Multiple Choice Questions

The assembly line is a classic example of a repetitive process.
  • True
  • False
Service blueprinting is a process analysis technique that focuses on the customer and the provider's interaction with the customer.
  • True
  • False
Kirstin is thinking about opening a Chinese restaurant and needs to buy a rice cooker. Machine A has fixed costs of $100 and variable costs of $1/pound. Machine B has fixed costs of $500 and variable costs of $.1/pound. If Kirstin plans to sell 100 pounds of rice, which machine should she choose? What is the cross-over point?
  • high fixed costs, low variable costs
  • At what output does the large intermittent process become cheaper than the small one?
  • have had a dramatic impact on customer interaction with services and with products.
  • Machine A costs 100 + 1(100) = $200Machine B costs $500 + .1(100) = $510Thus she should buy machine A.Crossover occurs when 100+V = 500 + .1V, or V = 444.4 pounds of rice
In an affluent society, how do we produce a wide number of options for products at low cost? Hint: Focus on how to address some of the major challenges of mass customization.
  • uses work cells to feed its assembly line.
  • True
  • a flexible manufacturing system.
  • For mass customization, products should be built-to-order. Product design must be imaginative. Process design must be flexible and able to accommodate changes in both design and technology. Inventory management requires tight control. Tight schedules are needed that track orders and material from design through delivery. Responsive partners in the supply chain can yield effective collaboration.
Intermittent processes are organized around processes.
  • True
  • False
What is mass customization?
  • Mass customization is rapid, low-cost production of goods and services that fulfill increasingly unique customer desires. It brings us the variety of products traditionally provided by the process focus, with low costs associated with standardized high volume production (the product focus).
  • customization.
  • Focused processes are a means of obtaining increased productivity through forms of specialization. Focus can take several forms, including concentrating on specific classes of customers, working only with products in selected product families, specializing in a specific service, or working with a narrow range of technology.
  • mass customization
Flexible manufacturing systems, because of easily changed control programs, are able to perform such tasks as manufacturing one-of-a-kind parts economically.
  • True
  • False
One use of camera-and-computer-based vision systems is to replace humans doing tedious and error-prone visual inspection activities.
  • True
  • False
Why do modern operations managers look for flexibility in their equipment?
  • Flexibility in equipment provides managers with the ability to respond to changes in demand with little penalty in time, cost, or customer value. And in this age of rapid technological change and short product life cycles, adding flexibility to the production process can be a major competitive advantage.
  • Modules are parts or components of a product previously prepared. By using modules, the final product can be quickly assembled. Using a different combination of modules allows for quasi-customization.
  • A flowchart is a schematic or drawing of the movement of material, product, or people. Time-function mapping is a flow chart, with the addition of time on the horizontal axis. Value-stream mapping shows how to add value in the flow of materials and information through the entire production process. Process charts use symbols, time, and distance to provide an objective and structured way to analyze and record the activities that make up a process. Service blueprinting focuses on the customer and the provider's interaction with the customer.
  • total costs for one process equal total costs for another process.
Flowcharts use distance, but not time, to show the movement of material, product, or people through a process.
  • True
  • False
**Identify the four basic process strategies, and describe them in a complete sentence or two each.
  • Process focus is a job shop—high variety and low volume; repetitive focus is an assembly line—relatively standardized products with options from modules; product focus is for high volume, low-variety, products, such as oil refining and flour milling; and mass customization is for high volume, high variety.
  • Process Y is cheaper than process X at all volumes.
  • Sensors collect data, which are read on a periodic basis. Measurements are digitized and transmitted to a computer. Computer programs read the file and analyze the data. Output is produced in the form of signals, diagrams, charts, messages, etc.
  • While Harley-Davidson's motorcycles variety, they are not as individualized as Dell's personal computers. The variety comes from choices in predefined modules, and there is apparently no place for a customer to get customization that would go beyond what is available in these modules.
The tool that calculates which process has the lowest cost at any specified production volume is a crossover chart.
  • True
  • False
Harley-Davidson, because it has so many possible combinations of products, utilizes the process strategy of mass customization.
  • True
  • False
Provide an example of the focus strategy for improving service productivity.
  • Value-stream mapping is a variation on time-function mapping or process mapping. The most fundamental difference between them is that Value-stream mapping is not confined to the organization itself. In particular, in its analysis of where value is added, it extends the analysis to the organization's supply chain. Value-stream mapping takes into account not only the process but also the management decisions and information systems that support the process.
  • The focus strategy refers to restricting the offerings. Examples will vary, but a restaurant with a limited menu would be one example.
  • The crossover is at 1800 units annually. For volumes under 1800, the process focus is cheaper; for volumes over 1800 units, the repetitive focus is cheaper.
  • Process focus is a job shop—high variety and low volume; repetitive focus is an assembly line—relatively standardized products with options from modules; product focus is for high volume, low-variety, products, such as oil refining and flour milling; and mass customization is for high volume, high variety.
Identify nine areas of technology that enhance production and productivity.
  • Mass customization is rapid, low-cost production of goods and services that fulfill increasingly unique customer desires. It brings us the variety of products traditionally provided by the process focus, with low costs associated with standardized high volume production (the product focus).
  • Sensors collect data, which are read on a periodic basis. Measurements are digitized and transmitted to a computer. Computer programs read the file and analyze the data. Output is produced in the form of signals, diagrams, charts, messages, etc.
  • Modules are parts or components of a product previously prepared. By using modules, the final product can be quickly assembled. Using a different combination of modules allows for quasi-customization.
  • (1) machine technology, (2) automatic identification systems (AIS), (3) process control, (4) vision systems, (5) robots, (6) automated storage and retrieval systems (ASRSs), (7) automated guided vehicles (AGVs), (8) flexible manufacturing systems (FMSs), and (9) computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM)
Why is Harley-Davidson identified as a repetitive manufacturer, not a mass customizer?
  • Modules are parts or components of a product previously prepared. By using modules, the final product can be quickly assembled. Using a different combination of modules allows for quasi-customization.
  • Focused processes are a means of obtaining increased productivity through forms of specialization. Focus can take several forms, including concentrating on specific classes of customers, working only with products in selected product families, specializing in a specific service, or working with a narrow range of technology.
  • (1) machine technology, (2) automatic identification systems (AIS), (3) process control, (4) vision systems, (5) robots, (6) automated storage and retrieval systems (ASRSs), (7) automated guided vehicles (AGVs), (8) flexible manufacturing systems (FMSs), and (9) computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM)
  • While Harley-Davidson's motorcycles variety, they are not as individualized as Dell's personal computers. The variety comes from choices in predefined modules, and there is apparently no place for a customer to get customization that would go beyond what is available in these modules.
How are modules useful in manufacturing processes?
  • Modules are parts or components of a product previously prepared. By using modules, the final product can be quickly assembled. Using a different combination of modules allows for quasi-customization.
  • total costs for one process equal total costs for another process.
  • While Harley-Davidson's motorcycles variety, they are not as individualized as Dell's personal computers. The variety comes from choices in predefined modules, and there is apparently no place for a customer to get customization that would go beyond what is available in these modules.
  • Sensors collect data, which are read on a periodic basis. Measurements are digitized and transmitted to a computer. Computer programs read the file and analyze the data. Output is produced in the form of signals, diagrams, charts, messages, etc.
Successful process redesign focuses on departmental areas where small, continuous improvements can be made.
  • True
  • False
The typical full-service restaurant uses a product-focused process.
  • True
  • False
When selecting new equipment and technology, decision makers look for flexibility—the ability to respond with little penalty in time, cost, or customer value.
  • True
  • False
A flowchart with the addition of a time axis becomes a process chart.
  • True
  • False
Identify the five major tools of process analysis and design. Describe them in a sentence or two each.
  • A flowchart is a schematic or drawing of the movement of material, product, or people. Time-function mapping is a flow chart, with the addition of time on the horizontal axis. Value-stream mapping shows how to add value in the flow of materials and information through the entire production process. Process charts use symbols, time, and distance to provide an objective and structured way to analyze and record the activities that make up a process. Service blueprinting focuses on the customer and the provider's interaction with the customer.
  • automobiles
  • Focused processes are a means of obtaining increased productivity through forms of specialization. Focus can take several forms, including concentrating on specific classes of customers, working only with products in selected product families, specializing in a specific service, or working with a narrow range of technology.
  • Its output is a standardized product produced from modules.
Automated storage and retrieval systems are commonly used in distribution facilities of retailers.
  • True
  • False
Optical checkout scanners and ATMs are examples of technology's impact on services.
  • True
  • False
An example of the postponement strategy for improving service productivity is having the customer wait until you have sufficient time to serve the customer.
  • True
  • False
A value-stream map includes both (1) inventory quantities, and (2) symbols for customers and suppliers.
  • True
  • False
What is the link between focused processes and specialization? What kinds of focus are possible?
  • Focused processes are a means of obtaining increased productivity through forms of specialization. Focus can take several forms, including concentrating on specific classes of customers, working only with products in selected product families, specializing in a specific service, or working with a narrow range of technology.
  • Flexibility in equipment provides managers with the ability to respond to changes in demand with little penalty in time, cost, or customer value. And in this age of rapid technological change and short product life cycles, adding flexibility to the production process can be a major competitive advantage.
  • A flowchart is a schematic or drawing of the movement of material, product, or people. Time-function mapping is a flow chart, with the addition of time on the horizontal axis. Value-stream mapping shows how to add value in the flow of materials and information through the entire production process. Process charts use symbols, time, and distance to provide an objective and structured way to analyze and record the activities that make up a process. Service blueprinting focuses on the customer and the provider's interaction with the customer.
  • Modules are parts or components of a product previously prepared. By using modules, the final product can be quickly assembled. Using a different combination of modules allows for quasi-customization.
In process-focused facilities, utilization of facilities is low.
  • True
  • False
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Multiple Choice Questions
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