Industrial Engineering Chapter 11 Planning Production Activity Discussion Questions Why Vigorous Production Capability Important The

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Chapter 11

Planning Production Activity

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

11-1. Q: Why is a vigorous production capability so important to the United States in the “post–

industrial society”?

11-2. Q: What are some of the positions that engineers fill in a large manufacturing plant?

A: Fig. 11-1 (displayed below) and the text description of it provide a starting point for an answer.

11-3. Q: Research how manufacturing firms are using additive manufacturing (3D printing). How does

this change the needed skills of a manufacturing engineer?

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11-4. Q: Discuss some of the factors that would be most important in selecting a site for (a) a cement

plant, (b) a research “think tank,” (c) a software company and (d) a furniture manufacturer.

A: The text identifies some of the factors generally important in locating a plant. (a) cement has

relatively low value per unit weight, so it should be sited near raw materials (limestone and clay)

11-5. Q: Distinguish between (a) product layout, (b) process layout, and (c) group technology.

11-6. Q: List some of the characteristics that make the Dunn and Savastano Orthodontics business

compete with other practices.

11-7. Q: Distinguish between MRP and MRP II.

11-8. Q: Describe how the kanban is used in the just-in-time production system.

11-9. Q: Outline how lean manufacturing has been applied to other industries. What other approaches

discussed in this chapter have moved beyond manufacturing? Why have others not made the

transition?

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11-10. Q: What is the relationship between FMS (flexible manufacturing systems) and the group

technology concept introduced earlier in the chapter?

11-11. Q: Discuss how the management functions of planning, organizing, leading, and controlling relate

to the production planning process.

11-1. Q: (a) If it costs $2 per unit to store an item for one year, $40 setup cost every time you produce

a lot, and you use 1000 units per year, how many lots of what size should be manufactured each

year? (b) How would your answer change if the setup cost becomes $10?

11-2. Q: Setup for a stamping operation required a time-consuming fixture installation and testing that

took four hours each time a different part was to be produced; typically twelve hours production

was made for inventory of a given stamping before the machine was stopped to permit setup for

a new part. After careful process analysis, fixtures and transfer methods were revised to permit

setup in fifteen minutes. Discuss the implications for this change on (a) optimum batch size, (b)

order frequency, and (c) machine and labor productivity.

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11-3. Q: A production plant with fixed costs of $300,000 produces a product with variable costs of $40

per unit and sells them at $100 each. What is the break-even cost? Illustrate with a break-even

chart.

A: Each unit sold provides a contribution C1 = (S–V1) = ($100 – 40) = $60 towards covering fixed

11-4. Q: A machine tool salesperson offers the plant of question 11-8 equipment that would increase

their fixed cost by $180,000 but reduce their variable cost from $40 to $25. Should the plant

accept this suggestion if they can sell their entire plant capacity of 10,000 units per year at $100

each? Illustrate by modifying the break-even chart of question

A: Each unit sold provides a contribution C2 = (S–V2) = ($100 – 25) = $75 towards covering fixed

cost F2 (= $480,000). The breakeven point BE2 is therefore $480,000/$75 or 6,400 units, as you

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11-5. Q: A plant is beginning production of a light-alloy product and finds that it takes 400 hours to

produce the first item. How many hours should it take to produce each of the following: (a) the

second item; (b) the eighth item; (c) the thirty-seventh item? (Hint: Refer to Table 11-1)

A: (a,b) According to that table, the learning rate for a light alloy product can be taken as 80%. If

11-6. Q: The first two units of a product cost a total of $9,000 to produce. If you believe an 80%

learning curve applies, how much would you expect the fourth unit to cost?