Summer 2013 MBA II SEMESTER MB 0044 - PRODUCTION AND OPERATION MANAGEMENT - 4 CREDITS 60 Marks (BOOK ID B1627) Q1.

Explain the four basic varieties of layouts for manufacturing facilities. The four basic varieties of layouts for manufacturing facilities are: 1. Process layout: This type of layout is concerned with the grouping of machines, process, or services according to their function. This grouping of machines by function is characteristic of job shops and batch type production facilities. Hence this type of layout is also called as functional layout. Process layout typically uses general purpose machines that can be changed over rapidly to new operations for different product designs. Figure below depicts the various departments in a car service centre.

2. Product layout: Product layout commonly referred to as 'line layout', focuses on the sequence of production or assembly operations required for manufacturing or assembling a part or a product. These are used in mass or continuous production. Examples are automobile assembly, cement manufacturing, oil refining. Figure depicts the various machines in a component manufacturing layout.

3. Group technology layout: In group technology, machines are grouped into a cell. The cell acts like a product layout which is land within a larger process layout environment. It requires that each cell process is a family of parts that have many common characteristics, such as machining operations, similar machine set - ups and common raw materials. Due to these common characteristics, the parts can be produced in a different path through a cell much like a product layout. Figure below depicts the facilities arrangement in a group technology layout.

4. Fixed position layout: In this type of layout, the product is located in a fixed position and all the resources like workers, materials, machines and equipment's are transported to that location. Missile assembly, large aircraft assembly, ship construction and bridge construction are examples of fixed-position layouts. These layouts are used when a product is bulky, large, heavy or fragile. These minimise the amount of product movement required. Figure below depicts a large aircraft assembly.

Q2. The major decision areas in supply chain management have both strategic and operational elements. Explain these decision areas in detail. There are four major decision areas in supply chain management: location, production, inventory, and transportation. There are both strategic and operational elements in each of these decision areas as depicted in figure.

1. Location decision: The geographic placement of production facilities, stocking points, and sourcing points is the natural first step in creating a supply chain. The location of facilities involves a commitment of resources to a long term plan. Once the size, number, and location of the production are determined, the possible paths of product supply to the final customer can be determined. These decisions are of great significance to a firm since they represent the basic strategy for accessing customer markets. 2. Production decision: The strategic decisions include what products to produce and which plants to produce, in allocation of suppliers to plants, plants to distribution control system (DCS), and then DCS to customer markets. As mentioned earlier, these decisions have a big impact on the revenues, costs, and customer service levels of the firm. These decisions assume the existence of the facilities, but determine the exact path through which a product flows to and from these facilities. Another critical issue is the capacity of the manufacturing facilities and this largely depends on the degree of vertical integration within the firm. Operational decisions focus on detailed production scheduling. 3. Inventory decisions: Inventory decisions refer to means by which inventories are managed. Inventories exist at every stage of the supply chain as either raw material, semifinished or finished goods. They can also be in process between locations. Their primary purpose is to buffer against any uncertainty that might exist in the supply chain. 4. Transportation decisions: Transportation decisions are closely linked to the inventory decisions, since the best choice of the mode is often found by trading-off the cost of using the particular mode of transport with the indirect cost of inventory associated with that mode. While air shipments may be fast, reliable, and warrant lesser safety stocks, they are expensive. Meanwhile, shipping by sea or rail may be much cheaper, but they necessitate holding relatively large amounts of inventory to buffer against the inherent uncertainty associated with them.

Q3. Business process is a total response that a business undertakes utilizing the resources and delivering the outputs that create a value for the customer. Business process modelling refers to a set of activities undertaken to optimise the business process. Business process modeling can be categorised into two parts Logical processing modelling and physical process modeling. Explain in detail of the two processes of modeling. Q4. In the recent times, operations are considered from end to end of value chain which means the operations that start from sourcing of materials and other inputs to successful delivery of products to customers or end users. Implementation is the process of executing the planned operations. When planning and controlling functions are put together, we call it as Implementation of Operations. Tools for implementation are a set of specialised techniques which can be standardised for ease of implementation and control. Write a brief note on implementation of operations and tools for implementation. Q5. It is possible to work according to the project plan only by careful monitoring of the project progress. There are various steps involved in monitoring and controlling a project from start to end. One of the steps is progress control of a project which can be achieved by completing certain steps. Explain the steps of progress control. Q6. Value analysis is a methodology by which we try to minimise the cost and improve the revenue of a product or an operation. Value analysis looks at the manufacturing activities with a view to make the components simpler, processes faster, and the products better. Explain the process of value analysis.

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