Deck 11: Process Design and Analysis

Question 1

A service operation by its very nature is a make-to-stock type of production process.

Answer 1

False
Explanation: Services by their very nature often use make-to-order processes.

Question 2

When we use a make-to-stock production process, we control our production based on a desired amount of finished goods inventory.

Answer 2

True
Explanation: A make-to-stock process can be controlled based on the actual or anticipated amount of finished goods inventory.

Question 3

Blocking in production processes is when activities in a stage must continue because there is no place to deposit completed items.

Answer 3

False
Explanation: Blocking occurs when the activities in the stage must stop because there is no place to deposit the item just completed.

Question 4

McDonald's fast-food restaurants use a make-to-order production process.

Question 5

Buffering in a production process refers to a storage area between stages of production activity where output of a stage is placed prior to being used in a "downstream" stage.

Question 6

Process analysis can help answer many important questions such as why change in a process is necessary.

Question 7

When a make-to-order production process is used, production is based on forecasts.

Question 8

Make-to-stock production processes can easily handle requests for customized product features.

Question 9

Make-to-order production processes are well suited for high-volume production of a standardized product.

Question 10

Cycle time is the ratio of the time that a resource is actually activated relative to the time that it is available for use.

Question 11

A diamond is conventionally used in a process flowchart to represent a storage area or queue.

Question 12

A triangle is conventionally used in a process flowchart to represent a storage area or queue.

Question 13

Productivity in a production process can be measured by the ratio of output to input.

Question 14

Hybrid processes combine features of make-to-order and make-to-stock production processes.

Question 15

Process analysis can help answer many important questions such as how many customers can a process handle per hour.

Question 16

A bottleneck occurs when a stage in a production process is starving.

Question 17

Pacing in production processes refers to the fixed timing of the movement of items through the process.

Question 18

A rectangle is conventionally used in a process flowchart to represent a task or operation.

Question 19

A "process" is any part of an organization that takes inputs and transforms them into outputs that, hopefully, are of greater value to the organization than the original inputs.

Question 20

One way to categorize a process is to determine whether it is a multiple-stage or a single-stage process.

Question 21

If you want to reduce process flow time, it has been suggested that you can perform activities in the process in parallel.

Question 22

Process velocity is the ratio of the total throughput time to the value added time.

Question 23

Inventory turn is the cost of goods sold divided by the average inventory value.

Question 24

A process flowchart uses which of the following symbols to represent storage areas or queues in a flow diagram?

A)Rectangle
B)Arrow
C)Inverted triangle
D)Diamond
E)A dashed line

Question 25

Run time is calculated by multiplying the number of units in a batch by the setup time.

Question 26

Benchmarking refers to the practice of comparing the production metrics of one firm with the production metrics of another.

Question 27

Utilization of a production process is the ratio of output to input.

Question 28

Methods Time Management (MTM) and Most Work Measurement System (MOST) are proprietary examples of predetermined motion-time data systems (PMTSs).

Question 29

A process flowchart uses which of the following symbols to represent tasks or operations in a flow diagram?

A)Rectangle
B)Arrow
C)Inverted triangle
D)Diamond
E)A dashed line

Question 30

Efficiency of a production process is the ratio of the actual output of a process to some standard.

Question 31

A process flowchart uses which of the following symbols to represent a decision point in a flow diagram?

A)Rectangle
B)Arrow
C)Inverted triangle
D)Diamond
E)A dashed line

Question 32

Inventory turn is a better measure than the total value of inventory for comparative purposes because it is a relative measure.

Question 33

Utilization of a production process is the ratio of time that a resource is actually being used relative to the time it is available for use.

Question 34

Throughput rate of a production process is the amount of time a unit spends actually being worked on.

Question 35

Setup time is the time required to prepare a process to produce a particular item.

Question 36

Little's law says there is a long-term relationship among the inventory, throughput, and flow time of a production system in steady state.

Question 37

Which of the following best describes the term "cycle time"?

A)Average time between completions of successive units
B)Ratio of the time a resource is activated over its use
C)Can be no more that 60 minutes
D)The same as utilization
E)The labor content of the item being measured

Question 38

A process flowchart uses symbols to represent which of the following?

A)Factory location
B)Warehouse space available
C)Workforce schedules
D)Flows of material or customers
E)Data analysis

Question 39

Job design is defined as the function of specifying the work activities of an individual or group in an organizational setting.

Question 40

If you want to reduce process flow time, it has been suggested that you can reduce interruptions in the production process.

Question 41

According to Little's law, which of the following ratios is used to find flow time?

A)Cycle time/Process time
B)Throughput time/Process velocity
C)Process velocity/Throughput time
D)Inventory/Throughput rate
E)Value-added time/Process velocity

Question 42

Which of the following terms describes the time a unit spends actually being worked on together with the time spent waiting in a queue?

A)Cycle time
B)Flow time
C)Run time
D)Setup time
E)Efficiency

Question 43

The ratio of the average time to move a unit through a productive system divided by the value-added time is called the ___________________.

Question 44

The formula (Flow time = Inventory/Throughput rate) is known as _____________.

Question 45

What are the four basic methods for measuring work and setting standards?
1.____________________
2.____________________
3.____________________
4.____________________

Question 46

To reduce process throughput time, you might try which of the following actions?

A)Outsource activities.
B)Change the sequence of activities.
C)Improve teamwork.
D)Reduce management interference.
E)Introduce incentive pay

Question 47

A process flowchart uses which of the following symbols to represent flows of material or customers in a flow diagram?

A)Rectangle
B)Arrow
C)Inverted triangle
D)Diamond
E)A dashed line

Question 48

The ratio of output to input is called ____________.

Question 49

When you compare the metrics of your company to another you are ___________.

Question 50

According to Little's law, which of the following can be used to estimate inventory?

A)Process time/Cycle time
B)Throughput rate × Flow time
C)Process velocity/Flow time
D)Set up time/Throughput rate
E)Value-added time/Process velocity

Question 51

Which of the following production process terms best describes the situation when activities in a stage of production must stop because there is no work?

A)Blocking
B)Buffering
C)Starving
D)Buffer
E)Setup time

Question 52

Three fast-food chains are discussed in the text.McDonald's traditional process is make-to-stock; Wendy's has a make-to-order process; Burger King has a process which is a hybrid of the other two.Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each of these approaches.Why do you suppose that each of these approaches can survive in the fast-food industry?

Question 53

What might you do in designing a two-stage process where each process had equal average process time but with high process time variability in the first stage and low variability in the second stage? Why?

Question 54

The long-term relationship among the inventory, throughput, and flow time of a production system in steady state is called which of the following?

A)Peterson's rule
B)Murphy's law
C)Little's law
D)Robert's rule
E)None of these

Question 55

An advantage of a make-to-stock process is which of the following?

A)It features rapid delivery of a standard product.
B)All units of output are unique.
C)It responds directly to customer orders.
D)It allows the firm to avoid inventory costs.
E)It combines the best features of other processes.

Question 56

What are the advantages and disadvantages of using a make-to-order process compared to the advantages and disadvantages of a make-to-stock process?

Question 57

To reduce process flow time, you might try which of the following actions?

A)Perform activities in parallel.
B)Change the sequence of activities.
C)Reduce interruptions.
D)Acquire additional equipment.
E)All of these