Process Design

Question 1

What is a Process?

Answer 1

Any part of an organization that takes INPUTS and TRANSFORMS them into OUTPUTS.

Question 2

What is the Cycle Time?

Answer 2

The average time between completed units emerging from the process

Question 3

What is Utilization?

Answer 3

The percentage of time a resource is ACTIVELY USED versus available time.

Question 4

What is a Single-Stage Process?

Answer 4

All activities are combined and analyzed with a SINGLE CYCLE TIME

Question 5

What is a Multiple-Stage Process?

Answer 5

Process consists of MULTIPLE ACTIVITY GROUPS linked together

Question 6

What is a Buffer?

Answer 6

A storage area where items WAIT before moving to the next stage

Question 7

What is Blocking?

Answer 7

Work must STOP because there’s NO SPACE to move items forward

Question 8

What is Starving?

Answer 8

Work STOPS because NO MATERIALS are available from the previous stage

Question 9

What is a Bottleneck?

Answer 9

The slowest stage, which LIMITS OVERALL CAPACITY

Question 10

What is Make-to-Stock?

Answer 10

Produces in advance based on demand forecasts

Question 11

What are the pros and cons of Make-to-Stock?

Answer 11

Fast response, but risk of overproduction

Question 12

What is Make-to-Order?

Answer 12

Only starts production after receiving an order

Question 13

What are the pros and cons of Make-to-Order?

Answer 13

Reduces inventory, but has slower response times

Question 14

What is Hybrid?

Answer 14

Combines elements of both approaches (make-to-stock & make-to-order)

Question 15

What are the pros and cons of Hybrid?

Answer 15

Balances inventory levels with customer responsiveness

Question 16

What is pacing?

Answer 16

having a fixed time for the movement of items through the process

Question 17

How do you calculate the required cycle time for a process?

Answer 17

net production time / number of units produced

Question 18

What is Benchmarking?

Answer 18

Comparing process metrics against other companies

Question 19

What is Productivity?

Answer 19

Output/Input ratio

Question 20

What is Efficiency?

Answer 20

Actual output compared to a standard

Question 21

What is Run Time?

Answer 21

Time required to produce a batch of parts

Question 22

What is Setup Time?

Answer 22

Time required to prepare a machine for a specific job

Question 23

What is Operation Time?

Answer 23

Run time + Setup time for a batch

Question 24

What is Flow Time?

Answer 24

Total time a unit spends in process, including waiting time

Question 25

What is Value-Added Time?

Answer 25

Time spent performing useful work on a unit

Question 26

What is Process Velocity (Throughput Ratio)?

Answer 26

the output rate that the process is expected to produce over a period of time

Question 27

What is Total Average Inventory Value?

Answer 27

Sum of raw materials, work-in-process, and finished goods

Question 28

What is Inventory Turns?

Answer 28

COGS ÷ Average Inventory Value (measures how often inventory is sold)

Question 29

What is Days-of-Supply?

Answer 29

The inverse of inventory turns, scaled to days

Question 30

What is Little’s Law (Inventory Relationship)?

Answer 30

Inventory = Throughput Rate × Flow Time it relates the number of units in a system to the rate and time they flow through

Question 31

What is Job Design?

Answer 31

Specifies the work activities of individuals or teams

Question 32

What does Specialization of Labor do?

Answer 32

Increases efficiency and productivity. Can lead to worker dissatisfaction.

Question 33

What are the two types of Job Enrichment?

Answer 33

Horizontal Enrichment: Workers perform a variety of tasks. Vertical Enrichment: Workers participate in planning and decision-making.

Question 34

What can reduce Process Flow Time?

Answer 34

Perform activities in parallel (instead of sequentially). Change the sequence of activities. Reduce interruptions and delays

Question 35

What is Work Measurement & Standards?

Answer 35

Analyzing jobs to set time standards for tasks

Question 36

What are the two types of Work Measurement Techniques?

Answer 36

Direct and Indirect

Question 37

What are the two direct methods of measurement techniques?

Answer 37

Time Study: Uses a stopwatch to time work. Work Sampling: Observes work at random intervals.

Question 38

What are the two indirect methods of measurement techniques?

Answer 38

Predetermined Motion-Time Data System (PMTS): Uses lab-tested movement times to estimate job duration. Elemental Data: Uses a database of past job times to estimate new job times.

Question 39

What is process flowcharting?

Answer 39

a technique used to document and analyze the sequence of steps in a process, showing how materials and information flow

Question 40

What are the three components of a process?

Answer 40

1. a set of tasks 2. the flow of materials and information 3. storage or waiting times