operations management Flashcards
What is the purpose of benchmarking in operations management?
Benchmarking is a systematic approach to measure an organization’s performance against best practices to enhance business performance.
What are the two main types of benchmarking?
Internal (e.g., within the same organization) and External (e.g., comparing with other organizations).
What is brainstorming in problem-solving?
Brainstorming is a creative process of generating unrestricted ideas, often used with tools like the Fishbone diagram.
What does the 80:20 rule in Pareto analysis represent?
It represents the principle that 80% of effects come from 20% of causes, helping to prioritize problem-solving efforts.
What is a Fishbone Diagram used for?
It is a tool used for cause-and-effect analysis to identify the root causes of problems.
How is a Why-Why analysis conducted?
It involves continuously asking “why” a problem occurs to drill down to the root cause.
What is Fault Tree Analysis (FTA) used for?
FTA is a deductive method that diagrams the various causes of a system failure, using gates and events.
What is the purpose of a Reliability Block Diagram (RBD)?
RBD provides a visual representation of the ways a system can succeed, identifying critical elements.
hat is Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA)?
FMEA is a qualitative tool to identify potential defects and their impacts, often used in early stages of product or process development.
What is a process in operations management?
A process is a combination of related, structured activities or tasks that transform inputs into outputs to satisfy customer requirements.
What is the goal of Reliability-Centered Maintenance (RCM)?
RCM aims to define preventive maintenance activities in safety-critical environments by identifying failure modes and maintenance tasks.
What are the main components of an operations process?
Events, tasks, decisions, inputs (5Ms), and outputs (products or services).
What are the four typical characteristics of an operations process?
Volume, variety, visibility, and variations.
What are the main types of operations processes?
One-off/Project process
Jobbing process
Batch process
Mass process
Continuous/Flow process
What are the common types of process representations?
Circulation plans, process flow diagrams (PFD), and piping & instrumentation diagrams (P&ID).
What are the uses of process representations in operations management?
Accident prevention, root cause analysis, fault detection, diagnosis, safety isolation, and process optimization.
What are the typical process parameters in operations management?
Throughput, turnover, cycle time, downtime, and rework rate.
What is forecasting in operations management?
Forecasting is a systematic process for predicting future trends based on past and present data, commonly used for sales, growth, and revenue predictions.
Why is forecasting important in operations management?
Forecasting helps eliminate waste, smooth workload, improve spares turnover, reduce working capital costs, prevent unplanned downtime, and improve response to customer demands.
What are the main types of forecasting techniques?
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).
What is the main focus of operations strategy?
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.
What is the difference between operations strategy and operational strategy?
Operations strategy focuses on long-term, broad objectives for the enterprise, while operational strategy deals with day-to-day activities and short-term goals.
What are the layers of strategy in large organizations?
The layers of strategy include organizational strategy, with some large organizations having an additional layer called global strategy.
What are the three main approaches to developing operations strategy?
The three approaches are: Top-down, Bottom-up, and Mixed.
What are the key components of a strategy document?
The key components are vision, mission, strategy, goals, objectives, action plans, core values, capability, business model, and strategic control.
How is quality defined in operations management?
Quality in operations is defined as consistent conformance to customer expectations, ensuring consistency, repeatability, and dependability.
What are the two main elements of quality management in operations?
The two main elements are Quality Assurance (QA) and Quality Control (QC).
What is the role of Quality Assurance (QA) in operations?
QA involves activities performed before the task to eliminate faults and ensure the task is set up to meet quality standards.
What is the purpose of Quality Control (QC) in operations management?
QC involves activities carried out after task completion to detect and correct any faults in the process or output.
What is the definition of sustainability according to Oxford Languages?
Sustainability is the ability to maintain ecological balance by avoiding depletion of natural resources.
What is the definition of sustainable development according to the Brundtland Commission?
Sustainable development means meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
What are the three pillars of sustainability?
Environmental sustainability, social sustainability, and economic sustainability.
What is environmental sustainability focused on?
Environmental sustainability focuses on preserving natural resources, improving water and air quality, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
What is the circular economy approach?
The circular economy is a sustainable model that aims to reduce waste by designing out waste, keeping products in use, and regenerating natural systems.
What is the purpose of the waste management hierarchy in circular economy?
he hierarchy sets priorities for reducing, reusing, and recycling waste to “close the loop” and minimize landfill use.
Name one of the four circular economy principles.
Power of the Inner Circle,” which prioritizes reuse over recycling to save materials, energy, and labor.
What is Material Flow Analysis (MFA) used for?
MFA maps the input-output materials in a product/system and examines material pathways to help manage waste.
What does Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) evaluate?
LCA evaluates the environmental impact of a product through its life cycle, from raw material extraction to disposal.
What is servitisation in the context of circular economy?
