Kanbans and andons are both elements of the visual workplace, because they are visual
signals that replace printouts and paperwork.
Demand (sales) forecasts serve as inputs to financial, marketing, and personnel
planning.
The moment-of-truth is the crucial moment between the service provider and the
customer that exemplifies, enhances, or detracts from the customer’s expectation.
NAFTA seeks to phase out all trade and tariff barriers among Canada, Mexico, and the
United States.
By convention, the top level in a bill of material is designated level 1.
The World Trade Organization has helped to significantly reduce tariffs around the
world.
Time-function mapping is a flowchart with time added to the horizontal axis.
Gantt charts give a timeline for each of a project€s activities, but they do not adequately
illustrate the interrelationships between the activities and the resources.
The cost of waiting decreases as the service level increases.
One essential ingredient of mass customization is modular design.
The fundamental difference between PERT and CPM is that PERT uses the beta
distribution for crashing projects while CPM uses cost estimates.
Supply-chain management faces additional challenges, such as those related to quality
production and distribution systems, when companies enter growing global markets.
Decisions that involve what is to be made and what is to be purchased fall under the
heading of supply-chain management.
An approach to location analysis that includes both qualitative and quantitative
considerations is
A) locational cost-volume
B) factor-rating
C) transportation model
D) assignment method
E) make or buy analysis
The first unit of a product took 900 hours to build and the learning curve is 90%. How
long will it take to make the first 3 units? (Use Table E.3)
A) less than or equal to 2,470 hours
B) from 2,470 to 2,472 hours
C) from 2,472 to 2,475 hours
D) from 2,475 to 2,478 hours
E) from 2,478 to 2,481 hours
A waiting-line system that meets the assumptions of M/M/S has » = 5, ¼ = 4, and M =
2. For these values, Po is approximately 0.23077 and L is approximately 2.05128. The
average number of units waiting in the queue
A) is approximately 0.1603
B) is approximately 0.4103
C) is approximately 0.8013
D) is approximately 1.0417
E) cannot be calculated because » is larger than ¼
Use Johnson’s rule to determine the optimal sequencing for the five jobs to be processed
on two machines in a fixed order (Machine 1 before Machine 2). The processing times
are given in the table below.
a. What is the optimal sequence?
b. What is the total flow time for this sequence?
A work center had planned outputs of 10,15,13, and 20 hours with actual outputs of 12,
14, 13, and 18 hours. The cumulative deviation in output is
A) 0
B) 1
C) -1
D) 58
E) unable to determine with given information
A waiting line meeting the assumptions of M/M/1 has average time between arrivals of
20 minutes and services items in an average of 10 minutes each; the utilization factor is
approximately
A) 0.25
B) 0.33
C) 0.50
D) 0.67
E) 3.00
Which of the international operations strategies involves high cost reductions and high
local responsiveness?
A) international strategy
B) global strategy
C) transnational strategy
D) multidomestic strategy
E) none of the above
Consider the network described in the table below.
a. Calculate the expected duration of each activity.
b. Calculate the expected duration and variance of the critical path.
c. Calculate the probability that the project will be completed in fewer than 30 time
units.
A defense contractor has just started producing engines for a new government contract.
The first engine took 800 hours to produce. If the learning curve is 80%, how long will
it take to produce the first 20 engines? (Use at least three decimals in the exponent if
you use the logarithmic approach, or use Table E.3 cumulative coefficient)
A) less than or equal to 1000 hours
B) from 1000 to 8000 hours
C) from 8000 to 8500 hours
D) from 8500 to 10000 hours
E) 10,000 or more hours
If an assignment problem consists of 5 workers and 4 projects,
A) one worker will not get a project assignment
B) one project will be assigned two workers
C) the fifth worker will split time among the four projects
D) one project will not get a worker assigned
E) The problem cannot be solved by assignment method.
For which of the following operations would a fixed-position layout be most
appropriate?
A) assembling automobiles
B) producing TV sets
C) constructing a highway tunnel or bridge
D) refining of crude oil
E) running an insurance agency
A cleaning company uses 10 lbs each of chemicals A, B and C for each house it cleans.
After some quality complaints, the company has decided to increase its use of chemical
A by an additional 10 lbs for each house. By what % has productivity (houses per
pound of chemical) fallen?
A) 0%
B) 10%
C) 15%
D) 25%
E) 33%
A certain product under development took 200 hours for the production of its 2nd unit
and 180 hours for its 4th unit.
a. What is the learning rate?
b. How much time did the first unit take?
c. How much time would the production of the 10th unit take? (Use both the
logarithmic and the Table E.3 approach. Do the two versions agree?)
South Coast Papers wants to mix two lubricating oils (A and B) for its machines in
order to minimize cost. It needs no less than 3,000 gallons in order to run its machines
during the next month. It has a maximum oil storage capacity of 4,000 gallons. There
are 2,000 gallons of Oil A and 4,000 of Oil B available. The mixed fuel must have a
viscosity rating of no less than 40.
When mixing fuels, the amount of oil obtained is exactly equal to the sum of the
amounts put in. The viscosity rating is the weighted average of the individual
viscosities, weighted in proportion to their volumes. The following is known: Oil A has
a viscosity of 45 and costs 60 cents per gallon; Oil B has a viscosity of 37.5 and costs
40 cents per gallon.
State the objective and the constraints of this problem. Plot all constraints and highlight
the feasible region. Use your (by now, well-developed) intuition to suggest a feasible
(but not necessarily optimal) solution. Be certain to show that your solution meets all
constraints.
Two firms that are being considered for an outsourced job have equal un-weighted
factor method
scores. Suppose that the ratings for each firm are identical except in two categories,
currency and cost risk with high numbers representing low risk. The weight factor for
currency risk is three times that of cost risk. Firm 1’s score for currency is a 2 and Firm
2’s score for cost is a 5. If firm 1 and 2 have identical cumulative scores with the
weighted method, find Firm 1’s cost score and Firm 2’s currency score.
What is the fundamental distinction between design capacity and effective capacity?
Provide a brief example.
Explain how job expansion can lead to higher pay rates.
A company is deciding where to assign its summer intern. The manager estimates that
the intern can save $10,000 in the supply chain or increase sales (revenue) by $25,000.
If sales (revenue) is divided into the three categories shown in the table where should
the manager assign the intern to maximize profits?
The local fast food store experienced the following number of customers on the night
shift
If the store was staffed by two workers, what was the average productivity per worker,
in customers/hour?
Your company is making experimental turbochargers for a new design of high-powered
farm tractors. The production schedule for these new components is contained in the
table below.
The first turbocharger, a trial unit, took 900 hours to produce. Based on your experience
with similar products, the learning factor is 85%. You have 20 employees, and each
employee works 160 hours per month. How many hours will be required in each
month? In which month(s) will overtime be required to meet the production schedule?
Explain the difference between value analysis and value engineering.
Operations managers should be well versed in what disciplines in order to make good
decisions?
A(n) __________ is an occurrence or situation over which the decision maker has little
or no control.