Operations

Question 1

what is the operations departments main task?

Answer 1

the operations departments main task is to make products

Question 2

the making of a product is sometimes referred to as IPO. what is IPO?

Answer 2

Input

Process

Output

Question 3

what is the inputs?

Answer 3

they are factors of production (materials, employees, machines and land)

Question 4

what is process? (production methods)

Answer 4

job production, batch production, and line production

Question 5

what is the output?

Answer 5

the output is the finished product

Question 6

what factors do businesses consider when choosing a supplier?

Answer 6

cost of raw materials

quality of raw materials

lead time / delivery time

quantity of raw materials

location of supplier

reliability and reputation of supplier

storage space available

Question 7

how is maximum stock level determined?

Answer 7

maximum stock level is determined by how popular the stock is and what storage space is available

Question 8

how is minimum stock level determined?

Answer 8

minimum stock level is determined by how popular stock is and how long it takes for an emergency order to be received

Question 9

how is re-order stock level determined?

Answer 9

re-order stock level is determined by how long it takes an order to be received

Question 10

what is re-order quantity based on?

Answer 10

re-order quantity is based on what the re-order stock level is

Question 11

what is lead time?

Answer 11

lead time refers to the length of time it takes a supplier to deliver stock once it has been ordered

Question 12

what are problems with overstocking?

Answer 12

high costs of storage
high insurance costs
high security costs
the business will have a lot of money tied up in stock
sock may go out of fashion and have to be thrown away
stock may deteriorate

Question 13

what are problems with understocking?

Answer 13

the business may run out of stock to sell
unexpected changes in demand are hard to deal with
if orders are delayed, shelves may be left empty
if customer cannot get the stock they want they may go elsewhere
high administration costs caused by re-ordering stock all the time

Question 14

what does job production involve?

Answer 14

job production involves making a product one at a time, from start to finish, before another is begun

Question 15

what does batch production involve?

Answer 15

batch production involves making a specific number of identical products in a batch, from start to finish, before a batch of a different product is then made

Question 16

what does flow production involve?

Answer 16

flow productions involves passing an identical product down a line of production, at each stage on the line a different operation is carried out until the product reaches the end and it is completed

Question 17

give an example of job production

Answer 17

hairdresser
artist
carpenter
architect

Question 18

give an example of batch production

Answer 18

baker
newspaper
printing agency

Question 19

give an example of flow production

Answer 19

car manufacture
baked bean can manufacture
walkers shortbread
soft drink manufacture

Question 20

what are the three main quality control systems?

Answer 20

quality control
quality assurance
quality management

Question 21

what are the two ways quality control is checked?

Answer 21

raw materials are checked before being used in production

the product is checked once it has been made

Question 22

what is quality assurance?

Answer 22

this is time spent before production begins considering how production should occur to minimise mistakes and ensure quality

Question 23

what is quality management?

Answer 23

the aim of quality management is to produce a fault free high quality product that meets customers’ requirements