Please note the following questions did not hit the 150 word min. can you please add more fluff, if you will: What type of Inventory are we trying to minimize as the result of work center scheduling? How is the TOC different from conventional approache
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SupplyChainManagement.docxRunning Head: OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT 1
OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT 5
Operations management
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Lean Supply Chains
What is the lean concept and why is it important to study?
The lean concept in lean supply chains just means, the idea of creating more value for your customers, with the use of few resources (Jacobs & Chase, 2013). The lean supply chain is a provided system of interdependent and interconnected partners that work in unison to ensure the accomplishment of supply chain objectives. An excellent lean supply chain is essential since it understands the customer value, and it also focusses its fundamental processes to ensure the continuous increase. The ultimate goal for a lean supply chain is to provide a perfect amount through creation process that ensures zero waste. The lean concept for supply chains is essential for study because of the following:
1. It ensures the elimination of all waste in the supply chain, and this is to ensure that only value remains.
2. The lean concept supply chain puts into consideration technology advancement, to help improve the supply chain.
3. Ensures reduction in lead time
4. It makes the customer usage visible to all the available members of the supply chain.
How can Lean be applied to manufacturing and services processes?
Lean concept is a widely applicable concept with many sectors using the concept in their different operations. For instance, in the manufacturing process, lean supply chained is applied in the transformation of raw materials or the semi-finished product, where it is transformed into the finished product along the production line. It is also involved in the services industry, in the form of paper flow, where you will need to trace all the production history of the services in the computers, and what this does is create differences in the application of some of the tools. An example is the value stream map, in the case of manufacturing you can see the shop floor and count the different works in processes in between the workstations. In the case of service industries, one will have to get into your computers and work into it, until you know where the work in progress is waiting to be processed.
Work center scheduling
What is work center scheduling and why is it essential for firms to focus on?
Work center scheduling mainly refers to controlling and scheduling functions of an operational work, and it focusses mostly on meeting customer due dates, minimizing lead-time, minimizing work in process inventory, minimizing set up time and maximizing labor utilization (Shen & Norrie, 1999).
It is equally essential for firms to focus on work center scheduling because of the following reasons:
1. It assists in the allocation of orders, personnel, and equipment. This is important in determining which rules will have the use of which particular material, and also who will take part in working on each job.
In the determination of the sequence order of performance, and this refers to what order the jobs will be done in
2. Helps in initiation of the production of the schedule
3. Work center scheduling takes an overview of the work on the shop floor, and ensures controlling progress and also expediting orders where they are needed.
Distinguish between a work center, a GT cell, and an assembly line
These are basic manufacturing concepts that are often confused by many. However, there exist some differences between the three as outlined below;
What type of Inventory are we trying to minimize as the result of work center scheduling?
The type of Inventory minimized as a result of work center scheduling is the Input/output control. The input/output control refers to the monitoring of the workflow and queue lengths at work centers. The primary purpose of this is to manage the workflow to ensure the queues and waiting times are kept under control. An example of the input/output control is through the use of stoplights used on some expressway on-ramps. These are to be used in the regulation of the flow of entering traffic.
Theory of Constraints
What is the Theory of Constraints and why is it important to study?
The theory of constraints is a theory on management philosophy, and it looks at the strengths of any system, chain or process, and it depends upon the weakest link. The approach of constraints is very systematic and it strives to identify constraints to the success of the system and also to be used in effecting changes necessary to remove them.
It is essential to study the theory of constraints because:
Theory of constraints assists in the evaluation of performance measures, and this is done through inventory, throughput, and the operating expense. Theory of concepts emphasizes the use of these operational rules. The approach places the most critical importance on performance. Throughput refers to the rate at which the system generates its money through sales and not through the production. Goods are not considered as assets until they are sold. Increasing the throughput or decreasing inventory often leads to the first accomplishment of any firm's goals which is to make money in the present as well as the future. Anything that should come in the way to prevent the company of its objective is labeled as a constraint, and this may appear regarding material, form capacity or the logistics.
How is the TOC different from conventional approaches?
The Theory of Constraints is relatively easy to understand in comparison other approaches. The following is how the theory of constraints is different from other conventional methods:
1. It identifies the system constraint
This is the part of the system that constitutes its weakest link, and this could either be physical or policy.
2. It identifies how to exploit the constraint
3. Ensures the subordination of everything else
This is through adjusting the non-constraint components of the system, and it also provides the elevation of the restriction, by taking action on the necessary precautions to eliminate the obstacle.
How can the TOC be applied to reduce bottlenecks in the variety of applications?
A bottleneck refers to one process in a supply chain process, which uses its limited capacity to reduce the position in the whole chain. The theory of constraints is a vital tool for the operation managers and is used to manage bottlenecks and improve the processes in the organization. The implications of this particular theory are far-reaching regarding understanding bottlenecks to a process, and the effort of maintaining those bottlenecks in the processes involved. What this means is that the throughput of any given system is more or less determined by one constraint, in this case, the bottleneck is the constraint. Thus, to ensure the increase in throughput, it essential to focus on the identification and improvement of the bottleneck.
The theory involves a step to step process of applying it with regards to bottlenecks:
1. Identify the bottleneck
2. Decide how best to exploit the bottleneck as a constraint
3. Subordinate everything else by the decision
4. Evaluate the process of the bottleneck
5. Remove the bottleneck and then re-evaluate the decision process.
References
Jacobs, F. R., Chase, R. (2013). Operations and Supply Chain Management, 14th Edition. McGraw-Hill Learning Solutions. VitalBook file.
Shen, W., & Norrie, D. H. (1999). Agent-based systems for intelligent manufacturing: a state-of-the-art survey. Knowledge and information systems, 1(2), 129-156.
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