L4M7 CHAPTER 3

Question 1

What is scheduled maintenance?

Answer 1

Scheduled maintenance is any repair and upkeep work performed within a set timeframe. It details when given maintenance tasks are performed and by whom. Scheduled maintenance may occur at repeating intervals or in response to a work request.

Question 2

The following are examples of scheduled maintenance except…

Answer 2

“Repair signage damage from a recent storm”

Scheduled maintenance is any repair and upkeep work performed within a set timeframe. It details when given maintenance tasks are performed and by whom. Scheduled maintenance may occur at repeating intervals or in response to a work request.

Question 3

Assuming that all other factors are constant except one, the net present value of a capital expenditure increases when…?

Answer 3

“Net cash flow during a time period increases”
Net present value (NPV) is the ‘today’ net value that deprives from ‘future’ cash flow of an investment or a capital purchase.

The net present value increases when the numerators (net cash flows) increase and/or denominators (1+i-period) decrease.

Question 4

Which of the following correctly describes the triple bottom line?

Answer 4

Triple bottom line is a sustainability framework that examines a company’s social, environment, and economic impact (or People, Planet, Profit).

Question 5

A major investment bank is planning to purchase a complex banking system that will interface with multiple applications at varying times of the day. Before deploying the system, there are various levels of testing that must be performed through joint testing between the in-house team and the off-shore testing consultants. The testing will be performed in a resource-constrained shared environment and managed by the on-shore development team. The costs for testing are generally classified as…?

Answer 5

Acquisition Costs.
The buying organisation (investment bank) must conduct various types of testing before the deployment of the software system. These tests can be functional testing, factory acceptance testing and/or user acceptance testing. The costs for all these types of testing are classified as acquisition costs with regards of total cost of ownership.

Question 6

ASI Ltd is known for its commitment to sustainability. ASI builds railroad ties and pilings using recycled plastic bottles and industrial waste instead of standard materials such as wood, steel, and cement. This practice helps the company save 15% in comparison with traditional material purchases. Which pillar of sustainability would include the practice of ASI Ltd?

Answer 6

The triple bottom line is a sustainability framework that examines a company’s social, environment, and economic impact (or People, Planet, Profit). ASI Ltd practice would reduce the waste into the environment as well as keep the business more profitable.

Question 7

A brewery sells its beer in aluminum cans. It recycles the cans by using contractors to collect and mold the used cans. This is an example of…?

Answer 7

Closed loop recycling.

There are two main processes of recycling – open loop recycling and closed loop recycling.

Closed loop recycling is focused on resource sustainability, which means that recycling of a material can be done indefinitely without degradation of properties. In this case, conversion of the used product back to raw material allows repeated making of the same product, which helps hazardous waste generators reduce carbon footprint and achieve corporate sustainability initiatives.

Closed-loop recycling is common in specialized industries, such as the computer and battery industries, which use expensive or complex goods that cannot easily be broken down post-consumption into constituent materials.

A prime example of a closed-loop recycling process is the recycling of aluminum cans. Aluminum can be recycled to form new cans with little material degradation or waste creation.

Open Loop Recycling

Open loop recycling is a method that delays disposal by converting manufactured goods and spent materials into both new raw materials, which can be used for a manufacturing purpose, as a fuel source for a different manufacturing process and waste products.

Typically, materials recycled through open-loop recycling will be used for purposes different from their original purpose.

This means that the input into the recycling process is converted to a new raw material, which can be used as an input into another manufacturing process.

Materials in an open loop recycling process are treated using various forms of treatment including heat, chemical reactions, or physical crushing.

Question 8

An organisation always obtains a negative cash flow regarding removal and disposal of assets. Is this statement true?

Answer 8

“No, the organisation may recover the value of the assets by reselling it”.

Explanation
Assets in their end of life need to be removed or disposed. Though an organisation can incur some costs in decommissioning or removal of the assets, it may recover costs by reselling the assets. Therefore, sometimes the organisation can gain positive cash flow from removal and disposal of assets.

Question 9

A hospital is purchasing a new software product that will advise nurses when to give medications to hospitalised patients. This is a mobile application that will be used on tablets carried by the nurses. The software is being developed and tested by a company that specialises in mobile medical applications. This software will interface with existing hospital software that orders the medications from the pharmacy. Which acceptance test activity will be required to check whether the new software integrates well with current IT system?

Answer 9

Compatibility testing would be the most appropriate test.
The requirements for the new software is that it will interface with the current system.

There are also other acceptance tests

Health and safety test aims at establishing new health and safety routines, providing guidance notices and documentation and ensuring designed-in safety in operation.

Stress testing (sometimes called torture testing) is a form of deliberately intense or thorough testing used to determine the stability of a given system, critical infrastructure or entity. It involves testing beyond normal operational capacity, often to a breaking point, in order to observe the results.

A dry run (or a practice run) is a testing process where the effects of a possible failure are intentionally mitigated. For example, an aerospace company may conduct a “dry run” test of a jet’s new pilot ejection seat while the jet is parked on the ground, rather than while it is in flight.

The usage of “dry run” in acceptance procedures (for example in the so-called FAT = factory acceptance testing) is meant as following: the factory – which is a subcontractor – must perform a complete test of the system it has to deliver before the actual acceptance by customer.

Question 10

Which are the key elements of total productive maintenance?

Answer 10

Quality maintenance & Autonomous maintenance.
Total productive maintenance (TPM) is an innovative concept in the manufacturing industry that evolved from the idea of preventive maintenance to adopt practices of productive maintenance, maintenance prevention, and reliability Engineering. What we now refer to as TPM, has become an ingenious approach to achieve overall equipment effectiveness by involving the workforce behind the machines (i.e. the operators).

8 pillars of TPM
1) 5S - Sort, straighten, shine, standardize, and sustain

Just like a physical structure starts with a grounded framework, building a strong TPM process requires a strong foundation in the form of the principles of 5S. This is a workplace organization method that is simplified into 5 basic steps:

Sort tools, equipment, and materials to identify which of these can be discarded

Straighten and set things in proper order to reduce unnecessary motion and efficiently travel between working groups and locations

Shine refers to performing necessary housekeeping to clean up the work area

Standardize and schedule activities to systematically form the habits to keep the workplace organized

Sustain the process and principles for long-term applications

The 5S approach provides a systematic approach to cleaning the workplace, thereby uncovering underlying problems and challenges.

2) Autonomous maintenance

Maintenance tasks and caring for equipment should start with the people using the equipment. The empowerment of operators to work on small maintenance tasks effectively allows the maintenance teams to focus on more specialized assignments.

3) Continuous improvement

Also known as the Japanese term Kaizen, Continuous Improvement promotes the attitude of progressing towards zero losses and zero defects. Through small but continual tweaks to processes, the overall effectiveness and efficiency of the organization is developed.

4) Planned maintenance

Planned maintenance activities are essential to the prevention of equipment breakdown. Planned maintenance is performed by periodically evaluating the condition of equipment to proactively prevent deterioration and mechanical failures.

5) Quality maintenance

To ensure the satisfaction of the customer, manufacturing processes aim for zero-defect production. Standards for superior quality, and checks on whether the standards are being met, should be in place. The goal of quality maintenance is to identify any possible causes of deviations from zero-defect production.

6) Training

The idea of TPM is that everyone does their part to contribute to the overall productivity of the production process. In order to achieve optimum performance, and to build each member’s competence, proper training is required to equip each one with the theoretical and practical know-how of working with machines and equipment.

7) Office TPM

A key role that is often overlooked is the administrative department that works behind the scenes. Like the rest of the production teams and processes, the management and administrative functions are also subject to productivity improvement. This includes identifying and eliminating losses, and contributing to the overall performance of the plant.

8) Safety, health, and environment

The last of the eight pillars focuses on creating a safe workplace. The essence of this pillar is realized when actively applied to each of the other pillars. The successful implementation of this pillar will contribute to a secure and hazard-free workplace.

Question 11

Which costs are categorised as operation costs in the total cost of ownership model?

Answer 11

Costs of any person who operates the equipment

Costs of consumables

Question 12

In the Appendix A of a long-term supply contract of Bulk Drug Substance, both parties agree that “The reference price for Bulk Product at the specification, per gram, shall be US$10. The unit price for Bulk Product for a specific Purchase Order shall be computed by multiplying the above- specified reference price by two corrective factors, namely inflation correction factor and exchange rate correction factor”. This pricing appendix is an example of…?

Answer 12

Variable pricing or Adjustable prices mechanism using published sources on inflation rate and exchange rate.
Price setting mechanisms fall into two main categories: fixed and variable.
A fixed price mechanism is a straightforward concept which typically results in a relatively stable budget that can be forecast.
Variable mechanisms have an element of variable pricing per unit bought.

Setting a fixed price mechanism is in theory a relatively simple and straightforward concept, where the collector and the buyer agree on a fixed price for a specific material or mix of materials, for a certain length of time.

All other pricing mechanisms that are not fixed have an element of variable pricing per unit bought.

The most common variable pricing mechanisms can be divided into two groups:

1. Where the benefit accruing to the buyer from acquiring the material is used to calculate what the payment to the seller should be; or Approaches to Materials Sales: A guide for local authorities
2. Where the price paid is indexed to a published source of market price information.

Question 13

What are the tools for reducing acquisition costs in purchasing?

Answer 13

Buyer discretionary spend
'User buying'
Vendor managed inventory (VMI)
Two-bin Kanban
Product catalogue
e-Procurement techniques, including some systems such as ERP, procure-to-pay (P2P), e-requisition, e-tendering, etc.
Procurement cards

Question 14

Decommissioning, removal and disposal of assets may have an impact on the environment. An organisation should have policies and procedures in place to enhance its environmental performance. Which standard family provides the guidance on environmental policies and procedures?

Answer 14

The ISO 14000 family. ISO 14001 provides requirements with guidance for use that relate to environmental systems. Other standards in the family focus on specific approaches such as audits, communications, labelling and life cycle analysis, as well as environmental challenges such as climate change.

ISO 27000 family of standards concerns information technology, with the goal of improving security and protecting company assets. Started in 2005, the two most popular standards are ISO 27001:2013 and 27002:2013. 27001 is management-based system, whereas 27002 is a technical document, focused on the individual and putting a code of conduct in place. Organizations can choose either standard; ISO 27001 has over 22,000 certifications worldwide. It is a broad standard, and for this reason the certification can be customized to fit the needs of the organization, and is not mandatory.

ISO 22000 sets out the requirements for a food safety management system and can be certified to it. It maps out what an organization needs to do to demonstrate its ability to control food safety hazards in order to ensure that food is safe. It can be used by any organization regardless of its size or position in the food chain.

ISO 9001 is a family of quality management standards, there are fourteen in total. Of these, ISO 9001:2015 is the only one that can be certified to. It was first published in 1987, and has since been updated about every 7 years. The standard details how to put a Quality Management System (QMS) in place to better prepare your organization to produce quality products and services. It is customer focused, and places an emphasis on continuous improvement and top management processes that extended throughout the organization.

Question 15

A restaurant needs to buy a new freezer. The owner applies the total cost of ownership model to calculate the life-time cost of the freezer. This equipment has a price tag of $1,000, the supplier can offer free delivery if the restaurant pays off immediately. Estimated electricity consumption of the freezer is $200 in 5 years. The supplier ascertains that the freezer is very durable, buyer doesn’t need to care about maintenance costs. However, if the restaurant needs better protection from breakdowns, the warranty is free for the first 12 months after the purchase. This warranty package can be extended once for another 24-month period with the cost of $75. After 5 years, the buyer will be able to resell this freezer for $250. What would be the estimated total cost of ownership of this freezer if the restaurant owner buys the extended warranty package?

Answer 15

The total cost of ownership is $1,025.

The total cost of ownership would be the sum of all estimated costs.

The costs are as the following:

• Purchase price: $1,000
• Electricity consumption: $200
• Extended warranty: $75

Total expense = $1,000 + $200 +$75 = $1,275. Then subtract the resale price from this sum. The total cost of ownership is $1,025.

Question 16

An electricity company charges its customers a monthly fee for access and a usage fee for consumption of electricity. Which pricing structure is the company using?

Answer 16

Multi-part pricing. The transaction price is calculated from using two or more metrics rather than just one. The most common economic example of a price structure beyond unit pricing is called a two-part tariff. Basically it can be described such that the “entrance fee” provides the privilege of purchasing the metered component. A common multi-part tariff is the two-part tariff in electricity, under which the customer pays a monthly fee for access and a usage fee for consumption of electricity. With this two-part tariff, the operator is able to charge a price equal to marginal cost for electricity, which is profit maximizing, and deviate from marginal cost pricing in the fee for access.

Freemium is an internet-based pricing strategy where a service is offered for free in the beginning, but the price is charged on the premium package with some additional features. However, freemium pricing strategy is different from the premium pricing strategy because freemium offers free sample which you can use without paying anything, you’ll only be charged when you want additional features.

Demand pricing is also synonymously used for dynamic pricing; it is a relative term used in the online platform. Dynamic pricing means different pricing is charged from the different customers depending upon the urgency, customer’s ability and demand of the customers.

Question 17

XYZ Ltd is a major distributor of electrical equipment protection products in the United States. XYZ found that there was a lack of communication between the company and its key supplier, leading to the supplier trying to predict the distributor’s needs and the distributor attempting to estimate lead times. Essentially, both the supplier and the distributor have different sets of information, spending time and money trying to predict what the other will do. To deal with this problem, XYZ Ltd decides to implement a new inventory management method in which the supplier manages the replenishment of items for sale. Both parties are obliged to share information on variations in demand and stock levels for goods used for or sale. Which inventory management method is XYZ Ltd implementing?

Answer 17

Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI) is a business model where the buyer of a product provides information to a vendor of that product and the vendor takes full responsibility for maintaining an agreed inventory of the material, usually at the buyer’s consumption location.

Floor-Ready Merchandise can be defined as the merchandise that is pre-tagged, pre ticketed and pre-occupied with all the necessary details and information such as marked to their specifications for style, size, type, color and price, this information is required in the retail store and is done before it reaches the retail store.

Economic order quantity (EOQ) is the ideal order quantity a company should purchase to minimize inventory costs such as holding costs, shortage costs, and order costs. This production-scheduling model was developed in 1913 by Ford W. Harris and has been refined over time. The formula assumes that demand, ordering, and holding costs all remain constant.

The full definition of reverse logistics, as according to The Council of Logistics Management, is the process of implementing, controlling, and planning the cost-effective flow of finished goods, raw materials, and in-process inventory. The flow is from the point of consumption (i.e. the customer) to the point of origin (i.e. the manufacturer), to properly dispose of these or to recapture value.

Question 18

When accounting for the disposal of fixed assets, the gain or loss on disposal is equal to…?

Answer 18

The difference between resale price and the cost of the asset less the depreciation up to the beginning of the year in which disposal took place.
Fixed assets may be sold anytime during their useful life. This gives rise to the need to derecognize the asset from the balance sheet and recognize any resulting gain or loss in the income statement.

The accounting for disposal of fixed assets can be summarized as follows:

• Record cash receive or the receivable created from the sale:

Debit Cash/Receivable

• Remove the asset from the balance sheet

Credit Fixed Asset (Net Book Value)

• Recognize the resulting gain or loss

Debit/Credit Gain or Loss (Income Statement)

Example

ABC LTD purchased a machine for $2000 on 1st January 2001 which had a useful life of 5 years and an estimated residual value of $500. The machine was being depreciated on a straight line basis. However, ABC LTD decided to sell the asset on1 January 2003 for $1500 in order to raise cash for the purchase of a new machine.

The disposal of the fixed asset will be recorded as follows:

Record cash received or the receivable arising from the sale:

Debit Cash $1,500

Remove the asset from the balance sheet

As a fixed asset is recognized in the balance sheet at the Net Book Value (i.e. Cost less Accumulated Depreciation), the machine will be removed from the accounts of ABC LTD in two parts:

First, the Machine Cost must be removed by crediting the ledger:

Credit Machine Cost $2,500

Second, the Accumulated Depreciation in respect of the machine must be removed by debiting the ledger:

Debit Accumalated Depreciation $600*

*Accumulated Depreciation: (2000 - 500)/5 x 2 Years

The combined effect of the above two transactions would be to remove the machine’s net book value of $1400 (2000 - 600) from the balance sheet.

Recognize the resulting gain or loss on the sale of machine

ABC LTD received $1500 for an asset with a balance sheet worth of $1400. It therefore earned a gain of $100. The gain will be recorded as follows:

Credit Gain on Disposal $100

Question 19

Toll Group has thousands of end-of-life IT assets that need to be disposed of. The senior management of Toll Group is largely concerned about sustainability in waste management, especially electronic waste. Before selecting a supplier to manage the process, the procurement team is required to assess the environmental risks regarding disposal of the assets. Risk assessment is basically based on the measurement of which factors?

Answer 19

Impact & Likelihood

All risk management processes follow the same basic steps. The five 5 risk management process steps combine delivers a simple and effective risk management process.

Step 1: Identify the Risk. You and your team uncover, recognize and describe risks that might affect your project or its outcomes. There are a number of techniques you can use to find project risks. During this step you start to prepare your Project Risk Register.

Step 2: Analyze the risk. Once risks are identified you determine the likelihood and consequence of each risk. You develop an understanding of the nature of the risk and its potential to affect project goals and objectives. This information is also input to your Project Risk Register.

Step 3: Evaluate or Rank the Risk. You evaluate or rank the risk by determining the risk magnitude, which is the combination of likelihood and consequence. You make decisions about whether the risk is acceptable or whether it is serious enough to warrant treatment. These risk rankings are also added to your Project Risk Register.

Step 4: Treat the Risk. This is also referred to as Risk Response Planning. During this step you assess your highest ranked risks and set out a plan to treat or modify these risks to achieve acceptable risk levels. How can you minimize the probability of the negative risks as well as enhancing the opportunities? You create risk mitigation strategies, preventive plans and contingency plans in this step. And you add the risk treatment measures for the highest ranking or most serious risks to your Project Risk Register.

Step 5: Monitor and Review the risk. This is the step where you take your Project Risk Register and use it to monitor, track and review risks.

Question 20

Which of the following is another name for scheduled (routine) maintenance?

Answer 20

Preventive maintenance is the most popular type of proactive maintenance. To start conducting preventive maintenance tasks (PMs), an organization does not need to purchase new technology if it already has a CMMS. With preventive maintenance, the organization runs the risk of over-scheduling maintenance tasks because tasks are scheduled based on time rather than actual conditions. That said, preventive maintenance achieves 12% to 18% cost savings over reactive maintenance.

Predictive maintenance (PdM) is what savvy maintenance teams aspire to have or are already implementing. The major barrier to PdM is the time it takes to implement rather than the cost of the technology itself. For instance, a vibration sensor that can identify imbalance, misalignment, and resonance issues only costs around $200. But the time it takes to install, integrate with other maintenance software, and adopt a culture around is not time that all organizations are willing to allocate. For those that do allocate the time, PdM provides an 8% to 12% cost savings over preventive maintenance.

Condition-based maintenance (CBM) is at the core of predictive maintenance but, on its own, does not rely on technology to determine the condition of an asset like PdM does. For instance, a manager may instruct an operator to monitor the condition of an asset and submit a work request when a specific condition is met. This approach may, or may not be, as reliable as predictive maintenance. An organization that has highly-trained operators may spot hazardous conditions better than an organization using PdM technology that doesn’t know what to look for.

Scheduled maintenance includes work that is scheduled on a calendar for completion. The most common type of scheduled maintenance is calendar-based preventive maintenance tasks. These are scheduled well in advance of completion. For instance, an asset with a monthly PM has twelve instances of scheduled maintenance in a given year. However, just because maintenance is scheduled does not mean it’s planned. Planned maintenance implies that a maintenance planner or other type of maintenance worker has fully planned for parts, materials, skills, and other resources to be available during the scheduled time window.

Planned maintenance is work that’s prepared for in advance of it taking place. According to an UpKeep survey, it’s also the most popular key performance indicator (KPI) to track. A high planned maintenance percentage indicates that a maintenance team will have resources available to complete work for the time/day the work is scheduled for. Having a high planned maintenance percentage also helps boost other maintenance KPIs like schedule compliance. More planned maintenance means more successful completion of scheduled maintenance.

Routine maintenance is a form of time-based maintenance and preventive maintenance, though some organizations differentiate between routine maintenance and preventive maintenance. They use the latter for smaller tasks (i.e. cleaning) performed at higher frequencies (hourly, daily) and the former for larger tasks (i.e. inspections) performed at lower frequencies (weekly, monthly, annually). Additionally, routine maintenance is performed by operators, janitors, and other staff member while preventive maintenance is performed by technicians. Non-routine maintenance includes maintenance that is performed reactively or only when needed based on an asset’s conditions.

Reactive types of maintenance

Emergency maintenance occurs when an asset requires immediate attention in order to keep a facility operational or safe. This is the most reactive and intrusive type of maintenance as it pulls technicians away from other jobs and lowers schedule compliance. In extreme circumstances, emergency maintenance can set an organization back days depending on the scope of the repair, available parts, and the asset’s level of importance. To reduce the amount of emergency maintenance that is both unplanned and unscheduled, organizations adopt various forms of proactive maintenance.

Corrective maintenance is inherently part of emergency maintenance because, when there is an emergency, something needs corrected or fixed. In this way, corrective maintenance is mostly reactive. However, it can also be proactive. If an asset with a condition monitoring sensor detects an issue, a work order is created and a technician is sent to correct it. Similarly, preventive maintenance is considered corrective maintenance if there is an issue to fix. This is rare though as PMs are often conducted when an asset is in good working order.

Other types of maintenance

Deferred maintenance includes repairs and inspections that are put into a backlog due to limited budget and resources. While deferring maintenance saves money up front, the costs of not performing important maintenance compounds at 7% annually. Rising costs come from fines resulting from missed inspections and unscheduled downtime that brings production to a standstill. By far, deferred maintenance and emergency maintenance are the least desired types of maintenance.

Total productive maintenance (TPM) is the broadest type of maintenance that targets more than the assets that need maintained. It also aims to improve employee satisfaction and overall morale in the workplace, specifically in manufacturing plants. TPM does this by increasing overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) and the amount of planned maintenance. More planned work means more workers have the resources they need to do their job, which means higher levels of satisfaction. TPM also leverages machine operators to participate in maintenance and take ownership of their equipment.

Question 21

XYZ Ltd is looking for new office space overseas. To keep the overhead expense minimal, it chooses leasing rather than purchasing the new office. In the leasing contract, which of the following costs are most likely to be attributable to the lessee?

Answer 21

Rentals, Operating costs & Vendor selection costs

A lease is a contractual arrangement calling for the lessee (user) to pay the lessor (owner) for use of an asset. Property, buildings and vehicles are common assets that are leased. Industrial or business equipment is also leased. Since the lessee does not own the asset, they are not responsible for disposing the assets, and therefore, disposal costs are not attributable to the lessee. The lessee usually incurs rentals and operating costs. Finally, a company should treat the lease the same as other contracts, which they must qualify the supplier.

Question 22

When purchasing a capital asset, an organisation should analyse the costs and benefits that the asset may bring. Which of the following factors are considered in cost-benefit analysis?

Answer 22

The cost of the asset and the cumulative cash flows generated by the asset.
A cost-benefit analysis is a process businesses use to analyze decisions (such as capital investment). The business or analyst sums the benefits of a situation or action and then subtracts the costs associated with taking that action.

A cost-benefit analysis (CBA) should begin with compiling a comprehensive list of all the costs and benefits associated with the project or decision.

The costs involved in a CBA might include the following:

• Direct costs would be direct labor involved in manufacturing, inventory, raw materials, manufacturing expenses.
• Indirect costs might include electricity, overhead costs from management, rent, utilities.
• Intangible costs of a decision, such as the impact on customers, employees, or delivery times.
• Opportunity costs such as alternative investments, or buying a plant versus building one.
• Cost of potential risks such as regulatory risks, competition, and environmental impacts.

Benefits might include the following:

• Revenue and sales increases from increased production or new product.
• Intangible benefits, such as improved employee safety and morale, as well as customer satisfaction due to enhanced product offerings or faster delivery.
• Competitive advantage or market share gained as a result of the decision.

An analyst or project manager should apply a monetary measurement to all of the items on the cost-benefit list, taking special care not to underestimate costs or overestimate benefits. A conservative approach with a conscious effort to avoid any subjective tendencies when calculating estimates is best suited when assigning a value to both costs and benefits for a cost-benefit analysis.

Finally, the results of the aggregate costs and benefits should be compared quantitatively to determine if the benefits outweigh the costs. If so, then the rational decision is to go forward with the project. If not, the business should review the project to see if it can make adjustments to either increase benefits or decrease costs to make the project viable. Otherwise, the company should likely avoid the project.

Question 23

XYZ Inc opens a tender to purchase new forklift trucks for their new established warehouse. In the final round, there are two suppliers remain who offer two different bids. Supplier A’s bid has high initial investment. After calculating the net present value, the NPV in year five is positive. On the other hand, supplier B’s bid has low purchase price, with the NPV in year five is negative. If the NPV is the sole selection criterion, XYZ Inc should select the bid which has…?

Answer 23

Positive Net present value.
Net present value (NPV) is the ‘today’ net value that deprives from the ‘future’ cash flow of an investment or a capital purchase. Net Present Value is a helpful tool for assessing the total lifetime value of an investment. Procurement professionals or investors base on this value can make a decision to achieve value for money. Generally, an organisation should select the offer which has the highest NPV among their options. Preferably, the NPV of an capital investment should be positive, which means the investment eventually adds value to the business.

Question 24

PPC Refinery (UK) must close down an out-of-date refinery which has very poor environmental performance. The refinery is very sophisticated with many technically complicated machineries, lubricants, coolants and other chemical substances. Decommissioning the refinery is highly risky and hazardous. To manage the decommissioning process well, PPC project team must know these machineries and substances in details. Which document can provide the technical details on the refinery?

Answer 24

Original specifications
Decommissioning or disposal should start with the original specifications of the assets so that the organisation and supplier can make an appropriate plan. Some specifications also mention the issues regarding to end-of-life environmental factors.

Question 25

Which of the following purchases are most likely to have low acquisition costs?

Answer 25

Straight re-buy and
Purchase of standard catalogued products
Acquisition costs in procurement are the costs associated with the activities involved in a purchase. A buying organisation incurs acquisition costs in low-value purchases as well as high-value purchases. The following purchases tend to have lower acquisition costs:

Straight re-buy from a current supplier
Purchase of standard catalogued products

Otherwise, any purchases of high value, high-risk items generally require greater attention of the buying organisation and thus, they are likely to have higher acquisition costs.
Spot purchase of a technically complexed machinery, Purchase of ERP system and Procurement of construction projects are examples of high-value, high-risk purchases.

Question 26

Sidel Corp is a major food processor. It invested heavily on manufacturing facilities and processing machineries. Sidel’s expenses on maintenance are exceptionally high. To minimise the total cost of maintenance, what should Sidel Corp do?

Answer 26

“Balance between proactive maintenance and reactive maintenance”.
Maintenance can represent a significant portion of the cost in an asset intensive organisations (such as Sidel - a food processor), as breakdowns have an impact on the capacity, quality and cost of operation. However, the formulation of a maintenance strategy depends on a number of factors, including the cost of down time, reliability characteristics and redundancy of assets. Consequently, the balance between preventive maintenance (PM) and corrective maintenance (CM) for minimising costs varies between organisations and assets. Nevertheless, there are some rules of thumb on the balance between PM and CM, such as the 80/20 rule.

Preventive maintenance is a type of proactive maintenance, while corrective maintenance is an example of reactive maintenance.