Describe a situation where the functional/sequential approach to product development might be more appropriate than the integrated/concurrent engineering approach.
> Under what conditions would you use a Kaizen Event?
> How would a restaurant use the 5-S program? How would an operating room using this program?
> What would happen if you tried to introduce a new strategy based on radical innovation into a facility where the organization has adopted wholeheartedly the lean culture?
> Most people have worked as “operations managers” at some time. Describe a job or experience that you had that involved the management of a process.
> Using the discussion of Lean Design, consider the design of a iPod competitor. Give examples of each of the following design wastes:
> Discuss how lean systems might apply to a fast-food hamburger stand. How will it have to be modified to deal with daily demand variation?
> You work in the marketing department of a firm that sells mountain bicycles and related gear. Its manufacturing division has decided to wholeheartedly adopt the lean systems philosophy. Will this affect your ability to delight your customers? Make a list
> Why is achievement of the following goals critical to the success of lean systems? Give an example of how each area contributes to the success of a lean system.
> Figure 8-4 illustrates the analogy of a boat hitting rocks as the level of water falls. Why is water a good analogy for inventory? Is the sequence in which rocks are encountered a good way to prioritize inventory reduction activities? How might this prio
> Imagine that your customer base is located in North America and your suppliers are located in China. Is it possible to implement lean supply chain management under such conditions? What are the challenges now facing the firm?
> Can a supply chain ever be too lean? What would happen to the supply chain if an unexpected disruption/interruption were to occur? How might you as a supply chain manager reduce the effects of such an unexpected disruption, while staying consistent with
> Where would you most successfully apply lean systems principles, during the introductory or growth stages of the Product Life Cycle?
> Can lean systems enhance a worker's quality of life? Discuss how it might or might not.
> One lean systems’ consultant has stated that “without standardization, there can be no improvement.” Why?
> Why should a firm consider the position of stakeholders when evaluating operational alternatives? Consider the role of government and its impact. (Hint: Consider working conditions and pollution.)
> What is the relationship between bottlenecks and TAKT Time?
> Why should you NOT include setup times when calculating the TAKT times?
> While Taichi Ohno was impressed by certain aspects of the Ford Production System, he was bothered by other aspects. These included: large, special purpose equipment, a focused specialized workforce, and an ever driving emphasis on cost efficiency. Why ar
> Why should one company in a supply chain consider total supply chain inventory as well as its own inventory levels?
> What steps do you think companies can take to improve the accuracy of their inventory information systems?
> Suppose you have been given the task of reducing inventory in your company, without negatively impacting customer service. What actions might you be able to take to accomplish this task?
> A firm is presently using the basic EOQ model and is considering switching to the production order quantity model (i.e., receiving gradual deliveries over time). If all the cost and demand parameters stay the same, what changes should the firm expect?
> Early in the chapter it was stated that planning inventory levels is both an art and a science. Explain in your own words why this is true.
> Why does total system inventory increase as a company increases its number of stocking locations?
> Explain the tradeoffs involved in the economic order quantity. How do these change when quantity discounts are considered?
> The following firms have long been seen as having strong competitive advantages. Read about one of these companies. Also draw from your experience as a customer to identify that company’s competitive advantage. Discuss how operations management relates t
> Explain the different types of costs related to inventory planning.
> Why do some executives believe that inventory is “bad”? Explain why this thinking is incorrect.
> Provide an example of automation that enhances customer service and one that reduces customer service. Why is this the case?
> Think about three of your favorite fast food restaurants. What type of layout is used in the food preparation area of each? Are these layouts a good fit with the organization? Why or why not? Should the layout be changed and if so, how?
> Some upscale restaurants have their kitchens visible to their customers changing the traditional view of front-office and back-office processes. What are the benefits and drawbacks to this approach?
> Which of the service categories would you put a large state university? Why? Would a small private university be in the same category? Why or why not?
> Are some process structures inherently safer or more environmentally friendly than others?
> Provide an example of how technology has made it possible to use processes that are not on the diagonal of the product/process matrix.
> Consider several members of the supply chain of a company that makes plastic toy cars and trucks. Which of the five processes described in the product-process matrix is likely to be used by the following supply chain members? Why?
> Think of two companies in the same industry that use different process structures. Why is this the case? Is one process structure a better choice than the other? Why or why not?
> Recall the last time you went to a fast-food restaurant such as McDonald’s. Describe all of the goods and services that make up your total product experience.
> One concern with the adoption of process automation such as self-driving vehicles and robots is the impact on society. What are the societal challenges with process automation? How might these be addressed?
> Postal services and logistics companies are experimenting with delivery using drones. What are the benefits and drawbacks with this application of technology?
> Airlines allow customers to purchase tickets, select seats, and check-in using mobile apps. How does this process differ compared to a check-in process at an airline ticket counter?
> You have probably experienced some form of “virtual reality.” Discuss the types of “realities” that might be simulated when evaluating the merits of a given product design.
> In which stages of a new product design and development project are supply chain operations managers most likely to have the greatest impact? Why?
> Discuss the roles that personnel from warranty/field service and the manufacturing shop floor might play when conducting an FMEA.
> Under what circumstances might concurrent engineering (overlapping the stages of design and development) be a bad idea?
> Discuss the pros and cons of open innovation.
> What major differences would you expect to find in the management approaches used for breakthrough innovation projects versus those used for derivative or enhancement projects?
> Why are discipline and flexibility both needed in new product/process innovation? Are these two capabilities in conflict with each other?
> Consider the following processes that you frequently encounter as a college student. Describe each process and its input, activities, and outputs. What is being converted or transformed in each process? Who are the customers, suppliers, and stakeholders
> Operations personnel tend to favor product component standardization while design and marketing personnel tend to resist it. Why is this true? What are the potential disadvantages to standardization?
> How would you define the capacity of your school? In what way does capacity influence the value of your college experience?
> Under what conditions would inspections, storages and transports be considered value-adding?
> Which of the five activity categories is represented by each of the following actions?
> Discuss the challenges that an operations manager can expect to encounter when applying the principles of process performance to the upstream (supply-based) section of a supply chain?
> Which would require a larger amount of excess capacity – a hospital emergency room or a doctor’s office? Why?
> How would you define the maximum capacity for the front desk of a hotel? What is meant by the effective capacity? Define the difference in these two terms relative to the number of customers that can be checked into the hotel in a given period.
> How can a university attain economies of scale? What impact might this have on quality and flexibility?
> What are the primary resources that determine the capacity of each of the following?
> What are the primary operations management decisions in each of the following corporations?
> If your goal is to reduce variance within a supply chain (especially if the variance is most evident in your supply), under what conditions does it make sense to focus first on the customer side of the supply chain?
> Juran’s Law in Total Quality Management states that whenever a problem occurs, 15% of the time, it is the individual’s fault, 85% of the time, it is the process’s fault. Interpret this law from a process thinking perspective.
> Why is it important to begin with the metrics rather than to start by looking at the process?
> Sonnie’s Gourmet Sandwich Café, a popular new fast casual restaurant, serves high-quality, made-to-order sandwiches. Located in a local outdoor shopping center, parking in front of Sonnie’s is limited. However, there are many parking spaces available beh
> Once considered a commodity product, many small boutique coffee companies are luring customers with promises of high quality and unique flavors. How do the processes used by the small companies compare with those of the major coffee processors? Coffee pr
> Doog’s Donuts produces five varieties of pastries, which are sold to a national grocery chain: muffins, donuts, cookies, cream puffs, and fritters. Assuming that Doog’s operates a single shift for 1,800 hours per year,
> Noble Bicycles of Glen Arbor, Michigan, is a small batch manufacturer of high-end bicycles. That is, it typically builds bicycles in batches of one to three units. Quality is high, only to be expected when the typical bicycle frame costs $2,500 and up. Y
> As the operations manager for Valley Kayaks (as described in the previous problem), you find yourself faced with an interesting situation. Marketing has informed you that they have lost a number of sales because of a lack of inventory. Kayaks, being seas
> You are the operations manager for a small kayak and canoe manufacturer (Valley Kayaks) located on the Pacific Northwest (Oregon). Lately your company has experienced product quality problems. Simply put, the kayaks that you produce occasionally have def
> For the prior problem, management wants to double the return on assets, without affecting sales, cost of goods sold, variable expenses, fixed expenses, or fixed assets. Rather it wants to focus on either inventory or accounts receivable. a. Can managemen
> Given the following information: Categories………………………………………………………………………Values Sales……………………………………………………………………………….. $32,000,000 Cost of goods sold…………………………………………………………….. $20,000,000 Variable expenses…………………………………………………………….. $ 4,000,000 Fixed expenses……
> Under what conditions would you use a Kaizen Event? Business Process Reengineering?
> The Office Interiors Company has developed a new, modern office chair. Initial sales forecasts are for 50 chairs per day. The assembly operations will run for two 8-hour shifts. The process engineer and operations manager are working together to balance
> A company that assembles high fidelity headphones needs to design an assembly line for one of its new products. The tasks needed and their relationships are shown in the following figure. To meet demand, the company must produce 80 headphones an hour. a
> Williams Motor Manufacturing assembles small motors for sale to major appliance manufacturers around the world. Average demand for its best-selling motor is 600Â units per day. The assembly line operates continuously during a single 8-hour shi
> Golf Carts Inc. must set up an assembly line for golf carts. Forecasts show that 10Â units per day should be produced. The plant operates one 8-hour shift each day and runs the line continuously during the shift. The tasks required, task times
> Wild Widget must set up an assembly line for widgets. Forecasts show that 50 units per hour should be produced. The tasks required, task times, and precedence relation-ships are as follows: a. Draw the precedence diagram. b. What is the takt time? c. Wh
> The Carry-on Luggage Company must set up an assembly line for a wheeled carry-on bag. Forecasts show that 60 units per hour should be produced. The tasks required, task times, and precedence relationships are as follows: a. Draw the precedence diagram.
> Swoosh Snowboard Company must set up an assembly line for snowboards. Forecasts show that 600 units per day should be produced. The plant operates two 8-hour shifts each day and runs the line continuously during both shifts. The tasks required, task time
> An insurance company uses the following tasks to process paperwork. Forty claims need to be processed in an eight-hour workday. a. What is the takt time? b. What is the theoretical number of workstations? c. Assign the tasks to the workstations to balan
> An assembly line currently has five workstations, and the time required for each is shown below. a. What is the current cycle time? b. What is the efficiency of the process? c. Customer demand is 80 units per hour. What is the hourly production rate of t
> Patients at an emergency room in a large urban hospital frequently experience long wait times before they actually see a physician. The hospital has decided to use FMEA to determine an action plan for addressing the problem, defining a “
> Describe the various operations within an amusement park that need to have balanced capacity. Which operations are most likely to become a bottleneck? How might an amusement park utilize yield management to influence demand to better-fit available capaci
> Document the steps that someone using the House of Quality procedure might follow in developing: a. A new mountain bicycle. b. An introductory operations management course. c. A new candy bar.
> Make a list of customer desired traits for a pencil.
> Complete a value analysis for the following products: a. Paper clip b. Textbook
> Conduct an FMEA for a simple service or tangible product with which you are familiar. Identify a few failure modes, estimate the RPNs, and recommend possible improvements.
> Identify three or four important failure modes for a cellular phone.
> Given the FMEA data provided in the table below: a. What is the RPN for each failure cause? b. Which failure cause would be of least concern? c. Which failure cause would be of greatest concern? d. For the failure of greatest concern, would your recommen
> Refer back to the QFD for housekeeping services shown in Figure 4-6. Figure 4-6: a. What seem to be the biggest opportunities for improvement, relative to competitors’ levels of performance? b. Which technical feature is most strongly
> This problem uses American Vinyl Products (the case found in Chapter 3). The management at American Vinyl Products has decided that a rigorous and effective approach has to be applied. Consequently, they have decided to apply service blueprinting. For th
> This problem uses Evergreen Products (the case found in Chapter 3). Management is not happy with the current process that is present at Evergreen Products. You have been called into the office of the CEO and given the following task. Beginning with a bla
> Using Evergreen Products (the case found in Chapter 3), carry out the first step in the process of process mapping and analysis, as presented in this supplement, for the two different key customers: • Florists • Grocery stores 1. What differences did you
> Suppose that you are the owner of pizzeria that is located near to a university or college. How could you use the concepts of Order Winners, Order Qualifiers, and Order Losers to help develop and implement an attractive business model?
> Murphy’s Bagel Shops (MBS) is a chain of bagel eateries supported by a central bakery. Most raw materials are delivered to MBS’s bakery where the ingredients are inspected for quality and then stored in the raw materials warehouse, which is located on th
> Your eyeglass frame-making firm is considering one of two distribution alternatives. The first is to make all shipments from your Chicago plant to one of three regional warehouses located in Philadelphia, Chicago, and Reno. All orders from eyeglass retai
> You are making your weekly trip to your local grocery story. Use a process flow diagram chart to describe your decision-making process about what to buy and where to buy it. What inputs did you use in helping you make these weekly decisions? How could an
> Best Bicycles manufactures three different types of bikes: the Tiny Tike, the Adult Aero, and the Mountain Monger. Given the information in the table, calculate the required capacity for this year’s production. Note that the times are g
> Penny’s Pies is a small specialty supplier to a national coffee-house chain. Penny’s makes three types of pies (apple, cherry, and pecan). Penny’s operates 250 days per year with a single eight-hour s
> Electronics Assembly Inc. is a contract manufacturer that assembles consumer electronics for a number of companies. Currently, the operations manager is assessing the capacity requirements as input into a bid for a job to assemble cell phones for a major
> You are given the following information. Which of the statements below can you sup-port with this information? Maximum capacity (labor hours): 480 hours per week Effective capacity ratio: 85% Actual time worked: 380 hours per week over the last two week
> With the process information provided in the preceding table, when the sequence of flow is A→B (any machine can be used if available) → C → D (any machine can be used if available), calculate the over
