MB 0044 - Production and Operation Management

Q1. State the important considerations for locating an automobile plant. Ans . For an automobile plant automated flaw lines, automated assembly lines, flexible manufacturing systems, global transition rapid prototyping. Building manufacturing flexibility things are necessity. About the automated flow lines we can say it is a machine which is linked by a transfer system which moves the parts by using handling machines which are also automated, we have an automated flow line. Human intervention ma is needed to verify that the operations are taking place according to standards. When these can be achieved with the help of automation and the processes are conducted with self regulation, we will have automated flow lines established. In fixed automation or hard automation, where one component is manufactured using services operations and machines it is possible to achieve this condition. We assume that product life cycles are sufficiently stable to interest heavily on the automate flow lines to achieve reduces cast per unit. Product layouts ate designed so that the assembly tasks are performed in the sequence they are designed at each station continuously. The finished item came out at the end of the line. In automated assembly lines the moving pallets move the materials from station to station and moving arms pick up parts, place them at specified place and system them by perusing, riveting, & crewing or even welding. Sensors will keep track of their activities and move the assembles to the next stage. The machines are arranged in a sequence to perform operations according to the technical requirements. The tools are loaded, movements are effected, speeds controlled automatically without the need for workers in volvement. The flexibility leads to better utilization of the equipments. It reduces the numbers of systems and rids in reduction of investment as well as a space needed to install them. One of the major cancers of modern manufacturing systems is to be able to respond to market Demands which have uncertainties. Prototyping is a process by which a new product is developed in small number so as to determine the suitability of the materials, study the various methods of manufactured, type of machinery requir ed and develop techniques to overcome problems that may be encountered when full scale manufacture is undertaken. Prototypes do meet the specification of the component that enters a product and performance can be measured on these.

Q2. Explain essentials of Project Management Philosophy. Ans. Project Management Philosophy Mindset: characteristics of mindsets are: a) Time: It is an important parameter in framing the right mindset b) Responsiveness: Responsiveness refers to quickness of response of an individual c) Information sharing: Information is power. Information is the master key to todays business. d) Processes: Project mindset lays emphasis on flexible processes. e) Structured planning: Structured planning based on project management life cycle. Project evaluation and selection criteria During project evaluation, the following nine criteria may be considered important: 1. Relevance: 2. Is the project relevant to the defined scope in terms of the deliverable product and service? 3. State-of-the-art technical methodologies: 4. Check if the state-of-the-art methodologies are adequately described? 5. Relevance to market: 6. Has any market analysis been done? 7. Is there any documentation of the various market opportunities? 8. Creativity: Creativity is required to understand and develop a project as innovatively as possible and should be well described in its documents. Typical characteristics of a project A project is a temporary endeavour with a finite completion date undertaken to create a unique product or service. Projects bring form or function to ideas or needs. Project has a start and an end date. Project parameters for negotiation During the course of a project, a team negotiates for one or more of the following constraints: 1. Scope, cost and schedule objectives 2. Changes to scope, cost or schedules 3. Contract terms and conditions 4. Resources Value addition of project management Projects may be completed with one or more of the following undesirable outcomes: 1. Stretched deadlines 2. Wasted resources 3. Unmet customer functional requirements 4. Overshot budget

Q3. Several different strategies have been employed to assist in aggregate planning. Explain these in brief. Ans. Several different strategies have been employed to assist in aggregate planning. The strategies are divided into two groups namely pure strategies and mixed strategies Pure strategies Three focused or pure strategies are: Vary production to match demand by changes in employment (Chase demand strategy): This strategy permits hiring and layoff of workers as required. When the output is to be increased more workers are added and when the output is to be decreased, workers are removed. Produce at a constant rate and use inventories (Level production strategy): This strategy retains a stable work force producing at a constant output rate. Inventory can be accumulated to satisfy peak demands. Promotional programs may also be used to shift demand. However, by producing at a constant rate, it is possible that the entire demand is not met leading to sales loss in some periods while excess production results in inventory build-up in some cases. Produce with stable workforce but vary the utilisation rate (Stable \ work-force strategy): This strategy retains a stable work force but \ permits overtime, part-time, and idle time. Some versions of this strategy leads to a combination of back orders, subcontracting, and use of inventories. This strategy avoids the detrimental effects of layoff and hence is seen as a stable strategy. Typically, information te chnology companies follow this strategy.

Mixed strategies In mixed strategies, the aggregate planner has a wide variety of choices by mixing two or more strategies. The number of mixed strategies in alternative production plans is almost limitless. Howeve r, based on the realities of the situation, the number of practical solutions is limited. These can be evaluated on a trial-and-error basis to find which plan best satisfies the requirements, taking cost, employment policies, etc. into account

Q4. Illustrate the different methods by which quality is sought to be achieved using various tools and techniques. Ans . Quality control techniques are specific activities and procedures adopted using data, for determining a particular aspect of quality to arri ve at decisions which are conclusive. Some of the quality control techniques are: Quality at the source The concept of quality makes the production worker responsible for inspecting his/her own work and for taking corrective actions. Since inspection is done immediately after a job is done, finding the cause of the error with clarity aids in faster rectification. Every worker has the authority to stop production, if he/she finds some serious defect. This puts responsibility for quality on the workers and gives them pride in their work. Quality control tools The most popular and widely used tools are called as 7 QC tools. These include flow chart, check sheet, histogram, pares to analysis, scatter diagram, control chart, and cause and effect diagram. These are the basic seven quality control tools used for achieving or improving quality

Acceptance sampling Acceptance sampling is also known as end of line inspection and categorising the products based on sample based inspection. In acceptance sampling method of quality control, the supplier and customer agree upon accepting a lot, by inspecting a small number taken randomly from the bulk supply. Out of the sample, if a small number as agreed upon by the parties or as validated by a sampling scheme, is determined as defective, the lot is accepted. If the number of defectives is more than the agreed size, the entire lot is rejected.

Q5. Explain the basic competitive priorities considered while formulating operations strategy by a firm. Ans . Operations strategy reflects the long-term goals of an organisation in its corporate strategy. The basic competitive priorities are: 1. Cost 2. Quality 3. Time 4. Flexibility Cost Cost is one of the primary considerations while marketing a product or a service. Being a low cost producer, the product accepted by the customer offers sustainability and can outperform competitors. Lower price and better quality of a product will ensure higher demand and higher profitability. Quality Quality is defined by the customer. The operations manager looks into two important aspects namely high performance design and consistent quality. High performance design includes superior features, greater durability, convenience to services, etc where as consistent design measures the frequency with which the product meets its design specifications and performs best. Time Faster delivery time, on-time delivery, and speedy development cycle are the time factors that operations strategy looks into. Faster delivery time is the time elapsed between the customer order and the delivery. On -time delivery is the frequency with which the product is delivered on time. Flexibility Flexibility is the ability to provide a wide variety of products, and it measures how fast the manufacturer can convert its process line used for one product to produce another product after making the required changes. The two types of flexibilities are: 1) Customisation 2) Volume flexibility

Q6. Explain briefly the four classification of scheduling st rategies? Answer. Following are the classifications: 1. Detailed scheduling 2. Cumulative scheduling 3. Cumulative-detailed scheduling 4. Priority decision rules Detailed scheduling All job orders from customers are scheduled to the last details. This may not be practical in case disruptions are there in production line like machine breakdown, absenteeism, etc. (Possible in airlines, hotels, etc) Cumulative scheduling The customer orders are pooled to form a cumulative work load and then matched with the capacity. The work load is then allocated in such a way that immediate periods get allocated to maximum capacity. Cumulative-detailed combination This combines both the earlier strategies of firm and flexible nature of work load. Cumulative work load projections ca n be used to plan for capacity as needed. As changes happen during the week, the materials and capacity requirements are updated. The actual time allocated to the specified job at each work centre is as per the standard hours needed. This is tuned further with the requirements of the master schedule. Priority decision rules When a set of orders are to be executed, the question of prioritising arises. These priority decision rules are scheduling guidelines used independently or in conjunction with any one of the above three strategies.