Production and operations Management Control

Discuss how improved quality enhances productivity.

     Productivity is measured by a ratio of output to the total resources a company uses to create that output. Higher quality translates into higher productivity because companies use fewer resources to provide manufactured products or services to customers.

     The costs of poor quality are defective products that must be reworked serviced, or replaced; wasted materials; inefficient use of human resources and facilities; and excess inventories that add to capital overhead. From a social viewpoint, low&-quality products result in wasted natural resources, unnecessary costs of disposition, and safety problems. Higher quality and productivity significantly reduce costs for companies and society.

Explain design, product, and service and use controls.

     Design controls are used to improve product reliability and reduce costs. Product controls include acceptance sampling to ensure high&-quality manufacturing, tests of finished products to ensure reliability, and accuracy tests of both inspectors and their equipment to improve quality and product control systems. Service and use controls (such as field warranty checks, installation evaluations, and consumer surveys) focus on after&-sale results.

Describe how PERT and CPM are used in production control, and the concepts of SQC, SPC, and cellular systems.

     PERT and CPM, two network control systems, are used to plan and control complex projects that require complicated sequential operations. PERT maps out the sequence of events necessary to complete a project. It identifies the sequence and activities required for each event to graphically show how work is to proceed and the time required to complete each event. CPM is similar to PERT, but identifies alternative routes for scheduled events and then estimates a "critical path"&-the longest period of time and sequence of events required to complete a project. SQC is the mathematical process of evaluating performance results using various calculations and methods to provide management with decision&-making information. SPC is a system of monitoring and analysis of manufactured components, parts, or products during the production process. In contrast to these techniques, cellular systems reflect a reorganization of work processes away from sequential chains of activities toward clusters interrelated task activities.

Describe materials controls and inventory management.

     Materials controls are concerned with efficient purchasing to production when needed materials with the correct specifications in the right quantities. Inventory controls are concerned with receiving, storing, handling, and transporting three types of inventory: raw materials and parts to be used in production, work&-in&-process inventory that represents partially made or assembled products, and finished goods that are ready to ship to customers.

Describe and contrast EOQ, MRP, JIT, and statistical process controls.

     EOQ, is a model used to reduce costs associated with ordering and holding  incoming materials. MRP is a computer&-based system of scheduling purchasing and production in an integrated model. JIT, is a management approach that eliminates inventory and defects by providing materials and parts directly to manufacturing points without intermediate stocking or warehousing, JIT  also requires that precise quantities of materials be delivered without faults. Thus any deviation in delivery or quality will disrupt production. However, JIT eliminates the capital costs of  inventory and requires ideally perfect quality performance.

Explain how integrated systems using MRP 11 and JIT are complementary.

     MRP 11 is a push system that is activated by sales forecasts and management decisions about when and how much to produce for finished goods inventory. It also is a process that integrates all company functions through an elegant information system that incorporates materials, production, inventory, and quality controls. JIT is a pull system, and as a philosophy of manufacturing, it establishes the objective of 100 percent quality driven by the need to produce exactly what a customer needs exactly when it is needed. JIT is activated by actual orders, not forecasts or decisions by management based on probability scenarios Consequently, JIT pulls work through a system and integrates all activities back through a complete operations process. When MRP 11 and JIT are used together, a strategic system evolves that is driven by customer orders and a commitment to total quality management, but that also has the sophistication of a fully integrated technology and precise controls.