Exam 8: Location Planning and Analysis

Is lower obsolescence risk an advantage of large-scale technology or small-scale technology.

A flexible manufacturing system is not a single technology but one that has integrated several technologies into a system.

Flexible manufacturing systems are not capable of manufacturing a whole component from start to finish, but work with other systems to produce the final product.

Which of the following manufacturing technologies is most associated with high volume, low variety operations?

Modelling human decision-making is expensive; also it can only treat narrow problems. To which of the following information processing technologies is this constraint most relevant.

'Assembly robots' are used in the assembly of parts into components and complete products.

Another form of process technology is dedicated systems. Where are dedicated systems usually placed on the volume-variety matrix?

Process technologies are the machines, equipment and devices which help the operation transform materials, information and customers in order to add value ands fulfil the operation's strategic objectives.

Automated guided vehicles (AGVs) are ship-launched weapons delivery systems.

'Process robots' handle pieces of work, for example, for loading and unloading.

What moves materials between operations:

Which of the following is NOT an example of an information processing technology?

Is high robustness against failure an advantage of large-scale technology or small-scale technology.

What co-ordinates the whole process of manufacturing and manufactures a part, component or product:

Automation has brought benefits to so many processes that it can be seen as the panacea for the operations manager's problems.

Many businesses spend more on computer systems which control their processes than they do on the direct process technology which acts on its material, information or customers.

Process technologies differ in their flexibility capabilities and economics and will therefore be appropriate for different parts of the volume-variety matrix. Flexible manufacturing systems are Usually:

What completely manufactures a range of components without significant human intervention during the processing:

Decentralised control systems tend to be found in human-centred systems as opposed to technology-centred systems.

Operations managers must be experts in engineering, computing, biology, electronics or whatever constitutes the core element of the technology.