Facilities and Supply Chain

What is facility logistics?

Design and material handling for manufacturing, distribution, and servicing.

What is the goal of managing logistics facilities?

Efficient flow of goods, services, and related information.

What does flow analysis help determine?

The most effective arrangement of machines, workstations, and departments.

What three levels of flow should be analyzed?

Within workstations, within departments, and between departments.

What product factor affects facility flow?

The number of parts and sequence of operations in each product.

What production-volume factor affects flow?

The number of units to be produced.

What are five flow-analysis information tools?

Assembly, operation process, flow process, multi-product, and from-to charts.

What does an assembly chart model?

The assembly process.

What does a single-link circle mean on an assembly chart?

A basic component.

What does a circle with several links represent?

An assembly operation or subassembly.

What does a square represent on an assembly chart?

An inspection operation.

How should you begin constructing an assembly chart?

Start with the final product and trace disassembly to basic components.

What creates an operations process chart?

Placing route sheets onto the assembly chart.

On a flow process chart, what does a circle mean?

Operation.

On a flow process chart, what does an arrow mean?

Transportation.

On a flow process chart, what does a square mean?

Inspection.

On a flow process chart, what does a triangle mean?

Storage.

On a flow process chart, what does D represent?

Delay.

What do connecting lines on a flow process chart show?

The sequence in which activities are performed.

What does a multi-product process chart contain?

Several products and their process sequences.

What is a from-to chart?

A matrix showing material flow between machines, departments, or buildings.

What can entries in a from-to chart represent?

Distances, material-handling trips, weights, costs, or quantities.

Why may both halves of a from-to matrix be needed?

One-way routes can make A→B distance differ from B→A.

What can a from-to chart establish for future comparison?

A baseline for material-handling performance.

What should effective facility flow accomplish?

Progressive movement from origin to destination with adequate aisles.

Which facility locations strongly affect flow patterns?

Receiving entrance and shipping exit.

What points are commonly used to estimate department distance?

The centroids of the departments.

Departments with many trips should generally be located how?

Near each other to minimize total travel distance.

How is total distance traveled between departments determined?

Sum each pair's distance multiplied by its number of trips.

What does flow simplification try to eliminate?

Unnecessary intermediate steps and movements.

What is direct-to-use flow?

Delivering material, information, or people directly to their ultimate use.

How can multiple flows be simplified?

Use as few movements as possible between consecutive points of use.

Why combine material movement with processing?

To reduce separate handling steps and simplify flow.

What problem is well suited to a flow process chart?

A process taking too long, such as paperwork processing and distribution.

Are inventory stockouts mainly a flow-process-chart problem?

No. They are primarily an inventory-policy problem.

Are excessive repair costs mainly a flow-process-chart problem?

No. They are primarily a reliability problem.

What is a facility layout?

The arrangement of machines and other equipment within a facility.

What are the four major layout types?

Process, product, fixed-position, and group technology.

What is a process layout?

Similar equipment or activities are grouped together.

When is a process layout appropriate?

Custom work with relatively low demand for each product.

What is a product layout?

Equipment is arranged according to the sequence used to make the product.

When is a product layout appropriate?

High-volume or bulk production.

What is a fixed-position layout?

The product remains stationary while workers and resources come to it.

When is a fixed-position layout appropriate?

Large, heavy, or fragile products that are difficult to move.

What is another name for a group technology layout?

Cell layout.

What does group technology create?

Small product layouts dedicated to groups of similar items.

What is a key advantage of a fixed-position layout?

Reduced material movement and high flexibility.

What is a key disadvantage of a fixed-position layout?

More personnel movement and low equipment utilization.

What is a key advantage of a process layout?

Equipment and human-resource flexibility.

What is a key disadvantage of a process layout?

Longer flow lines, production times, and more work-in-process inventory.

What is a key advantage of a product layout?

Short material travel distance and reduced per-unit production time.

What determines the pace of a product layout?

The slowest machine.

What is a major disadvantage of a product layout when products change?

A product change may require a major layout change.

What are key advantages of a group layout?

Short travel distance, smooth flow, and good machine utilization.

What is a potential disadvantage of a group layout?

Work-in-process storage and possible unbalanced workloads.

What production volume is associated with product layouts?

High-volume output with relatively few products.

Why can machine failure be costly in a product layout?

Downtime can disrupt the entire connected production line.

What factors matter when choosing a facility site?

Geography, access, zoning, client base, environment, and incentives.

What environmental factors may affect site selection?

Climate factors such as temperature and humidity.

What technique compares sites using supplier shipments and distance?

Load-distance technique.

What distance is used in the notes' load-distance site example?

Straight-line (Euclidean) distance.

What is the load-distance calculation?

LD = Σ(load × distance).

What does a lower load-distance score indicate?

A preferable location based on weighted transportation distance.

What is capacity?

The throughput or units a facility can hold, receive, store, or produce over time.

What is design capacity?

The theoretical maximum output under ideal conditions.

What is effective capacity?

Expected achievable capacity given current operating constraints.

Why is effective capacity often below design capacity?

Operating constraints, product changes, or a different product mix.

What factors can affect available capacity?

Product specifications, work content, product mix, plant, and equipment.

What is input in capacity analysis?

Resources, materials, labor, or other items put into the system.

What is output in capacity analysis?

What the system produces or its end product.

What is utilization?

The percentage of available capacity or time actually being used.

What is the utilization formula based on output?

Utilization = Output ÷ Design capacity.

What is utilization using hours?

Utilization = Actual hours worked ÷ Available hours × 100%.

What is efficiency?

Efficiency = Actual production rate ÷ Standard production rate × 100%.

What is rated capacity?

Rated capacity = Available time × Utilization × Efficiency.

How is available time calculated?

Available time = Number of machines × Number of workers × Hours of operation.

What should good capacity planning include?

Demand forecasts, technology, capacity increments, operating level, and change.

What can a firm do when demand exceeds capacity?

Raise prices or schedule longer lead times.

What can a firm do when capacity exceeds demand?

Reduce prices or use more aggressive marketing.

How can staffing be used to match capacity and demand?

Increase or decrease employees or shifts.

How can equipment changes adjust capacity?

Buy equipment or sell or lease excess equipment.

How can process improvement affect capacity?

Increase throughput without necessarily adding facilities.

What is a supply chain?

Organizations, people, activities, information, and resources involved in delivering a product or service from supplier to customer.

What three broad processes form an integrated supply chain?

Sourcing, making, and delivering products.

What do supply-chain activities transform?

Raw materials and components into finished products delivered to customers.

What is the purpose of supply chain management?

To satisfy customer requirements as efficiently as possible.

What inventory stages does supply chain management control?

Raw materials, work-in-process inventory, and finished goods.

What are the four essential elements of a supply chain?

Purchasing, production, inventory management, and transportation and distribution.

What does purchasing do in the supply chain?

Acquires the resources needed to produce goods and services.

What does production do in the supply chain?

Converts acquired resources into goods and services.

What does inventory management control in a supply chain?

The quantity and location of raw materials, work-in-process, and finished goods.

What does transportation and distribution accomplish?

Moves resources needed for production and distributes goods and services to customers.

What is distribution network configuration concerned with?

The number and location of suppliers, production facilities, distribution centers, warehouses, and customers.

What choices are involved in distribution strategy?

Centralized vs. decentralized, direct shipment, and push vs. pull strategies.

Why is information integration important in supply chains?

It allows systems and processes to share demand signals, forecasts, and other valuable information.

What is material handling?

The movement, storage, control, and protection of materials, goods, and products.

What is the goal of material handling?

Move the right material to the right place, at the right time, in the right amount and condition, while minimizing production cost.

What costs make up material-handling cost?

Handling, transportation, packaging, space, and equipment costs including operation, maintenance, and depreciation.

What is the primary goal of material-handling improvement?

Reduce unit production costs.

How can material handling promote productivity?

Use straight-line flow, move more material at once, mechanize handling, and automate handling.