JK INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY & MANAGEMENT

OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT (PROF. VASUDEVAN TMC)

ASSIGNMENT ANSWERS

1. What are Bottleneck operations? How do you balance production

lines to overcome bottleneck operation?

2. What is meant by plant layout? Explain the principles of plant layout?

Plant layout is the disposition of various facilities and services of the

plant within the area of the site selected previously. The work of the
plant layout begins with the location of the work centre. Plant layout
thus involves the determination of the space requirement for the
facilities and arranging them in a manner that causes steady flow of
production with minimum overall cost.

Thus Plant Layout is the placing of right equipment coupled

with right method in the right place to permit the processing of a
product in the most effective manner through the shortest possible
distance and through the shortest possible time.

According to Moore,” plant layout is the plan of or the act of

planning an optimum arrangement of facilities, including personnel,
operating equipment, storage space, material handling equipment and
all other supporting services along with the design of the best
structure to contain these facilities”
Principles of a Good Plant Layout

It is not possible to define a good layout in a few words. There are

certain criteria which can be used to judge whether or not the layout is
efficient. Some good principles of an efficient Layout are listed
below:

1) Overall Integration of Factors

A good layout is the one that integrates men, materials,

machines and supporting activities in such a way that the best
compromise is achieved.

2) Minimum Movement

A good layout is the one that permits the minimum

movement between the operations.

3) Unidirectional Flow

A good layout is the one that makes materials move only in

the forward direction, towards stage of completion, without any
backracking.

4) Maximum Visibility

A good layout is the one that always makes men machines

and materials readily observable at all time.

5) Maximum Accessibility

A good layout is the one that makes all services and

maintenance points readily accessible.

6) Minimum Handling

A good layout is the one that reduces the material

handling activity to its minimum

7) Safe and improved environments

 A good layout is the one that makes the work centers and
areas around them safe and satisfying to the workmen.

8) Maximum Flexibility

A good layout is the one that can be easily altered after

setup without much cost.

9) Effective use of Available Space

A good layout is the one that makes optimum use of

available space both horizontal and vertical. This involves
arrangement of different units in the layout, in such a way that each
pattern ensures forward movement of material.

Diagram showing different flow patterns of facilities for Maximum

Utilisation of Space

3. What are the objectives of environmental management? How

can we reduce prevent Industrial Accidents?

Environmental management is not, as the phrase could suggest, the

management of the environment as such, but rather the management of
interaction by the modern human societies with, and impact upon the
environment. The three main issues that affect managers are those involving
politics (networking), programs (projects) and resources (money, facilities,
etc.). The need for environmental management can be viewed from a variety
of perspectives. A more common philosophy and impetus behind
environmental management is the concept of carrying capacity. Simply put,
carrying capacity refers to the maximum number of organisms a particular
resource can sustain. The concept of carrying capacity, whilst understood by
many cultures over history, has its roots in Malthusian theory.
Environmental management is therefore not the conservation of the
environment solely for the environment's sake, but rather the conservation of
the environment for humankind's sake. This element of sustainable
exploitation, getting the most out of natural assets, is visible in the EU Water
Framework Directive.

Environmental management involves the management of all components

of the bio-physical environment, both living (biotic) and non-living
(abiotic). This is due to the interconnected and network of relationships
amongst all living species and their habitats. The environment also involves
the relationships of the human environment, such as the social, cultural and
economic environment with the bio-physical environment.

As with all management functions, effective management tools, standards

and systems are required. An 'environmental management standard or
system or protocol attempts to reduce environmental impact as measured by
some objective criteria. The ISO 14001 standard is the most widely used
standard for environmental risk management and is closely aligned to the
European Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS). As a common
auditing standard, the ISO 19011 standard explains how to combine this
with quality management.

4. “Production control is the key to the success of a business

organization”. Discuss this statement listing various functions carried
out number production control and state their purpose in brief.
 5. What requirement should be fulfilled by a product design?

Product design can be defined as the idea generation, concept development,

testing and manufacturing or implementation of a physical object or service.
Product Designers conceptualize and evaluate ideas, making them tangible
through products in a more systematic approach. The role of a product
designer encompasses many characteristics of the marketing manager,
product manager, industrial designer and design engineer.

The term is sometimes confused with industrial design, which defines the
field of a broader spectrum of design activities, such as service design,
systems design, interaction design as well as product design.[citation needed] The
role of the product designer combines art, science and technology to create
tangible three-dimensional goods. This evolving role has been facilitated by
digital tools that allow designers to communicate, visualize and analyze
ideas in a way that would have taken greater manpower in the past.

Skills needed

Product designers are equipped with the skills needed to bring products from
conception to market. They should have the ability to manage design
projects, and subcontract areas to other sectors of the design industry.
Aesthetics is considered important in Product Design but designers also deal
with important aspects including technology, ergonomics, usability, stress
analysis and materials engineering.

As with most of the design fields the idea for the design of a product arises
from a need and has a use. It follows a certain method and can sometimes be
attributed to more complex factors such as association and telesis. Also used
to describe a technically competent product designer or industrial designer is
the term Industrial Design Engineer.

Application

Some companies or individuals have particularly strong feel for developing

new products than others. In the modern world these include especially
technological companies like iRobot, Google or Nokia. Many product
designers are strategic assets to companies that need to maintain a
competitive edge in innovation.

6. Why is good product design important?

 7. What are the stages in product design?

Customers will choose a product based on their perceived value

of it. Satisfaction is the degree to which the actual use of a product
matches the perceived value at the time of the purchase. A customer is
satisfied only if the actual value is the same or exceeds the perceived
value. Kotler defined five levels to a product:

1. Core Benefit:

The fundamental need or want that consumers satisfy by

consuming the product or service.

2. Generic Product

A version of the product containing only those attributes or

characteristics absolutely necessary for it to function.

3. Expected Product

The set of attributes or characteristics that buyers normally

expect and agree to when they purchase a product.
4. Augmented Product

Inclusion of additional features, benefits, attributes or related

services that serve to differentiate the product from its competitors.

5. Potential Product

All the augmentations and transformations a product might

undergo in the future.

Kotler noted that much competition takes place at the

Augmented Product level rather than at the Core Benefit level or, as
Levitt put it: 'New competition is not between what companies produce
in their factories, but between what they add to their factory output in the
form of packaging, services, advertising, customer advice, financing,
delivery arrangements, warehousing, and other things that people value.'

8. Explain the various factors that influence plant location.

Regional Factors

• Proximity to Markets

• Proximity to Raw-materials

• Infrastructural facility

• Transportation facility

• Labour and wages

• Legislation and taxation

• Climatic condition

Community Factors

• Industrial and labour attitudes

• Safety requirements

• Community facilities

• Community attitudes

Site Factors

• Supporting industries and services

• Availability of land

• Cost of land

• Suitability of land

9. State the steps involve in plant location.

An ideal location is one where the cost of obtaining materials and
processing them into finished products, plus the cost of distributing the
finished product to the customers is minimum.

One of the most commonly used approach is as follows:

Step 1 : Prepare a list of all relevant factors.

Step 2 : Estimate expenses on materials, transport, wages, power, etc for

each location based on the above factors.

Step 3 : Collect data on intangible factors like Community facilities &

Community attitudes.

Step 4 : Analyse the tangible data for each location and

calculate rate of return on investment.

Step 5 : Select provisionally a location based on financial data.

Step 6 : Carefully compare the data for different locations and select the
optimal location based on tangible and intangible data.

Plant location decisions are thus important, strategic, long-term and non-
repetitive decisions. Plant location depends on various factors, some
concerned with general territory selection whereas some factors are
relevant for community selection and site selection. Location decisions
also take into account the merits and demerits of Urban and Rural areas.
Poor location of the plant often involves higher cost of production, difficult
marketing and transportation, disturbances in production and overall
decline in Profitability.

10.Briefly explain the objectives of material handling.

Material Handling is the movement, storage, control and protection of
materials, goods and products throughout the process of manufacturing,
distribution, consumption and disposal. The focus is on the methods,
mechanical equipment, systems and related controls used to achieve these
functions. The material handling industry manufactures and distributes the
equipment and services required to implement material handling systems.
Material handling systems range from simple pallet rack and shelving
projects, to complex conveyor belt and Automated Storage and Retrieval
Systems (AS/RS).

Material Handling System in Flexible Manufacturing

The material handling system (MHS) is a fundamental part of a Flexible

Manufacturing system since it interconnects the different processes
supplying and taking out raw material, work pieces, sub products, parts and
final products. Due to the automated nature of the whole production process,
the MHS must respond in concert with timeliness for all requirements of the
processes and systems.

The MHS is composed of warehouses, buffers, conveyors, transportation

vehicles or systems, part sorters, feeders and manipulators