Question: This exercise is designed to support a
This exercise is designed to support a plant tour event conducted as part of a class.
This questionnaire is focused on assessing the “leanness†of a manufacturing plant. It might be useful to review the material on “lean†processes in Chapter 14 where the concepts considered in the questionnaire are described.
The questionnaire can be modified for non-manufacturing type processes, for example services or warehouses, depending on the facility that is being visited.
We would suggest working with a team of two to four people and taking at least a 45-minute tour of a plant. It would be most useful if your tour guide were knowledgeable about the operation of the plant and willing to answer questions. At the conclusion of the tour, rate what you observed using the Quick Plant Assessment (QPA) questionnaire and Score Sheet.
In class, discuss those areas where leanness is generally lacking across the plant(s) visited. Additional analysis for a consulting report:
1. Use the results from filling out the QPA Questionnaire in Exhibit 25.9 and your team’s observations to develop a consensus score for each Assessment Category in the QPA Score Sheet. 2. Prioritize targets of opportunity for management.
3. Develop a two-page action plan that you would present to management to help them make improvements.
Transcribed Image Text:
exhibit 25.9 Quick Plant Assessment Questionnaire Yes No 1. Are visitors welcome to the plant and given information about how the plant operates, the workforce, cus- tomers, and products? 2. Are ratings for product quality and customer satisfaction displayed for the workforce and customers to view? 3. Is the plant clean, orderly, and well lit? Is the air quality good, and are noise levels low? 4. Is a visual labeling system used to identify inventory locations, storage places for tools, process areas, and movement lanes? 5. Does it appear that everything has a specific place, and everything is stored in its place? 6. Are performance measures and goals for these measures prominently posted and up to date? 7. Are production materials brought to and stored near where they are used rather than in separate remote storage areas? 8. Are specific instructions for how work is to be done and quality specifications visible at all workstations? 9. Are up to date charts that show productivity, quality, and safety visible in all process areas? 10. Is each process area scheduled using some type of pacing mechanism so workers can see real-time status against the schedule? 11. Can the current state of the plant be viewed from a central control room, on a status board, or online computer display? 12. Is material moved only once and as short a distance as possible? Is material moved efficiently in appropri- ate containers? 13. Is the plant laid out in continuous product line flows rather than in "shops"? 14. Are workers organized in teams and are they trained and empowered to engage in problem solving and ongoing improvements? 15. Do employees seem committed to continuously improving processes? 16. Is there a formal plan for equipment preventive maintenance and improvement of tools and processes? 17. Is there a process for managing projects (especially new product start-ups), with cost and timing goals? 18. Is there a supplier certification process with measures for delivery, cost, and quality performance? Are these measures shared with suppliers frequently? 19. Are fail-safe methods used in the processes to prevent common product quality problems? 20. Would you buy the products this plant produces? exhibit 25.10 QPA Score Sheet Ratio of Yes's to Relevant Number Number of Relevant Assessment category Questions of Yes's Questions Customer focus 1, 2, 20 Safety, cleanliness, and order 3, 4, 5, 20 Visual management/Scheduling 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 20 Use of space, movement efficiency, and product line flow 7, 12, 13, 20 Teamwork 9, 14, 15, 20 Maintenance of equipment 16, 20 Management of complexity and variability 8, 17, 20 Supply chain integration 18, 20 Quality commitment 8, 9, 15, 17, 19, 20
> What type of chart compares the current project schedule with the original baseline schedule so that deviations from the original plan can be easily noticed?
> As a manager, which learning percentage would you prefer (other things being equal), 110 percent or 60 percent? Explain.
> List some occupations or sporting events where the ending is a dominant element in evaluating success.
> Sometimes a company may need to purchase goods or services that are unique, very complex, and/or extremely expensive. These would not be routine purchases, but there may be a number of vendors that could supply what is needed. What process would be use
> Measures of product development success can be organized in what three categories?
> What term refers to the development and management of supplier relationships to acquire goods and services in a way that helps achieve the immediate needs of a business?
> Which category of lifetime product costs is sometimes overemphasized, leading to a failure to fully recognize the total cost of ownership?
> What three main categories of costs are considered in figuring total cost of ownership?
> What term refers to the way some companies focus on what they do best and outsource other functions to key partners?
> Many bottled water manufacturers have recently worked with their suppliers to switch over to bottles using much less plastic than before, reducing the amount of plastic that needs to be transported, recycled, and/or disposed of. What sourcing practice i
> What is the term used for a company moving management of the complete cycle of material flow to an outside provider?
> “Project control should always focus on the critical path.” Comment.
> Two of the efficiency ratios mentioned in the chapter are the receivable turnover ratio and the inventory turnover ratio. While they are two completely separate measures, they are very similar in one way. What is the common thread between these two?
> W. W. Grainger, Inc., is a leading supplier of maintenance, repair, and operating (MRO) products to businesses and institutions in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, with an expanding presence in Japan, India, China, and Panama. The company works wit
> What are the three primary data sources used by the MRP system?
> What motivations typically cause firms to initiate a facilities location or relocation project?
> A firm uses a serial assembly system and needs answers to the following: a. An output of 900 units per shift (7.5 hours) is desired for a new processing system. The system requires product to pass through four stations where the work content at each stat
> A study-aid desk staffed by a graduate student has been established to answer students’ questions and help in working problems in your OSCM course. The desk is staffed eight hours per day. The dean wants to know how the facility is working. Statistics sh
> What kind of layout is used in a physical fitness center?
> Here is a CPM network with activity times in weeks: a. Determine the critical path. b. How many weeks will the project take to complete? c. Suppose F could be shortened by two weeks and B by one week. How would this affect the completion date? (B(5
> An office employs several clerks who create documents and has one operator who enters the document information in a computer system. The group creates documents at a rate of 25 per hour. The operator can enter the information with an average exponentiall
> Customers enter the camera department of a store at the average rate of six per hour. The department is staffed by one employee, who takes an average of six minutes to serve each arrival. Assume this is a simple Poisson arrival, exponentially distributed
> Dave’s Auto Supply custom mixes paint for its customers. The shop performs a weekly inventory count of the main colors used for mixing paint. Determine the amount of white paint that should be ordered using the following information:
> Benny the Barber owns a one-chair shop. At barber college, they told Benny that his customers would exhibit a Poisson arrival distribution and that he would provide an exponential service distribution. His market survey data indicate that customers arriv
> A graphics reproduction firm has four units of equipment that are automatic but occasionally become inoperative because of the need for supplies, maintenance, or repair. Each unit requires service roughly twice each hour, or, more precisely, each unit of
> L Winston Martin (an allergist) has an excellent system for handling his regular patients who come in just for allergy injections. Patients arrive for an injection and fill out a name slip, which is then placed in an open slot that passes into another ro
> What it the major cost trade-off that must be made in managing waiting line situations?
> How much time on average would a server need to spend on a customer to achieve a service rate of 20 customers per hour?
> If the average time between customer arrivals is 8 minutes, what is the hourly arrival rate?
> Rent’R Cars is a multisite car rental company in the city. It is trying out a new “return the car to the location most convenient for you” policy to improve customer service. But this means that the c
> The exponential distribution is often used to model what in a queuing system?
> A local fast-food restaurant wants to analyze its drive-thru window. At this time, the only information known is the average number of customers in the system (4.00) and the average time a customer spends at the restaurant (1.176 minutes). What are the a
> What is the essential requirement for mixed-model lines to be practical?
> A toll tunnel has decided to experiment with the use of a debit card for the collection of tolls. Initially, only one lane will be used. Cars are estimated to arrive at this experimental lane at the rate of 750 per hour. It will take exactly four seconds
> A local service station is open 7 days per week, 365 days per year. Sales of 10W40 grade premium oil average 20 cans per day. Inventory holding costs are $0.50 per can per year. Ordering costs are $10 per order. Lead time is two weeks. Backorders are not
> A construction project is broken down into the following 10 activities: a. Draw the network diagram. b. Find the critical path. c. If activities 1 and 10 cannot be shortened, but activities 2 and 9 can be shortened to a minimum of one week each at a cos
> Bobby, another enterprising barber, is thinking about advertising in the local newspaper because he is idle 45 percent of the time. Currently, customers arrive, on average, every 40 minutes. What does the arrival rate need to be for Bobby to be busy 85 p
> What is the objective of assembly-line balancing? How would you deal with the situation where one worker, although trying hard, is 20 percent slower than the other 10 people on a line?
> Demand for an item is 1,000 units per year. Each order placed costs $10; the annual cost to carry items in inventory is $2 each. In what quantities should the item be ordered?
> To support National Heart Week, the Heart Association plans to install a free blood pressure testing booth in El Con Mall for the week. Previous experience indicates that, on average, 10 persons per hour request a test. Assume arrivals are Poisson distri
> Burrito King (a new fast-food franchise opening up nationwide) has successfully automated burrito production for its drive-up fast-food establishments. The Burro-Master 9000 requires a constant 45 seconds to produce a batch of burritos. It has been estim
> What is the most commonly used priority rule for setting queue discipline, likely because it is seen as most fair?
> What is the term used for the situation where a potential customer arrives at a service operation and upon seeing a long line decides to leave?
> Bindley Corporation has a one-year contract to supply motors for all washing machines produced by Rinso Ltd. Rinso manufactures the washers at four locations around the country: New York, Fort Worth, San Diego, and Minneapolis. Plans call for the followi
> Toshihiro Nakamura, manufacturing engineering section manager, is examining the prototype assembly process sheet (shown in Exhibit 8.15) for the newest subnotebook computer model. With every new model introduced, management felt that the assembly line h
> The customer order decoupling point determines the position of what in the supply chain?
> What is the first of the three simple steps in the high-level view of manufacturing?
> UA Hamburger Hamlet (UAHH) places a daily order for its high-volume items (hamburger patties, buns, milk, and so on). UAHH counts its current inventory on-hand once per day and phones in its order for delivery 24 hours later. Determine the number of hamb
> The following diagram represents a process where two components are made at stations A1 and A2 (one component is made at A1 and the other at A2). These components are then assembled at station B and moved through the rest of the process, where some addit
> AudioCables, Inc., is currently manufacturing an adapter that has a variable cost of $.50 per unit and a selling price of $1.00 per unit. Fixed costs are $14,000. Current sales volume is 30,000 units. The firm can substantially improve the product qualit
> Owen Conner works part-time packaging software for a local distribution company in Indiana. The annual fixed cost is $10,000 for this process, direct labor is $3.50 per package, and material is $4.50 per package. The selling price will be $12.50 per pack
> Aldo Redondo drives his own car on company business. His employer reimburses him for such travel at the rate of 36 cents per mile. Aldo estimates that his fixed costs per year—such as taxes, insurance, and depreciation—are $2,052. The direct or variable
> Define, in a practical sense, what is meant by an exponential service time.
> A manufacturing process has a fixed cost of $150,000 per month. Each unit of product being produced contains $25 worth of material and takes $45 of labor. How many units are needed to break even if each completed unit has a value of $90?
> What’s the relationship between the design of a manufacturing process and the firm’s strategic competitive dimensions?
> What feature in project management information systems can be used to resolve overallocation of project resources?
> What does the product-process matrix tell us? How should the kitchen of a Chinese restaurant be structured?
> What is a customer order decoupling point? Why is it important?
> It is your responsibility, as the new head of the automotive section of Nichols Department Store, to ensure that reorder quantities for the various items have been correctly established. You decide to test one item and choose Michelin tires, XW size 185
> Check out the web sites of the consulting companies listed in the chapter outlines. Which ones impressed you most as a potential client and as a potential employee?
> What two basic questions must be answered by an inventory-control decision rule?
> What was the most complex project that you have been involved in? Give examples of the following as they pertain to the project: the work breakdown structure, tasks, subtasks, and work package. Were you on the critical path? Did it have a good project
> What is meant by a process? Describe its important features.
> Why is it that reducing moves, delays, and storages in a manufacturing process is a good thing? Can they be completed eliminated?
> What is meant by manufacturing process flow?
> How does the production volume affect break-even analysis?
> It has been noted that during World War II Germany made a critical mistake by having its formidable Tiger tanks produced by locomotive manufacturers, while American car manufacturers produced the less formidable U.S. Sherman tank. Use the product-proces
> In what way might the first-come, first-served rule be unfair to the customer waiting for service in a bank or hospital?
> Lambda Computer Products competed for and won a contract to produce two prototype units of a new type of computer that is based on laser optics rather than on electronic binary bits. The first unit produced by Lambda took 5,000 hours to produce and requi
> Logistics Consultants Inc. (LCI) provides various logistics analysis services to other firms, including facility location decisions. They have just completed a project for a major customer, but on the eve of their presentation they discovered a computer
> Have you driven any car lately? Try not to think of the insurance claims settlement process while you drive! How would you reengineer your insurance company’s claims process?
> Johnson Industries received a contract to develop and produce four high-intensity long distance receiver/transmitters for cellular telephones. The first took 2,000 labor hours and $39,000 worth of purchased and manufactured parts; the second took 1,500 l
> Management may choose to build up capacity in anticipation of demand or in response to developing demand. Cite the advantages and disadvantages of both approaches.
> Lazer Technologies Inc. (LTI) has produced a total of 20 high-power laser systems that could be used to destroy any approaching enemy missiles or aircraft. The 20 units have been produced, funded in part as private research within the research and develo
> You’ve just completed a pilot run of 10 units of a major product and found the processing time for each unit was as follows: Unit Number Time (hours) 1 ………………………………………………. 970 2 ………………………………………………. 640 3 …………………
> United Research Associates (URA) had received a contract to produce two units of a new cruise missile guidance control. The first unit took 4,000 hours to complete and cost $30,000 in materials and equipment usage. The second took 3,200 hours and cost $2
> Discuss the graphic presentations in Exhibit 4.11. Are there any other graphic outputs you would like to see if you were project manager? | Sample of Graphic Project Reports exhibit 4.11 A.Gantt Chart for Single Activities B. Total Program Cost Bre
> Honda Motor Company has discovered a problem in the exhaust system of one of its automobile lines and has voluntarily agreed to make the necessary modifications to conform with government safety requirements. Standard procedure is for t
> Omega Technology is starting production of a new supercomputer for use in large research universities. They have just completed the first unit, which took 120 man-hours to produce. Based on their experience, they estimate their learning percentage to b
> Company Z is just starting to make a brand new product they have made before. They have completed two units so far. The first unit took 12 hours to complete and the next unit took 11 hours. Based only on this information, what would be the estimate of
> Firm A typically sees a learning percentage of 85% in their processes. Firm B has a learning percentage of 80%. Which firm has the faster learning rate?
> Think about the registration process at your university. Develop a flow chart to understand it. How would you radically redesign this process?
> Distinguish between known mathematical distributions and empirical distributions.What information is needed to simulate using a known mathematical distribution?
> Santa Cruz Bottling is a manufacturer of organic soft drinks on the coast of central California. Its products are enjoying a growing reputation and increased demand throughout the American Southwest. Because of the high cost of transporting soft drinks,
> A distributor of large appliances needs to determine the order quantities and reorder points for the various products it carries. The following data refer to a specific refrigerator in its product line. Consider an even daily demand and a 365-day year.
> How do you determine the idle-time percentage from a given assembly-line balance?
> A company has just tested the skills of two applicants for the same job. They found that applicant A had a higher learning rate than applicant B. Should they definitely higher applicant A?
> True or False: The only learning for an organization comes from the individual learning of its employees.
> The purpose of value analysis/value engineering is to _____________
> The first step in developing a house of quality is to develop a list of __________________.
> Designing products for aesthetics and with the user in mind is generally called what?
> A process that emphasizes cross-functional integration and concurrent development of a product and its associated processes is known as _________________________.
> In discussing characteristics of efficient plants, Goodson, developer of “Rapid Plant Assessments”, suggests that numerous forklifts are a sign of poor space utilization. What do you think is behind this observation?
> Match the following product types to the appropriate product development description. Technology-push A. Entail unusually large uncertainties about the technology or market. The development process takes steps to address those uncertainties. produc
> The following chart is a partial house of quality for a golf country club. Provide an importance weighting from your perspective (or that of a golfing friend) in the unshaded areas. If you can, using the QFD approach, compare it to a club where you or yo
> Pick a product and list issues that need to be considered in its design and manufacture. The product can be something like a stereo, cell phone, desk, or kitchen appliance. Consider the functional and aesthetic aspects of design as well as the important
> After graduation, you decide to go into a partnership in an office supply store that has existed for a number of years. Walking through the store and stockrooms, you find a great discrepancy in service levels. Some spaces and bins for items are completel
> DM Office Products (DMOP) is a wholesale supplier of office products with one facility in Pennsylvania. It has decided to build a new distribution warehouse in the state of New York to help serve the growing demand in that market. It has four major custo
> Perot Corporation is developing a new CPU chip based on a new type of technology. Its new chip, the Patay2 chip, will take two years to develop. However, because other chip manufacturers will be able to copy the technology, it will have a market life of
> What are the pros and cons of starting a simulation with the system empty? With the system in equilibrium?
