What is bias in forecasting? Explain the importance of using tracking signals to monitor forecasts.
> Describe the two different types of stockouts that firms often face. What must be done to prevent them?
> Define inventory and provide some examples.
> A linear regression model is Units = 3,014 – 0.639*Week. For week 38, what is the forecast for the number of units?
> Describe common queueing configurations.
> What does a queueing system consist of?
> What is a queue, and why is it important to under- stand it?
> Explain Little’s Law and illustrate how it can be used by providing a numerical example.
> Define flow time.
> What are some ways to improve throughput in a process?
> Find two examples similar to the introductory example in this chapter that describe the economic consequences of poor quality.
> What is a bottleneck? Explain why is it important.
> What is throughput and how is it measured?
> What are the basic principles of the Theory of Constraints (TOC)? How do these principles impact costs?
> What are the advantages of using simulation to analyze queueing models?
> A small airplane company called Just In Time flies between cities in Florida. It is trying to decide whether to add one extra plane to its fleet next year. Passenger demand that last four quarters are as follows: Q1 = 4,403, Q2 = 4,008, Q3 = 3,750, and Q
> How can economic analysis be used in making queueing system design decisions?
> List the characteristics and assumptions of a multiple server queueing model.
> List the characteristics and assumptions of a single server queueing model.
> What is queueing theory? Summarize the performance measures that are computed in queueing models.
> Define utilization and explain two ways computing resource utilization.
> Do an Internet search of “vehicle-routing software” and “vehicle routing.” Write a two-page report of the capabilities, advantages, and disadvantages of these vehicle-routing and dispatching systems. Provide one or two examples of real-world applications
> How are total time, setup time, and processing time related?
> What is setup time? Why is it important in determining capacity?
> Define a work order and provide examples in goods-producing and service-providing industries.
> Explain how safety capacity and planned capacity are related.
> Why is safety capacity important? Provide some examples of safety capacity in manufacturing and service organizations.
> Exotic Wines, Inc. wants to use exponential smoothing with = 0.25 to forecast demand in bottles sold. The demand the last four months are 2,321, 3,097, 2,845, and 3,812 bottles. The forecast for bottles was 2,321 bottles for the second month. What is t
> Summarize the different ways in which capacity can be measured.
> What is a focused factory? How can it make more efficient use of capacity?
> How are capacity decisions influenced by economies and diseconomies of scale?
> Explain the experience curve and how does it differs from the traditional learning curve.
> 1. What cost-of-quality criteria (i.e., prevention, appraisal, internal failure, and external failure costs) might be included in an analysis at the following stages of a global diamond supply chain—mining, cutting and polishing centers, and retail jewel
> Explain the concept of learning curves. Why are they important in managing operations?
> Why do service organizations use revenue management systems (RMS)? What are the advantages and disadvantages?
> What advantages do reservations have?
> Discuss various ways for managing short-term capacity.
> Why do firms often incorporate complementary goods and services into their product lines?
> Discuss four strategies used for capacity expansion. What are the risks and benefits of each strategy?
> A part-time employee who rolls out dough balls at a pizza restaurant was observed over a 40-hour period for a work-sampling study. During that time, she prepared 550 pieces of pizza dough. The analyst made 50 observations and found the employee not worki
> Explain the concept of capacity.
> Explain how to apply simple moving average and exponential smoothing models.
> Explain how to determine the number of data values (k) in a moving average forecast.
> Explain how modern vehicle routing and dispatching software and systems can support sustainability goals and objectives.
> Explain how to compute single moving average forecasts.
> Define forecast error. Explain how to calculate the three common measures of forecast accuracy.
> Explain the importance of selecting the proper planning horizon in forecasting.
> What is a time series? Explain the four characteristics that time series may exhibit and provide some practical examples.
> Describe the different time horizons used in forecasting and provide examples of each.
> How is forecasting used throughout the value chain?
> Using a rating factor of 1.00, compute the normal time for drilling a hole in a steel plate if these are the observed times (in minutes):
> Describe how statistical and judgmental forecasting techniques are applied in practice.
> Explain the role of judgment in forecasting.
> Research software available to organizations to create staff schedules. What features do these types of software have? Prepare a one-page report.
> Describe how to apply regression as a forecasting approach.
> Define forecasting and explain why it is important.
> What is work measurement? How can it be used to improve organizational performance?
> Explain how to design product layouts using assembly line balancing.
> What is a “closeness rating” and how can computer analysis support layout decisions?
> Explain the concepts of designing process layouts.
> When might you have to rebalance an assembly line?
> What is an assembly line? Define the "assembly line balancing problem" and explain what information is needed to solve it.
> The Florida Appliance Company is installing an assembly line to produce vacuum cleaners, and you, as an operations manager, are responsible for balancing the line. The tasks to be performed are listed below, along with their task times in seconds and imm
> What are “flow blocking delay” and “lack of work delay”? What types of designs can help to reduce these two sources of delay?
> Why is staff scheduling in a service environment a difficult task? What can managers do to ensure that staff schedules are effective and efficient?
> Under what conditions are facility-layout studies conducted?
> Describe the human issues related to workplace design.
> What key questions should be asked when designing workplaces?
> Describe the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) and how it fits with sustainability.
> Define ergonomics and give an example of a good or bad experience.
> Why is safety important?
> Define job design, job enlargement, and job enrichment, and give a non-textbook example of each.
> What is time study? Describe the basic procedure for conducting a time study.
> How does standard time differ from normal time? How are standard times used in operations management?
> Balance the assembly line in Exhibit 8.16 for (a) a shift output of 40 pieces and (b) a shift output of 20 pieces. Assume an 8-hour shift and use the rule: choose the assignable task with the longest processing time. Compute the line efficiency for each
> Explain why appointments are necessary for many professional services. (Hint: How do services differ from goods as described in Chapter 1?) List and explain some key issues and decisions that must be addressed in designing appointment systems.
> Explain how actual resource utilization might be only 40 percent at a non-bottleneck workstation by applying the TOC.
> Explain the concept of normal time. How can an operations manager verify whether the time to perform a task is indeed “normal”?
> What are the objectives of facility and work design? How can it help support strategic directions?
> What is a process map? How is it used in process design?
> Explain the logic and use of the service-positioning matrix.
> Explain the differences between customer-routed services and provider-routed services and give an example of each.
> Define a pathway and give an example.
> Define a service encounter activity sequence and give three examples.
> Explain the logic and use of the product-process matrix.
> What is the (traditional) product life cycle? How does it relate to process design and selection? Explain how firms make money when their goods or services follow the traditional product life cycle.
> Describe the four types of processes used to produce goods and services.
> Write a one-page paper listing the advantages and disadvantages of using part-time employees to help meet demand.
> You have been asked to set up an assembly line to assemble a computer mouse. The precedence network is shown in Exhibit 8.15; task times in minutes are given in parentheses. There are 480 minutes of assembly time per shift and the company operates one
> Chris, we make the highest-quality grass seed and fertilizer in the world. Our brands are known everywhere!” stated Caroline Ebelhar, the vice president of manufacturing for The Lawn Care Company. “Yeah! But the custom
> What is reengineering? How does it differ from other approaches to process improvement?
> How can process maps be used for improvement?
> What are the possible objectives to improving a process?
> Describe the types of errors that service poka-yokes are designed to prevent.
> Why do people make inadvertent mistakes? How does poka-yoke help prevent such mistakes?
> Describe how to apply process and value stream mapping for process design.
> What is the value stream? How does a value stream map differ from an ordinary process map?
> Explain the concept of the hierarchy of work. How is it useful in process design activities?
> Interview an operations or logistics manager at a nearby manufacturing or service company to find out about scheduling problems the company faces and how they are addressed.
> What are the advantages of clearly defining the process boundaries?
> Define custom, option, and standard goods and services and give a new example of each. How does the type of goods and services affect process choice?
