Why must lean have a stable schedule?
> The number of cases of merlot wine sold by the Connor Owen winery in an eight-year period is as follows. Using an exponential smoothing model with an alpha value of 0.20, estimate the smoothed value calculated as of the end of year 8. Use the average d
> Actual demand for a product for the past three months was a. Using a simple three-month moving average, make a forecast for this month. b. If 300 units were actually demanded this month, what would your forecast be for next month? c. Using simple expon
> The following table contains the demand from the last 10 months. a. Calculate the single exponential smoothing forecast for these data using an α of 0.30 and an initial forecast (F1) of 31. b. Calculate the exponential smoothing with tren
> The following tabulations are actual sales of units for six months and a starting forecast in January. a. Calculate forecasts for the remaining five months using simple exponential smoothing with α = 0.2. b. Calculate MAD for the forecasts
> What do you think might be some barriers to the successful, effective use of the project management software packages discussed in the chapter?
> Under a kanban approach to lean manufacturing, order quantities should be as small as possible. For a part that is manufactured in-house, what part of its manufacturing process needs to be reduced to reduce the optimal order quantity for an item?
> Given the following history, use a three-quarter moving average to forecast the demand for the third quarter of this year. Note, the 1st quarter is Jan, Feb, and Mar; 2nd quarter Apr, May, Jun; 3rd quarter Jul, Aug, Sep; and 4th quarter Oct, Nov, Dec.
> The following are sales revenues for a large utility company for years 1 through 11. Forecast revenue for years 12 through 15. Because we are forecasting four years into the future, you will need to use linear regression as your forecasting method.
> Sales by quarter for last year and the first three quarters of this year were as follows. Using a procedure that you develop that captures the change in demand from last year to this year and also the seasonality in demand, forecast expected sales for
> Mark Price, the new productions manager for Speakers and Company, needs to find out which variable most affects the demand for their line of stereo speakers. He is uncertain whether the unit price of the product or the effects of increased marketing are
> The following are earnings per share for two companies by quarter from the first quarter three years ago through the second quarter of this year. Forecast earnings per share for the rest of this year and next year. Use exponential smoothing to forecast t
> Will the use of decision tree analysis guarantee the best decision for a firm? Why or why not? If not, why bother using it?
> Use regression analysis on deseasonalized demand to forecast next summer’s demand, given the following historical demand data. Actual Year Season Demand 2 years ago Spring 205 Summer 140 Fall 375 Winter 575 Last year Spring 475 Sum
> Tucson Machinery, Inc. manufactures numerically controlled machines, which sell for an average price of $0.5 million each. Sales for these NCMs for the past two years were as follows. a. Find a line using regression in Excel. b. Find the trend and seas
> The following table shows the past two years of quarterly sales information. Assume that there are both trend and seasonal factors and that the seasonal cycle is one year. Use time series decomposition to forecast quarterly sales for the next year.
> The sales data for two years are as follows. Data are aggregated with two months of sales in each “period.” a. Plot the data. b. Fit a simple linear regression model to the sales data. c. In addition to the regressio
> In some JIT systems, marked spaces on a table or the floor identify where material should be stored. Supplying operations are signaled to produce more when the space is empty. What are these spaces called?
> What is the service package of your college or university?
> Zeus Computer Chips, Inc. used to have major contracts to produce the Centrino-type chips. The market has been declining during the past three years because of the quad-core chips, which it cannot produce, so Zeus has the unpleasant task of forecasting n
> After using your forecasting model for six months, you decide to test it using MAD and a tracking signal. Here are the forecast and actual demands for the six-month period: a. Find the tracking signal. b. Decide whether your forecasting routine is acce
> Your manager is trying to determine what forecasting method to use. Based upon the following historical data, calculate the following forecast and specify what procedure you would utilize. a. Calculate the simple three-month moving average forecast for
> Harlen Industries has a simple forecasting model: Take the actual demand for the same month last year and divide that by the number of fractional weeks in that month. This gives the average weekly demand for that month. This weekly average is used as the
> A particular forecasting model was used to forecast a six-month period. Here are the forecasts and actual demands that resulted: Find the tracking signal and state whether you think the model being used is giving acceptable answers. Forecast Actual
> Here are the actual tabulated demands for an item for a nine-month period (January through September). Your supervisor wants to test two forecasting methods to see which method was better over this period. a. Forecast April through September using a thr
> What are some reasons for a plant to maintain a capacity cushion? How about a negative capacity cushion?
> Which phase of the generic development process involves construction and evaluation of multiple preproduction versions of the product?
> The tracking signals computed using past demand history for three different products are as follows. Each product used the same forecasting technique. Discuss the tracking signals for each and what the implications are. TS 1 TS 2 TS 3 1 -2.70 1.54
> What term refers to the concept of doing things right the first time, and when problems occur, stopping the process to fix the source of the problem?
> Historical demand for a product is a. Using a weighted moving average with weights of 0.60, 0.30, and 0.10, find the July forecast. b. Using a simple three-month moving average, find the July forecast. c. Using single exponential smoothing with Î
> Do you think a service operation can be successful by developing a system that combines characteristics from the three contrasting service designs presented in the chapter? Why or why not? Please provide examples.
> Demand for stereo headphones and MP3 players for joggers has caused Nina Industries to grow almost 50 percent over the past year. The number of joggers continues to expand, so Nina expects demand for headsets to also expand, because, as yet, no safety la
> All forecasting methods using exponential smoothing, adaptive smoothing, and exponential smoothing including trend require starting values to get the equations going. How would you select the starting value for, say Ft-1?
> From the choice of simple moving average, weighted moving average, exponential smoothing, and linear regression analysis, which forecasting technique would you consider the most accurate? Why?
> Why is forecasting necessary in OSCM?
> Causal relationships are potentially useful for which component of a time series?
> What implications do forecast errors have for the search for ultra-sophisticated statistical forecasting models?
> Discuss the basic differences between the mean absolute deviation and mean absolute percent error.
> It is a common saying that the only thing certain about a forecast is that it will be wrong. What is meant by this?
> Which objections might a marketing manager have against uniform plant loading?
> What is capacity balance? Why is it hard to achieve? What methods are used to deal with capacity imbalances?
> What sorts of risks do you see in reliance on the Internet in the use of Collaborative Planning, Forecasting and Replenishment (CPFR)?
> At first glance, asking the customer to provide their own service in the self-service approach may not seem very consumer friendly. What are some of the characteristics of self-service operations that have led to their acceptance and significant popular
> How is a seasonal index computed from a regression line analysis?
> During the past month a firm shows the following metrics: Compute the cash-to-cash cycle time. Round to two decimal places in all of your calculations. Average days of accounts recelvable 6.75 days Average daily cost of sales $ 35,000 Current tota
> What company is the largest ERP vendor?
> Which common ERP module category is typically the largest and most complex?
> ERP systems from different vendors vary quite a bit, but typically they will focus on at least what four major areas?
> Is it true that for an ERP system to be effective, it must be completely purchased from a single vendor?
> What term relates to the posting and tracking of activities that document a business?
> What supply chain metric measures how many complete orders were filled and shipped on time?
> What part of SAP gives users personalized access to a range of information, applications, and services supported by the system?
> What are the four major categories of projects based on the type of change involved?
> Identify the high-contact and low-contact operations of the following services: a. A dental office b. An airline. c. An accounting office. d. An automobile agency e. Amazon.com
> In what respects is facility layout a marketing problem in services? Give an example of a service system layout designed to maximize the amount of time the customer is in the system.
> What term refers to the sharing of information with partners to coordinate production, enabling everyone to work together to increase visibility and responsiveness?
> What are the four main functions within SAP’s supply chain software?
> What is the term for a computer program often used to facilitate database queries that are not part of a standard ERP system?
> ERP systems provide a wealth of information that can be used and analyzed in a wide variety of ways. What is an inherent risk with so much information?
> Describe how an ERP system fits into the overall information system structure in a firm.
> One way to help achieve lean production systems is to employ flexible automated manufacturing equipment and automated material handling systems. A natural result of such a move is that fewer people are required in the process, an issue addressed regular
> Stopping waste is a vital part of lean. Identify some sources of waste in your home or dorm and discuss how they may be eliminated.
> Quality Parts Company supplies gizmos for a computer manufacturer located a few miles away. The company produces two different models of gizmos in production runs ranging from 100 to 300 units. The production flow of models X and Y is shown in Exhibit 14
> C-Spec, Inc., is attempting to determine whether an existing machine is capable of milling an engine part that has a key specification of 4 ± .003 inches. After a trial run on this machine, C-Spec has determined that the machine has a sample mean of 4.00
> Large-scale integrated (LSI) circuit chips are made in one department of an electronics firm. These chips are incorporated into analog devices that are then encased in epoxy. The yield is not particularly good for LSI manufacture, so the AQL specified by
> In the past, Alpha Corporation has not performed incoming quality control inspections but has taken the word of its vendors. However, Alpha has been having some unsatisfactory experience recently with the quality of purchased items and wants to set up
> Design specifications require that a key dimension on a product measure 100 ± 10 units. A process being considered for producing this product has a standard deviation of four units. a. What can you say (quantitatively) regarding the process capability? b
> The following tasks are to be performed on an assembly line. The workday is seven hours long. The demand for the completed product is 750 per day. (Answers in Appendix D) a. Find the cycle time required to produce 750 units per day. b. What is the theo
> Match the following characteristics with their relevant project team organizational structures. The project is housed within a functional division of the firm. A. Pure project A project manager leads personnel from different functional areas. B. Fun
> There is a 3 percent error rate at a specific point in a production process. If an inspector is placed at this point, all the errors can be detected and eliminated. However, the inspector is paid $8 per hour and can inspect units in the process at the ra
> Output from a process contains 0.02 defective unit. Defective units that go undetected into final assemblies cost $25 each to replace. An inspection process, which would detect and remove all defectives, can be established to test these units. However, t
> A metal fabricator produces connecting rods with an outer diameter that has a 1 ± .01–inch specification. A machine operator takes several sample measurements over time and determines the sample mean outer diameter to be 1.002 inches with a standard devi
> A company currently using an inspection process in its material receiving department is trying to install an overall cost reduction program. One possible reduction is the elimination of one inspection position. This position tests material that has a de
> The following table contains the measurements of the key length dimension from a fuel injector. These samples of size five were taken at one-hour intervals. Construct a three-sigma X ¯ chart and R-chart (use Exhibit 13.7) for the length of
> Some citizens complained to city council members that there should be equal protection under the law against the occurrence of crimes. The citizens argued that this equal protection should be interpreted as indicating that high-crime areas should have mo
> The state and local police departments are trying to analyze crime rates so they can shift their patrols from decreasing-rate areas to areas where rates are increasing. The city and county have been geographically segmented into areas containing 5,000 re
> You are the newly appointed assistant administrator at a local hospital, and your first project is to investigate the quality of the patient meals put out by the food-service department. You conducted a 10-day survey by submitting a simple questionnaire
> Resistors for electronic circuits are manufactured on a high-speed automated machine. The machine is set up to produce a large run of resistors of 1,000 ohms each. To set up the machine and to create a control chart to be used throughout the run, 15 samp
> An assembly line is to be designed to operate 7½ hours per day and supply a steady demand of 300 units per day. Here are the tasks and their performance times: a. Draw the precedence diagram. b. What is the workstation cycle time required
> A shirt manufacturer buys cloth by the 100-yard roll from a supplier. For setting up a control chart to manage the irregularities (e.g., loose threads and tears), the following data were collected from a sample provided by the supplier. a. Using these
> A project to build a new bridge seems to be going very well since the project is well ahead of schedule and costs seem to be running very low. A major milestone has been reached where the first two activities have been totally completed and the third ac
> Ten samples of 15 parts each were taken from an ongoing process to establish a p-chart for control. The samples and the number of defectives in each are shown in the following table. a. Develop a p-chart for 95 percent confidence (1.96 standard deviati
> Discuss the purposes and differences between the p-charts and X-bar and R charts.
> In the situation described in Question 2, what would be the effect on the cost of quality to the supplier? Situation in Question 2 In an agreement between a supplier and a customer, the supplier must ensure that all parts are within tolerance before ship
> In an agreement between a supplier and a customer, the supplier must ensure that all parts are within tolerance before shipment to the customer. What would be the effect on the cost of quality to the customer?
> The capability index allows for some drifting of the process mean. Discuss what this means in terms of product quality output.
> Discuss the trade-off between achieving a zero AQL (acceptable quality level) and a positive AQL (e.g., an AQL of 2 percent).
> The cost of performing inspection sampling moves inversely to the cost of quality failures. We can reduce the cost of quality failures by increased levels of inspection, but that of course increases the cost of inspection. Can you think of any methods
> As part of the process for improving the quality of their cars, Toyota engineers have identified a potential improvement to the process that makes a washer that is used in the accelerator assembly. The tolerances on the thickness of the washer are
> An initial solution has been given to the following workcenter layout problem. Given the flows described and a cost of $2.00 per unit per foot, compute the total cost for the layout. Each location is 100 feet long and 50 feet wide as shown in the followi
> Plastic keychains are being produced in a company named Hot Shot Plastics. The plastic material is first molded and then trimmed to the required shape. The curetimes (which is the time for the plastic to cool) during the molding process affect th
> What are the four general categories of quality costs?
> Your project to obtain charitable donations is now 30 days into a planned 40-day project. The project is divided into 3 activities. The first activity is designed to solicit individual donations. It is scheduled to run the first 25 days of the project an
> What is the term that means making the person who does the work responsible for ensuring that specifications are met?
> What is the name of the national quality award given by the government of the United States?
> What is it called when a firm looks externally and examines others companies for examples of best practices?
> Which industry specific standard has been developed by the big three auto makers for suppliers of parts, materials, and services to the automotive industry?
> Which international standard has recently been developed to address socially responsible behavior of firms?
> A customer call center is evaluating customer satisfaction surveys to identify the most prevalent quality problems in their process. Specific customer complaints have been analyzed and grouped into eight different categories. Every instance of a compla
> What does the acronym DMAIC stand for?
> Some tasks and the order in which they must be performed according to their assembly requirements are shown in the following table. These are to be combined into workstations to create an assembly line. The assembly line operates 7½ hours p
