Exam 10: Achieving World-Class Operations Management

For which of the following businesses would scheduling be important?

A _____ process uses long production runs that may last days, weeks, or months without equipment shutdown.

What is the name of the production system that combines automated workstations with computer-controlled transportation devices called automatic guided vehicles (AGVs)?

What is a supply chain?

In a typical set-up, American companies will employ Chinese firms to enter handwritten cards into electronic databases, but the English skills of the Chinese can only take them so far with sloppy American handwriting.Then the Chinese (or sometimes the American companies) hire Lakota Express, a company that uses Native Americans who live on a reservation in South Dakota to pick up the slack and to vet the often imperfect work.What kind of work does Lakota Express do?

_____ uses a master computerized system to ensure that materials, labor, and equipment are available for production.

_____ is the aspect of production control that involves specifying and controlling the time required for each step in the production process.

In the last two years, BMW AG, the Bavarian auto maker, has developed a car made primarily from carbon-fibers that is not only light and fast, but also fuel efficient.(The automaker is using the carbon fiber similarly to how Audi has used aluminum.) BMW is planning to build a large plant where it can manufacture thousands of identical carbon fiber parts and then distribute these parts to its automobile manufacturing plants for incorporation into BMW vehicles.This new plant will engage in:

Computer-aided design (CAD) can be used to:

There is a facility in California that takes off-the-shelf Ford Mustangs and hones them into high-performance vehicles.The assembly line at this facility is simply a line of cars on hand-pushed carts that are moved from station to station, but many of the operations that are typically performed in an assembly plant do take place here.Using this system the company has turned out over 8,000 vehicles, more than any other American specialty vehicle manufacturer.This is an example of:

Crown Holdings Inc.manufactures a high-resolution, full color digital inkjet printed cans that allows smaller beverage producers to label the cans as they are needed to be filled rather than keeping a stock of preprinted cans.This is an example of how a beverage company could use:

_____ is a popular computerized system of controlling inventories that uses a master list to ensure availability of materials, labor, and equipment needed for production are at the right places in the right amounts at the right time.

Beyond all the publicity around a recent government audit about the lack of oversight by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is another problem that has not received much publicity.Quality control is not being maintained when an airline engages a contractor to work on an engine, who in turn signs up a subcontractor to work on one part of the engine.This example represents a problem with:

During production planning, the operations manager must make decisions about all of the following EXCEPT:

Which of the following manufacturers would be most likely to use a product layout?

Define total quality management (TQM).

_____ focuses on smoothing transitions along the supply chain so that the firm can satisfy its customers with quality products and services while focusing on forging tighter bonds with its suppliers.

Replacing human effort with robots is most effective for tasks requiring consistency, accuracy, and speed.

What do Gantt charts and PERT charts have in common?

_____ is the management of the production conversion process for both goods and services.