53. The ability to integrate computers into the design and manufacture of products has had
the greatest impact on production techniques in recent years.
54. CAD/CAM has made it possible to custom-design products to meet the tastes of small
markets with very little increase in costs.
55. CAD systems allow designers to work in three dimensions.
56. Despite its early promise, computer-aided design has not met with much success in
increasing productivity.
57. The purpose of computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM) is to unite computer-aided
design with computer-aided manufacturing.
58. The advantage of computer-integrated manufacturing software is that it allows computer–
aided design machines to communicate directly with computer-aided manufacturing machines.
59. So far, the high cost of CAD/CAM techniques has limited their use to large, expensive
manufactured goods such as automobiles.
60. Flexible manufacturing systems use machines that are designed to do a multitude of tasks
so that they can produce a variety of goods.
61. A disadvantage of flexible manufacturing systems is that they usually require a great deal
of labor because machines are rarely capable of handling a wide variety of tasks.
62. One way to compete with cheap labor is to use robots.
63. Lean manufacturing is a strategy of producing standardized products that have no frills or
extra features in order to keep prices low.
64. Companies that achieve lean manufacturing use less of everything (raw materials, labor,
etc.) to produce the same amount of products.
65. Technological improvements are largely responsible for the increase in productivity and
efficiency of U.S. plants.
66. The higher productivity of U.S. plants makes it possible to pay higher wages.
67. Mass customization is tailoring products to meet the needs of individual customers.
68. Mass customization is a strategy of convincing customers to choose from a relatively small
number of alternatives in order to achieve the efficiencies of mass production.
69. While mass customization works well for producers it is not used in the service sector.
70. Actually, it is much easier to custom-design service programs than it is to custom-make
goods.
71. Speeding up the process of responding to consumer wants and needs is a key to global
competitiveness.
72. Nanomanufacturing is when materials can be manipulated on a molecular or even atomic
level.
73. Companies that employ lean manufacturing and flexible manufacturing produce better
quality products, but have costlier production lines.
74. When a company has the ability to produce the same amount of goods with only half the
floor space and half the labor that it used in the past, the firm is practicing flexible
manufacturing.
75. Improvements in technology have significantly increased the quality of products, as well
as helped reduce costs.
76. Manufacturers use CAM (computer-aided manufacturing) to create three-dimensional
designs of products before they are built.
77. Mass customization is not exclusive to product-intensive businesses. Service businesses
have learned how to use mass customization to serve their customers.
78. Businesses that provide services typically cannot use mass customization because
services are not tangible products that can be customized.
79.
Process manufacturing
involves taking raw materials and physically or chemically
changing them into another form, while the
assembly process
takes the newly changed form and
turns it back into the original form.
80. The main difference between process manufacturing and an assembly process is that
process manufacturing uses sophisticated robots and automated machinery to produce a good or
service, while an assembly process uses labor and simple tools to make a product.
81. Land, labor, capital, and knowledge are inputs into the production process.
82. Although lean manufacturing attempts to reduce the amount of labor used in the
manufacturing process, it typically does so by increasing the amount of most of the other
resources used in the production process.
83. Chinese companies use so many robots in its manufacturing sector that it may soon
become the world’s largest robot market.
84. The Cooldaze Ice Company compresses carbon dioxide and cools it to a very low
temperature to make dry ice. The method used by Cooldaze is an example of process
manufacturing.
85. Featured Furnishings is a company that specializes in producing custom-made furniture.
A continuous production process would be the most efficient way for Featured Furnishings to
produce its products.
86. J&R Industries typically produces very large batches of standardized products used by
plumbers, such as pipefittings and valves that must be produced in standard sizes. A continuous
production process would work well for J&R.
87. Frolichstein Fabrics promotes itself as a specialty manufacturer that will produce
according to customer specifications. This firm will probably be best served by using an
intermittent process in production.
88. Computers and robots are only useful in continuous production processes where the
same type of product is produced many times.
89. Trace and Tim own a company that rehabs old houses. Prior to buying a house, they use
software to create and design the renovation of each room. The program provides them with an
estimation of how much of each kind of material is needed, and the orderly progression of tasks
that need to be completed. Trace and Tim use computer-aided design.
90. SeatBelts Unlimited, Inc., is located about 8 miles from two major auto assembly plants.
The firm delivers seatbelts about every two hours to each of the plants. The assembly plants only
accept the number of seatbelts that they will assemble into cars during the next two hours after
delivery. The auto plants embrace lean manufacturing.
91. Alice’s Cookie Company makes a variety of cookies for corporate accounts and
restaurants. On a good day, the orders can range from 600 to 800 cookies, with a variety of
uniqueness, although the company is known for delicate shortbread and butter cookies. Some
cookies have round shapes, but others are elongated rectangles, and yet others are triangles. The
bakers can quickly change the cookie cutting machine to reflect the orders for the day, while
computers program the ovens to make those cookies the light golden color they are known for
across town. Refrigeration is also computer controlled. Alice’s Cookie Company embraces flexible
manufacturing and mass customization.
92. Facility location is the process of selecting a geographic location for a company’s
operations.
93. When considering the issue of facility location, it is important to find an isolated location
so that work can get done without interruption from customers.
94. Operations management planning is concerned with finding the ideal location for a
business and also with materials requirement planning. It leaves decisions about purchasing and
inventory control to marketing.
95. When it comes to location decisions, labor costs are no longer an important consideration
for most manufacturing firms.
96. The Internet is a very popular place to locate your business today.
97. Manufacturing firms that want to minimize time–to-market are likely to choose facility
sites that give them easy access to their preferred modes of transportation.
98. Some companies will locate their production facilities near their suppliers.
99. Many state and local governments offer tax incentives and government services to attract
businesses.
100. In making a location decision, businesses seldom consider “quality of life” in various
locations, because factors that influence quality of life have little or no impact on profits.
101. According to the
Making Ethical Decisions
box titled “Do We Stay or Do We Go?” by law a
firm must give employees 60 days’ notice of a facility or plant closing.