Manufacturing Processes - Chapter 7

Question 1

What is a process?

Answer 1

is a series of tasks that transform inputs into outputs of higher value for the org.

Process:
Inputs -> Task1 -> Task2 -> Task3 -> Outputs

Question 2

What is manufacturing process?

Answer 2

producing physical goods

Question 3

What is service processes?

Answer 3

delivering services (e.g. healthcare, restaurants)

Question 4

What is lead time?

Answer 4

The time required to respond to a customer order.

Question 5

What is Customer Order Decoupling Point?

Answer 5

The location in the supply chain where inventory is positioned to ALLOW INDEPENDENT OPERATION.

Question 6

What is lean manufacturing?

Answer 6

method to achieve high customer service levels with MINIMAL INVENTORY INVESTMENT

Question 7

2 Main Manufacturing Approaches:

Answer 7

1. Make-to-stock:
   Serves customers from finished goods inventory - producing goods in advance, storing them in inventory.
   + Example: clothing, electronics, packaged food
2. Make-to-order:
   Make the product from raw materials and parts only after receiving the customer order.
   + Example: Boeing builds planes only after customer purchase

Question 8

Challenges & Solutions with both processes:

Answer 8

MTS:
- Inventory management is crucial to avoid stockouts or overstocking.
- Trade-off: Keeping high inventory ensures availability but increases costs.

Solution:
Companies invest in lean manufacturing (reduce waste, costs, be efficient etc.) to balance cost and service levels.

MTO:
- Lead time is a major issue – customers must wait longer for the product.

Benefits: No need for large inventories since production is demand-driven.

Question 9

What is a Assemble-to-Order (ATO) Firm?

Answer 9

Assembling standardized pre-made components based on customer preferences.

Question 10

What is a Engineer-to-Order (ETO) Firm?

Answer 10

Designing and building completely customized products from scratch.

Question 11

What are the three types of processes?

Answer 11

1. Project - low volume, high variety
   Example: designing a custom house
2. Batch - low to medium volume, many and varied products
   Example: bakery items, clothes
3. Mass - high volume, few different products
   Example: car manufacturing

Question 12

What is Process Layout?

Answer 12

The physical arrangement of resources in a facility.

Affects efficiency, costs, and flexibility.

Must be carefully planned when designing new facilities or modifying existing ones.

Question 13

What are the two key questions in process layout decisions?

Answer 13

1. How much variety?
2. How much volume

Question 14

Project/ Fix-position layout

Answer 14

The product remains fixed, while materials, labor, and equipment move to it.

Used when the product is too large or heavy to move.

Manufacturing transforming resources are brought when the product is assembled.

Examples: Construction, Shipbuilding, Aircraft.

Question 15

Workcenter (Job Shop)

Answer 15

Best for low-volume production of a wide variety of non-standardized products.

Machines are grouped by function (e.g. in Hospitals: grinding, drilling, cutting).

Work travels to different centers based on process needs.

Examples: Customized machine parts, handcrafted products (e.g. luxury watches)

Question 16

Manufacturing Cell (Cellular Layout)

Answer 16

A production area dedicated to a group of similar products. Organizing equipment to process similar product families.

Combines different machines into “cells” that produce similar items.

Improves efficiency by reducing material
movement.

Examples: Smartphones production, metal fabrication, and computer chip manufacturing.

Question 17

What are the benefits of a Manufacturing Cell?

Answer 17

Benefits:
- Better human relations (teams work together).
- Improved expertise (workers specialize in the cell).
- Less inventory & faster production setup.

Question 18

Assembly Line

Answer 18

Step-by-step production where products move through stations. Designed for the purpose of building a product through a series of steps.

Best for high-volume production.

Highly structured & sequential workflow.

Maximizes efficiency & speed, and widely used.

Examples: Consumer goods (beverages), home appliances (refrigerators).

Question 19

Continuous Process

Answer 19

Similar to an assembly line but focused on products that ‘flow’ through the system (e.g. liquids, gases or chemicals)

Operates 24/7 for efficiency.

Highly automated with minimal manual intervention.

High startup/shutdown costs - difficult to pause operations.

Examples: Oil Refining (gas production), Electricity generation