Chapter3 - Sac Study Flashcards
What are the key elements of an operations system?
inputs
processes
outputs
What are the six categories of inputs?
materials (meat offcuts)
capital equipment (mixing machinery to mix dog food)
labour (people putting ingredients into mixers)
Info from variety of sources (dog food recipe)
time (e.g. 3 hours per batch)
Money (money put into materials)
How can an organisation increase productivity and business competitiveness
competing on cost
competing on quality
competing on speed of delivery
What are the four strategies adopted to optimise operations?
facilities design and layout
Materials management
Management of quality
Extend of the use of technology
What is 1 disadvantage of the fixed position layout?
- SPACE - work area may be crowded, little storage space available
What are 2 advantages of the product layout?
PRODUCTIVITY - can generate a large volume of products (outputs) in a short period of time
COST - Cost is reduced because of the use of technology and machines, and staff only compete specialised tasks
What are 2 disadvantages of the product layout?
MOTIVATION - staff can become bored with repetitive, low skilled activities and may become lazy
SHUT DOWN - A problem on the production line can sometimes mean that the whole factory needs to be shut down
What are 2 disadvantages of the process layout?
CONFUSION - constantly changing schedules and routing make juggling process requirements more difficult, and can become confusing for staff
UTILISATION - équipement utilisation rates in process layout are frequently low, because machine usage is dependant upon a variety of output requirements
What are 2 advantages of the process layout?
PRODUCTIVITY IMPROVES - because whole factory doesn’t need to be shut down if there are defects or problems in one cell
MOTIVATION - improves because employees will be able to perform a variety of tasks, opposed to assembly line
What are 2 problems of a large amount of inventory being held by an organisation to ensure materials do not run out?
STORAGE - stock taking up storage for lengthy periods
USE-BY DATE - Materials can have a use-by date, which means they could become unusable after a period of time
What is an example of using inventory control to optimise operations? (other than TQM)
- using bar coding and computerised stock records to control inventory (can help minimise loss or theft of stock)
what are 2 advantages of ‘just in time’ to be used to control inventory?
- Reduces risk of products exceeding the use-by-date
- companies spend less money on raw materials because they buy just enough to make the products and no more
what is 1 disadvantage of ‘just in time’ to be used to control inventory?
if supplier of materials has a breakdown and cannot deliver goods on time it can shut down entire production process
Why does the supply chain need to be well managed?(2)
- because if materials not on hand, nothing can be produced
- if materials are of inferior quality, difficult to produce quality products
What are the 3 elements of quality management?
- quality control
- quality assurance
- total quality management (TQM) (continuous improvement, employee empowerment/quality circles, customer focus)
What are 2 advantages or quality control? plus one example of quality control
- if established standards are met - meeting customer expectations
- Competitiveness increases - costs associated with waste and faulty products are reduced
- mars not let out cans that come under weight
How can an organisation have quality assurance? (2)
- involves getting external organisation to audit the production process against national or international standards, E.G. ISO standards
- the organisation strives to achieve these standards, and if met can display the certification showing the product is of national or international standard
How does total quality management (TQM) ensure quality?
quality becomes an organisation wide philosophy. Its aim is to crease a defect-free production process
how can employee empowerment be used to achieve TQM objectives?
- quality control circles (workers meeting to solve problems relating to quality) achieve employee empowerment
what are 2 advantages of robotics?
- allows for precision and accuracy that is unmatched by human labour
- robots work without complaints or demand for higher wage
how can an operations manager manage inputs appropriately? (advantage and disadvantage of this)
- sourcing locally, reducing amount the products have to travel and reducing green house gas emissions.
- environmentally sustainable inputs may cost more and not be locally available
how can an operations manager manage suppliers appropriately? (advantage and disadvantage of this)
- use reputable suppliers who are also ethically and socially responsible
- this may cost more and require time and effort to investigate
how can operations manager manage staff appropriately? (adv and disadvantage to this)
- training benefits staff by upscaling, increasing motivation
- lost time while employees are trained
how can operations manager act ethically and socially responsible with outputs? (adv and disadvantage to this)
- make sure the end product is of extremely high quality and exceeds customer expectations
- this may slow down the production process
