Friday 13 January 2012

management information system(7)


7. Production and Operations Management

 

January-2004 [24]

1.         Give brief (one or two sentence) answers to the following questions:
e)         What is production planning?                                                                                          [2]
Ans: A decision of the future quantity to produce. This is based on orders from customers, production capacities, often a demand forecast, and the diverse inventory levels in the supply chain.


a)         Distinguish between efficiency and effectiveness.                                               [2]
Ans:  1. Efficiency is a productivity metrics meaning how fast one can do something.
          Effectiveness is a quality metrics meaning how good a person is at testing.

         2. Effectiveness means being able to achieve a set goal while
                Efficiency is achieving the goals with minimum resources


         3. Effectiveness= System Size/No of defects found by testing
            Efficiency= No of test cases executed/Total number test cases.

4.Efficiency concerns about the 'means'.
      Effectiveness concerns about the 'ends'






m)        Explain any one technique of inventory control.                                                             [2]


6.
a)         Distinguish between routing and scheduling in production planning and control.                 [7]

Ans:   Routing: Under this, the operations, their path and sequence are established. To
perform these operations the proper class of machines and personnel required are
also worked out. The main aim of routing is to determine the best and cheapest
sequence of operations and to ensure that this sequence is strictly followed. In
small enterprises, this job is usually done by entrepreneur himself in a rather
adhoc manner. Routing procedure involves following different activities.

1)
An analysis of the article to determine what to make and what to buy.
(2)
To determine the quality and type of material
(3)
Determining the manufacturing operations and their sequence.
(4)
A determination of lot sizes
(5)
Determination of scrap factors
(6)
An analysis of cost of the article
(7)
Organization of production control forms.


Scheduling: It means working out of time that should be required to perform each
operation and also the time necessary to perform the entire series as routed,
making allowances for all factors concerned. It mainly concerns with time
element and priorities of a job. The pattern of scheduling differs from one job to
another which is explained as below

Production schedule: The main aim is to schedule that amount of work which
can easily be handled by plant and equipment without interference. Its not
independent decision as it takes into account following factors.
(1) Physical plant facilities of the type required to process the material being
scheduled.
(2) Personnel who possess the desired skills and experience to operate the
equipment and perform the type of work involved.
(3) Necessary materials and purchased parts.


Master Schedule: Scheduling usually starts with preparation of master schedule
which is weekly or monthly break-down of the production requirement for each
product for a definite time period, by having this as a running record of total
production requirements the entrepreneur is in better position to shift the
production from one product to another as per the changed production
requirements. This forms a base for all subsequent scheduling acclivities. A
master schedule is followed by operator schedule which fixes total time required
to do a piece of work with a given machine or which shows the time required to
do each detailed operation of a given job with a given machine or process

Manufacturing schedule: It is prepared on the basis of type of manufacturing
process involved. It is very useful where single or few products are manufactured
repeatedly at regular intervals. Thus it would show the required quality of each
product and sequence in which the same to be operated


Scheduling of Job order manufacturing: Scheduling acquires greater
importance in job order manufacturing. This will enable the speedy execution of
job at each center point As far as small scale industry is concerned scheduling is of utmost importance as
it brings out efficiency in the operations and s reduces cost price. The small
entrepreneur should maintain four types of schedules to have a close scrutiny of
all stages namely an enquiry schedule, a production schedule, a shop schedule and
an arrears schedule out of above four, a shop schedule is the most important most
suited to the needs of small scale industry as it enables a foreman to see at a
glance.






                    Routing
               Scheduling
1.Their path and sequence are established

2. To perform these operations the proper class of machines and personnel required are also worked out.

3. main aim of routing is to determine the best and cheapest sequence of operations

4.It doesn’t brings out efficiency in the operations

5. It determine quality and type of material

6. It does not cost


7.Determining the manufacturing operations and their sequence
  1. Working out of required time

  1. Working out of time required to perform each operation

3.main aim is to schedule that amount of work which can easily be handled by plant and equipment without interference

4.brings out efficiency in the operations


5. It doesn’t determine quality and type of material

6.It reduce cost

7. It determine the job order in manufacturing.











b)         Discuss the role of statistical quality control in ensuring better product quality.          [5]

Ans:  Statistical process control (SPC) is an effective method of monitoring a process through the use of control charts. Control charts enable the use of objective criteria for distinguishing background variation from events of significance based on statistical techniques. Much of its power lies in the ability to monitor both process center and its variation about that center. By collecting data from samples at various points within the process, variations in the process that may affect the quality of the end product or service can be detected and corrected, thus reducing waste as well as the likelihood that problems will be passed on to the customer. With its emphasis on early detection and prevention of problems, SPC has a distinct advantage over quality methods, such as inspection, that apply resources to detecting and correcting problems in the end product or service.
In addition to reducing waste, SPC can lead to a reduction in the time required to produce the product or service from end to end. This is partially due to a diminished likelihood that the final product will have to be reworked, but it may also result from using SPC data to identify bottlenecks, wait times, and other sources of delays within the process. Process cycle time reductions coupled with improvements in yield have made SPC a valuable tool from both a cost reduction and a customer satisfaction standpoint.


c)         What important factors should be taken into account in deciding the location of
i)          a sugar mill?
ii)         a textile mill?                                                                                              [6]

 

July-2004 [2]

1.         Give very brief (2-3 lines) answers to the following questions:
g)         Explain any one inventory control method.                                                                     [2]

 

January-2005 [10]

1.
b)         Define the following:
iv)        EOQ                                                                                                            [1]

Ans: Economic order quantity is the level of inventory that minimizes the total inventory holding costs and ordering costs. It is one of the oldest classical production scheduling models. The framework used to determine this order quantity


c)         Distinguish between
i)          Production and Productivity                                                                     [2]

Ans:
Production
Productivity
1.Production refers to the physical output in the production process. For example, 10 cars...but it does not say the 10 cars are made by 10 workers or 100 workers.


2. Production being the amount of product (be it physical product or labor) that is output.

3. Production is the actual amount produced (output), or the act of producing it, without measuring the input.







1. Productivity is production with respect to another factor such as time, people, money, etc. For example, 10 cars/day or 10 cars/100workers or 10 cars/$10,000 labor cost, etc.

2.Productivity being the amount of work we get for the cost our are spending

3. Productivity is the measure of how much we produce.





ii)         Efficiency and Effectiveness                                                                      [2]
5.
b)         Explain the role of statistical quality control is ensuring better product quality.           [5]

 

July-2005 [6]

4.
a)         Why aggregate planning is necessary in operations management?                               [6]

Ans: Aggregate planning is an operational activity which does an aggregate plan for the production process, in advance of 2 to 18 months, to give an idea to management as to what quantity of materials and other resources are to be procured and when, so that the total cost of operations of the organization is kept to the minimum over that period.
The quantity of outsourcing, subcontracting of items, overtime of labor, numbers to be hired and fired in each period and the amount of inventory to be held in stock and to be backlogged for each period are decided. All of these activities are done within the framework of the company ethics, policies, and long term commitment to the society, community and the country of operation.
Aggregate planning has certain prerequired inputs which are inevitable. They include:
  • Information about the resources and the facilities available.
  • Demand forecast for the period for which the planning has to be done.
  • Cost of various alternatives and resources. This includes cost of holding inventory, ordering cost, cost of production through various production alternatives like subcontracting, backordering and overtime.
  • Organizational policies regarding the usage of above alternatives.

 

January-2006 [19]

1.
b)         State the objectives of production planning and control.                                                [4]

Ans:  1. Have an overview of the production operation management system.
2. Obtain knowledge of management tools in production operations management.
3. Improve production operations and monitoring systems and reduce the cost of operations.
     4. Make better decisions and resolve operations problems in a faster and logical manner using appropriate techniques.

           
2.
c)         Discuss any two types of control charts.                                                                          [4]
Ans: Control charts, also known as Shewhart charts or process-behaviour charts, in statistical process control are tools used to determine whether a manufacturing or business process is in a state of statistical control or not.

Control charts fall into two categories: Variable and Attribute Control Charts.

·         Variable data are data that can be measured on a continuous scale such as a thermometer, a weighing scale, or a tape rule. One type of Variables Control Chart is the X - R Chart, which is the chart described in this technique.

·         Attribute data are data that are counted, for example, as good or defective, as possessing or not possessing a particular characteristic. The attribute type chart are
np Chart - for measurements which are counted, such as number of parts defective.
 p Chart - for percentage measurements, such as percentage of parts defective.

   c Chart - for measuring defects in units of constant size, for example, number of imperfections in panes of glass.




4.
c)         Define-
            ii)         SQC                                                                                                            [1]
Ans: Statistical Quality Control (also look at Statistical Process Control) is statistical approach to the study of manufacturing process variation for the purpose of improving the effectiveness of the process.

The idea, is that by collecting relevant data for a statistically significant sample size of something that was manufactured, you can use statistics to predict what the yield of the process will be


            iv)        CAM                                                                                                           [1]

Ans: Computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) is the use of computer-based software tools that assist engineers and machinists in manufacturing or prototyping product components. Its primary purpose is to create a faster production process and components with more precise dimensions and material consistency, which in some cases, uses only the required amount of raw material (thus minimizing waste), while simultaneously reducing energy consumption. CAM is a programming tool that makes it possible to manufacture physical models using computer-aided design (CAD) programs. CAM creates real life versions of components designed within a software package



5.
a)         What are the factors determining production control procedures? Explain.                 [9]

 

July-2006[18]

1.
e)         Explain the main objectives of Statistical Quality Control.                                             [4]

Ans:
            1. dentify quality problems during the production process.
            2. Identify a change or variation in some quality characteristic of the product or process.
            3. continuous improvement of quality
            4. customer-driven quality standards
            5. focus on managerial leadership.


4.
a)         Explain the meaning and objectives of Quality Control.                                                 [7]

Ans:  Quality control is a process employed to ensure a certain level of quality in a product or service. It may include whatever actions a business deems necessary to provide for the control and verification of certain characteristics of a product or service. The basic goal of quality control is to ensure that the products, services, or processes provided meet specific requirements and are dependable, satisfactory, and fiscally sound.

            Objectives of Quality Control are:
1)       quality control involves the examination of a product, service, or process for certain minimum levels of quality
2)       The goal of a quality control team is to identify products or services that do not meet a company’s specified standards of quality
3)       If a problem is identified, the job of a quality control team or professional may involve stopping production temporarily
4)       quality control is considered in terms of human beings, it concerns correctable issues
5)       Increase productivity
6)       Improved quality of product
7)       Lower the cost of production.





b)         What is product life cycle? Discuss the different stages in the lifecycle of a product.      [7]

Ans : A new product progresses through a sequence of stages from introduction to growth, maturity, and decline. This sequence is known as the product life cycle and is associated with changes in the marketing situation, thus impacting the marketing strategy and the marketing mix.

Different stages of product lifecycle are:

1.Market introduction stage
            I:* costs are high
II:* slow sales volumes to start
III:* little or no competition - competitive manufacturers watch for acceptance/segment growth losses
IV:* demand has to be created
V:* customers have to be prompted to try the product
VI: makes no money at this stage
2.Growth stage
           
            I:* costs reduced due to economies of scale
II:* sales volume increases significantly
III:* profitability begins to rise
IV:* public awareness increases
V:* competition begins to increase with a few new players in establishing market
VI:* increased competition leads to price decreases
3. Mature stage
I:* Costs are lowered as a result of production volumes increasing and experience curve effects
II:* sales volume peaks and market saturation is reached
III:* increase in competitors entering the market
IV:* prices tend to drop due to the proliferation of competing products
V:* brand differentiation and feature diversification is emphasized to maintain or increase market share
VI:* Industrial profits go down

4.Saturation and decline stage

I:* costs become counter-optimal
II:* sales volume decline or stabilize
III:* prices, profitability diminish
IV:* profit becomes more a challenge of production/distribution efficiency than increased sales



January-2007 [26]

1.
b)         What are the Jobs of Production and Operations Management? Explain.                                [4]
Ans: Job production involves producing a one-off product for a specific customer. Job production is most often associated with small firms (making railings for a specific house, building/repairing a computer for a specific customer, making flower arrangements for a specific wedding etc.) but large firms use job production too. Examples include:
  • Designing and implementing an advertising campaign
  • Auditing the accounts of a large public limited company
  • Building a new factory
  • Installing machinery in a factory

Operations management is an area of business concerned with the production of goods and services, and involves the responsibility of ensuring that business operations are efficient in terms of using as little resource as needed, and effective in terms of meeting customer requirements. It is concerned with managing the process that converts inputs (in the forms of materials, labour and energy) into outputs (in the form of goods and services).

d)         What are the elements of Production Control?                                                                [4]
3.
b)         What is Statistical Quality Control? What are the areas of usages of statistical quality control? Discuss.                                                                                                         [9]
4.
a)         Define Material Requirements Planning (MRP). What are the objectives of MRP? Discuss.                                                                                                                [9]

Ans:  Material Requirements Planning (MRP) is a software based production planning and inventory control system used to manage manufacturing processes. Although it is not common now-a-days, it is possible to conduct MRP by hand as well.
              MRP is a simple system of calculating arithmetically the requirements of the input materials at different points of time based on actual production plan. MRP can also be defined as a planning and scheduling system to meet time-phased materials requirements for production operations. MRP always tries to meet the delivery schedule of end products as specified in the master production schedule.

            An MRP system is intended to simultaneously meet three objectives:
  • Ensure materials and products are available for production and delivery to customers.
  • Maintain the lowest possible level of inventory.
  • Plan manufacturing activities, delivery schedules and purchasing activities.
·           Meeting Delivery Schedule: By minimizing the delays in materials procurement, production decision making, MRP helps avoid delays in production thereby meeting delivery schedules more consistently.
·          Improved Performance: By stream lining the production operations and minimizing the unplanned interruptions, MRP focuses on having all components available at right place in right quantity at right time.
·         Improve customer service.
·         Minimize inventory investment.
·         Maximize production operating effiencies.




July-2007 [10]

1.
f)          What are the main stages in the development of a new product? List them in brief.       [4]
2.
b)         Explain the importance of ‘production planning’. List the steps in the process of production planning.                                                                                                         [6]
Ans:

January-2008 [6]

4.
c)         What is a product life cycle? Discuss different stages in the life cycle of a product.        [6]

No comments:

Post a Comment