operations management

Question 1

What is the purpose of benchmarking in operations management?

Answer 1

Benchmarking is a systematic approach to measure an organization’s performance against best practices to enhance business performance.

Question 2

What are the two main types of benchmarking?

Answer 2

Internal (e.g., within the same organization) and External (e.g., comparing with other organizations).

Question 3

What is brainstorming in problem-solving?

Answer 3

Brainstorming is a creative process of generating unrestricted ideas, often used with tools like the Fishbone diagram.

Question 4

What does the 80:20 rule in Pareto analysis represent?

Answer 4

It represents the principle that 80% of effects come from 20% of causes, helping to prioritize problem-solving efforts.

Question 5

What is a Fishbone Diagram used for?

Answer 5

It is a tool used for cause-and-effect analysis to identify the root causes of problems.

Question 6

How is a Why-Why analysis conducted?

Answer 6

It involves continuously asking “why” a problem occurs to drill down to the root cause.

Question 7

What is Fault Tree Analysis (FTA) used for?

Answer 7

FTA is a deductive method that diagrams the various causes of a system failure, using gates and events.

Question 8

What is the purpose of a Reliability Block Diagram (RBD)?

Answer 8

RBD provides a visual representation of the ways a system can succeed, identifying critical elements.

Question 9

hat is Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA)?

Answer 9

FMEA is a qualitative tool to identify potential defects and their impacts, often used in early stages of product or process development.

Question 10

What is a process in operations management?

Answer 10

A process is a combination of related, structured activities or tasks that transform inputs into outputs to satisfy customer requirements.

Question 10

What is the goal of Reliability-Centered Maintenance (RCM)?

Answer 10

RCM aims to define preventive maintenance activities in safety-critical environments by identifying failure modes and maintenance tasks.

Question 11

What are the main components of an operations process?

Answer 11

Events, tasks, decisions, inputs (5Ms), and outputs (products or services).

Question 12

What are the four typical characteristics of an operations process?

Answer 12

Volume, variety, visibility, and variations.

Question 13

What are the main types of operations processes?

Answer 13

One-off/Project process
Jobbing process
Batch process
Mass process
Continuous/Flow process

Question 14

What are the common types of process representations?

Answer 14

Circulation plans, process flow diagrams (PFD), and piping & instrumentation diagrams (P&ID).

Question 15

What are the uses of process representations in operations management?

Answer 15

Accident prevention, root cause analysis, fault detection, diagnosis, safety isolation, and process optimization.

Question 16

What are the typical process parameters in operations management?

Answer 16

Throughput, turnover, cycle time, downtime, and rework rate.

Question 17

What is forecasting in operations management?

Answer 17

Forecasting is a systematic process for predicting future trends based on past and present data, commonly used for sales, growth, and revenue predictions.

Question 18

Why is forecasting important in operations management?

Answer 18

Forecasting helps eliminate waste, smooth workload, improve spares turnover, reduce working capital costs, prevent unplanned downtime, and improve response to customer demands.

Question 20

What are the main types of forecasting techniques?

Answer 20

Qualitative methods (e.g., expert opinion, Delphi method)

Quantitative methods (e.g., moving average, linear regression)

Causal models (e.g., correlation between demand and external factors).

Question 21

What is the main focus of operations strategy?

Answer 21

Operations strategy focuses on setting broad objectives, planning the general path to achieve long-term goals, and guiding how an organization will deliver its product or service to customers.

Question 22

What is the difference between operations strategy and operational strategy?

Answer 22

Operations strategy focuses on long-term, broad objectives for the enterprise, while operational strategy deals with day-to-day activities and short-term goals.

Question 23

What are the layers of strategy in large organizations?

Answer 23

The layers of strategy include organizational strategy, with some large organizations having an additional layer called global strategy.

Question 24

What are the three main approaches to developing operations strategy?

Answer 24

The three approaches are: Top-down, Bottom-up, and Mixed.

Question 25

What are the key components of a strategy document?

Answer 25

The key components are vision, mission, strategy, goals, objectives, action plans, core values, capability, business model, and strategic control.

Question 26

How is quality defined in operations management?

Answer 26

Quality in operations is defined as consistent conformance to customer expectations, ensuring consistency, repeatability, and dependability.

Question 26

What are the two main elements of quality management in operations?

Answer 26

The two main elements are Quality Assurance (QA) and Quality Control (QC).

Question 27

What is the role of Quality Assurance (QA) in operations?

Answer 27

QA involves activities performed before the task to eliminate faults and ensure the task is set up to meet quality standards.

Question 28

What is the purpose of Quality Control (QC) in operations management?

Answer 28

QC involves activities carried out after task completion to detect and correct any faults in the process or output.

Question 29

What is the definition of sustainability according to Oxford Languages?

Answer 29

Sustainability is the ability to maintain ecological balance by avoiding depletion of natural resources.

Question 30

What is the definition of sustainable development according to the Brundtland Commission?

Answer 30

Sustainable development means meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

Question 31

What are the three pillars of sustainability?

Answer 31

Environmental sustainability, social sustainability, and economic sustainability.

Question 32

What is environmental sustainability focused on?

Answer 32

Environmental sustainability focuses on preserving natural resources, improving water and air quality, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Question 33

What is the circular economy approach?

Answer 33

The circular economy is a sustainable model that aims to reduce waste by designing out waste, keeping products in use, and regenerating natural systems.

Question 34

What is the purpose of the waste management hierarchy in circular economy?

Answer 34

he hierarchy sets priorities for reducing, reusing, and recycling waste to “close the loop” and minimize landfill use.

Question 35

Name one of the four circular economy principles.

Answer 35

Power of the Inner Circle,” which prioritizes reuse over recycling to save materials, energy, and labor.

Question 36

What is Material Flow Analysis (MFA) used for?

Answer 36

MFA maps the input-output materials in a product/system and examines material pathways to help manage waste.

Question 37

What does Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) evaluate?

Answer 37

LCA evaluates the environmental impact of a product through its life cycle, from raw material extraction to disposal.

Question 38

What is servitisation in the context of circular economy?