Deck 11: Planning Production Activity

Question 1

Why is a vigorous production capability so important to the United States in the "postindustrial society"?

Answer 1

A high level of production capability is of critical importance for the country U.S. even in the postindustrial society.
This is necessary to ensure that all the service-related jobs that have been emerging in the latter half of the 20th century have an industry to serve. Without a strong manufacturing segment, a high proportion of the service industry that fuels many of the jobs in the U.S. today could collapse. This is because the service industry exists to support the manufacturing industry that actually creates the goods that are consumed by people.

Question 2

If it costs $2.00 per unit to store an item for one year and $40.00 setup cost every time you produce a lot, and you use 1,000 units per year, how many lots of what size should be manufactured each year? ( b ) How would your answer change if the setup cost can be reduced to $10.00?

Answer 2

As per the specifications given in the question,
Cost per unit (I) = $2
Setup cost (S) = $40
Number of units (R) = 1000
(a)
The Economic Order Quantity (EOQ) can be calculated using the following formula
In this formula,
R is the required annual units
S is the setup cost
I is the inventory cost per unit
Therefore,
The company should produce 200 units per batch.
(b)
If the setup cost (S) can be reduced to $10, then EOQ calculation changes as shown below.
The company should now produce 100 units per batch.

Question 3

What are some of the positions that engineers fill in a large manufacturing plant?

Answer 3

Some of the positions that can be filled by engineers in large manufacturing plants are as follows:
• mechanical engineer
• plant engineer
• process engineer
• manufacturing engineer
• electrical engineer
• chemical engineer
• industrial engineer
• maintenance engineer
• operations manager
• supply chain manager
• quality manager
• production manager

Question 4

Setup for a stamping operation required a time-consuming fixture installation and testing that took 4 hours each time a different part was to be produced; typically, 12 hours' production was made for inventory of a given stamping before the machine was stopped to permit setup for a new part. After careful process analysis, fixtures and transfer methods were revised to permit setup in 15 minutes. Discuss the implications for this change on ( a ) optimum batch size, ( b ) order frequency, and ( c ) machine and labor productivity.

Question 5

What subjects will be important in the education of the manufacturing engineer for the twenty-first century?

Question 6

A production plant with fixed costs of $300,000 produces a product with variable costs of $40.00 per unit and sells them at $100 each. What is the break even quantity and cost? Illustrate with a break-even chart.

Question 7

Discuss some of the factors that would be most important in selecting a site for ( a ) a Portland cement plant, ( b ) a research "think tank," and ( c ) a shoe factory.

Question 8

A machine tool salesperson offers the plant of Question 11-2 equipment that would increase their fixed cost by $180,000, but reduce their variable cost from $40.00 to $25.00. Should the plant accept this suggestion if they can sell their entire plant capacity of 10,000 units per year at $100 each? Illustrate by modifying the break-even chart of Question 11 2.

Question 9

Distinguish between ( a ) product layout, ( b ) process layout, and ( c ) group technology

Question 10

A plant is beginning production of a light-alloy product and finds that it takes 400 hours to produce the first item. How many hours should it take to produce each of the following: ( a ) the second item; ( b ) the eighth item; ( c ) the 37th item? ( Hint: Refer to Table)
Table

Question 11

List some of the characteristics that make the Dunn and Savastano Orthodontics business compete with other practices.

Question 12

The first two units of a product cost a total of $9,000 to produce. If you believe an 80 percent learning curve applies, how much would you expect the fourth unit to cost?

Question 13

Distinguish between MRP and MRP II.

Question 14

Describe how the kanban is used in the just-in-time production system.

Question 15

What are some of the reasons for using a flexible manufacturing system?

Question 16

What is the relationship between FMS and the group technology concept introduced earlier in the chapter?

Question 17

Discuss how the management functions of planning, organizing, leading, and controlling relate to the production planning process.