

(Weeks)

A

---

3

B

---

4

C

A

6

D

B

9

E

B

6

F

C, D

6

G

D, E

8

H

G, F

9

Activity

Earliest

Start

Earliest

Finish

Latest

Start

Latest Finish

Slack

A

0

3

3

9

3

B

0

4

0

4

0

C

3

9

9

15

6

D

4

13

4

13

0

E

4

10

7

13

3

F

13

19

15

21

2

G

13

21

13

21

0

H

21

30

21

30

0

0

A

3

3

3

3

3

9

0

B

4

0

0

0

4

4

3

C

9

6

6

9

6

15

4

D

13

0

0

4

9

13

13

F

19

2

2

15

6

21

4

E

10

3

3

7

6

13

13

G

21

0

0

13

8

21

21

H

30

0

0

21

9

30

The critical path is B-D-G-H and the expected duration time of the project is 30 days.

3) Describe the differences between make-to-order, assemble-to-order, and make-to-stock strategies from the producer's and from the customer's perspective.

Make-to-Order strategy: Manufacturers that make products to customer specifications in low volumes tend to use the make-to-order strategy, coupling it with job or small batch processes. It is a more complex process than assembling a final product from standard components. This strategy provides a high degree of customization and typically uses job or small batch processes. The processes have high divergence. Specialized medical equipment, casting, and expensive homes are suited to the make-to-order strategy.

Assemble-to-Order strategy: The assemble-to-order strategy is an approach to producing a wide variety of products from relatively few subassemblies and components after the customer orders are received. Typical competitive priorities are variety and fast delivery times. The assemble-to-order strategy often involves a line process for assembly and a batch process for fabrication. Because they are devoted to manufacturing standardized components and subassemblies in high volumes, the fabrication processes focus on creating appropriate amounts of component inventories for the assembly processes. Once the specific order from the customer is received, the assembly processes create the product from standardized components and subassemblies produced by the fabrication processes.

Stocking finished products would be economically prohibitive because the numerous position options make forecasting relatively inaccurate. Thus, the principle of postponement is applied, whereby the final activities in the provision of a product are delayed until the orders are received. The assembly-to-order strategy is also liked to mass customization, where highly divergent processes generate a wide variety of customized product at reasonably low cost. Both postponement and mass customization are covered more fully in supply chain design.

Make-to-Stock strategy: Manufacturing firms that hold items in stock for immediate delivery, thereby minimizing customer delivery times, use a make-to-order strategy. This strategy is feasible for standardized product with high volumes and reasonably accurate forecasts. It is the inventory strategy of choice for line or continuous-flow processes. Examples of products produced with a make-to-order strategy include garden tools, electronic components, soft drinks, and chemicals.

Combining a line process with the make-to-stock strategy is sometimes called mass production. It is what the popular press commonly envisions as the classical manufacturing process, because the environment is stable and predictable, with workers repeating narrowly defined tasks with low divergence.

4) List and briefly define four different types of manufacturing basic processes.

5) Why is employee empowerment important in a total quality management program?

6) How does SPC help companies implement continuous improvement programs?

7) Thermostats are subjected to rigorous testing before they are shipped to air conditioning technicians around the world. Results from the last five samples are shown in the table. Is the process under control after you calculate the Mean and Range control limits?

Unit #

Sample 1

Sample 2

Sample 3

Sample 4

Sample 5

1

73.5

70.8

72.2

73.6

71.0

2

71.3

71.0

73.1

72.7

72.2

3

70.0

72.6

71.9

72.4

73.3

4

71.1

70.6

70.3

74.2

73.6

5

70.8

70.7

70.7

73.5

71.1

8) List the three main goals of a project. Use the example of a project to implement a new billing procedure for a small lawn mowing business, describe how project management principles help to achieve these goals.

9) What are the three key functions of a firm and what is each responsible for?

10) In an assembly operation at a furniture factory, six employees assembled an average of 450 custom cabinet drawers per 5-day week. What is the labor productivity of this operation?