Q1. Explain in brief the origins of Just In Time.

Explain
the different types of wastes that can be eliminated
using JIT

Ans. Just in Time (JIT) is a management philosophy aimed at

eliminating waste and continuously improving quality. Credit
for developing JIT as a management strategy goes to Toyota.
Toyota JIT manufacturing started in the aftermath of World
War II.

Although the history of JIT traces back to Henry Ford who

applied Just in Time principles to manage inventory in the
Ford Automobile Company during the early part of the 20th
Century, the origins of the JIT as a management strategy
traces to Taiichi Onho of the Toyota Manufacturing Company.
He developed Just in Time strategy as a means of competitive
advantage during the post World War II period in Japan.

The post-World War II Japanese automobile industry faced a

crisis of existence, and companies such as Toyota looked to
benchmark their thriving American counterparts. The
productivity of an American car worker was nine times that of
a Japanese car worker at that time, and Taiichi Onho sought
ways to reach such levels.

Two pressing challenges however prevented Toyota from

adopting the American way:

1. American car manufacturers made “lots” or a “batch” of

a model or a component before switching over to a new
model or component. This system was not suited to the
Japanese conditions where a small market required
manufacturing in small quantities.
 2. The car pricing policy of US manufacturers was to charge
a mark-up on the cost price. The low demand in Japan
led to price resistance. The need of the hour was thus to
reduce manufacturing costs to increase profits.

To overcome these two challenges, Taiichi Onho identified

waste as the primary evil. The categories of waste identified
included

• overproduction
• inventory or waste associated with keeping dead stock
• time spent by workers waiting for materials to appear in
the assembly line
• time spend on transportation or movement
• workers spending more time than necessary processing
an item
• waste associated with defective items

Taiichi Onho then sought to eliminate waste through the just-

in-time philosophy, where items moved through the
production system only as and when needed.

Q2. What is Value Engineering or Value Analysis?

Elucidate five companies which have incorporated VE
with brief explanation.

Ans. Value Engineering (VE), also known as Value Analysis,

is a systematic and function-based approach to improving the
value of products, projects, or processes.VE involves a team
of people following a structured process. The process helps
team members communicate across boundaries, understand
different perspectives, innovate, and analyze. When to use
it Use Value Analysis to analyze and understand the detail of
specific situations.

Use it to find a focus on key areas for innovation.

Use it in reverse (called Value Engineering) to identify

specific solutions to detail problems.

It is particularly suited to physical and mechanical problems,

but can also be used in other areas.

Quick X Long
Psycholog
Logical X
ical
Individu
X Group
al

How it works

Value Analysis (and its design partner, Value Engineering) is

used to increase the value of products or services to all
concerned by considering the function of individual items and
the benefit of this function and balancing this against the
costs incurred in delivering it. The task then becomes to
increase the value or decrease the cost.

Q3. Explain different types of Quantitative models.

Differentiate between work study and motion study.

Ans. Quantitative models are needed for a variety of

management tasks, including
(a) identi¯cation of critical variables to use for health
monitoring,

(b) antici- pating service level violations by using predictive

models, and

(c) on-going op- timization of con¯gurations.

Unfortunately, constructing quantitative models requires

specialized skills that are in short supply. Even worse, rapid
changes in provider con¯gurations and the evolution of
business demands mean that quantitative models must be
updated on an on-going basis. This paper de-scribes an
architecture and algorithms for on-line discovery of
quantitativemodels without prior knowledge of the managed
elements. The architecture makes use of an element schema
that describes managed elements using the common
information model (CIM). Algorithms are presented for
selecting a subset of the element metrics to use as
explanatory variables in a quantitative model and for
constructing the quantitative model itself. We further
describe a prototype system based on this architecture that
incorporates these algo-rithms. We apply the prototype to on-
line estimation of response times for

DB2 Universal Database under a TPC-W workload. Of the

approximately 500 metrics available from the DB2
performance monitor, our system chooses 3 to construct a
model that explains 72% of the variability of response time.
In production and operations management, models refer to
any simple representation of reality in different forms such
as mathematical equations, graphical representation,
pictorial representation, and physical models. Thus a model
could be the well known economic order quantity (EOQ)
formula, a PERT network chart, a motion picture of an
operation, or pieces of strings stretched on a drawing of a
plant layout to study the movement of material. The models
help us to analyze and understand the reality. These also
help us to work determine optimal conditions to for decision
making. For example, the EOQ formula helps us to determine
the optimum replenishment quantities that minimize the cost
of storing plus replenishing.The number of different models
we use in production and operations management run into
hundreds, or even more than a thousand. These are really
too many to enumerate in a place like these. I am listing
below a random list of broad categories of models used in
production and operations model.Operations research
models. This is actually a very broad classification and covers
many of the other categories in the list given here.

• Inventory models
• Forecasting models
• Network models
• Linear programming models
• Queuing models
• Production planning and control models
• Engineering drawings
• Photographs and motion pictures used in time and
motion studies.
• Material movement charts
• Process flow diagrams
• Systems charts
• Statistical process control charts.
• Variance analysis
• Regression analysis
• Organization chart
 • Fishbone chart

Work study and motion study

Work study includes a wide field of measurement tools and

techniques. Motion study or method study is concerned with
analyzing individual human motions (like get object, put
object) with a view to improving motion economy.

Q4. What is Rapid Prototyping? Explain the difference

between Automated flow line and Automated
assembly line with examples.

Ans. Rapid prototyping is the automatic construction of

physical objects using additive manufacturing technology.
The first techniques for rapid prototyping became available in
the late 1980s and were used to produce models and
prototype parts. Today, they are used for a much wider range
of applications and are even used to manufacture production-
quality parts in relatively small numbers. Some sculptors use
the technology to produce complex shapes for fine arts
exhibitions.

Automated flow lines : When several automated machines

are linked by a transfer system which moves the parts by
using handling machines which are also automated, we have
an automated flow line. After completing an operation on a
machine, the semi finished parts are moved to the next
machine in the sequence determined by the process
requirements a flow line is established. The parts at various
stages from raw material to ready for fitment or assembly are
processed continuously to attain the required shapes or
acquire special properties to enable them to perform desired
functions. The materials need to be moved, held, rotated,
lifted, positioned etc. for completing different operations.
Sometimes, a few of the operations can be done on a single
machine with a number of attachments. They are moved
further to other machines for performing further operations.
Human intervention may be needed to verify that the
operations are taking place according to standards. When
these can be achieved with the help of automation and the
processes are conducted with self regulation, we will have
automated flow lines established. One important
consideration is to balance times that different machines take
to complete the operations assigned to them. It is necessary
to design the machines in such a way that the operation
times are the same throughout the sequence in the flow of
the martial. In fixed automation or hard automation, where
one component is manufactured using several operations and
machines it is possible to achieve this condition – or very
nearly. We assume that product life cycles are sufficiently
stable to invest heavily on the automated flow lines to
achieve reduced cost per unit. The global trends are
favouring flexibility in the manufacturing systems. The costs
involved in changing the set up of automated flow lines are
high. So, automated flow lines are considered only when the
product is required to be made in high volumes over a
relatively long period. Designers now incorporate flexibility in
the machines which will take care of small changes in
dimensions by making adjustments or minor changes in the
existing machine or layout. The change in movements
needed can be achieved by programming the machines.
Provision for extra pallets or tool holders or conveyors are
made in the original design to accommodate anticipated
changes. The logic to be followed is to find out whether the
reduction in cost per piece justifies the costs of designing,
manufacturing and setting up automated flow lines. Group
Technology, Cellular Manufacturing along with conventional
Product and Process Layouts are still resorted to as they
allow flexibility for the production system. With
methodologies of JIT and Lean Manufacturing finding
importance and relevance in the competitive field of
manufacturing, many companies have found that well
designed flow lines suit their purpose well. Flow lines compel
engineers to put in place equipments that balance their
production rates. It is not possible to think of inventories
(Work
In Process) in a flow line. Bottlenecks cannot be permitted. By
necessity, every bottleneck gets focused upon and solutions
found to ease them. Production managers see every
bottleneck as an opportunity to hasten the flow and reduce
inventories. However, it is important to note that setting up
automated flow lines will not be suitable for many industries

Automated Assembly Lines : All equipments needed to

make a finished product are laid out in such a way as to
follow the sequence in which the parts or subassemblies are
put together and fitted. Usually, a frame, body, base will be
the starting point of an assembly. The frame itself consists of
a construction made up of several components and would
have been ‘assembled’ or ‘fabricated’ in a separate bay or
plant and brought to the assembly line. All parts or
subassemblies are fitted to enable the product to be in
readiness to perform the function it was designed to. This
process is called assembly.
Methodologies of achieving the final result may vary, but the
basic principle is to fit all parts together and ensure linkages
so that their functions are integrated and give out the desired
output. Product Layouts are designed so that the assembly
tasks are performed in the sequence they are designed. You
will note that the same task gets repeated at each station
continuously. The finished item comes out at the end of the
line

The material goes from station 1 to 5 sequentially. Operation

2 takes longer time, say twice as long. To see that the flow is
kept at the same pace we provide two locations 2a and 2b so
that operations 3, 4 an 5 need not wait. At 5, we may provide
more personnel to complete operations. The time taken at
any of the locations should be the same. Otherwise the flow
is interrupted. In automated assembly lines the moving
pallets move the materials from station to station and moving
arms pick up parts, place them at specified places and fasten
them by pressing, riveting, screwing or even welding.
Sensors will keep track of these activities and move the
assemblies to the next stage. An operator will oversee that
the assemblies are happening and there are no stoppages.
The main consideration for using automated assembly lines is
that the volumes justify the huge expenses involved in
setting up the system.

Q5.Explain Break Even Analysis and Centre of Gravity

methods. Explain Product layout and process layout
with examples.

Ans. Break Even Analysis refers to the calculation to

determine how much product a company must sell in order to
break even on that product. It is an effective analysis to
measure the impact of different marketing decisions. It can
focus on the product, or incremental changes to the product
to determine the potential outcomes of marketing tactics.
The formula for a break even analysis is:

Break even point ($) = (Total Fixed Costs + Total Variable

Costs).
Total Variable Costs = Variable cost per unit x units sold
Unit contribution (contribution margin) = Price per unit –
Variable cost per unit.

When looking at making a change to the marketing program,

one can calculate the incremental break even volume, to
determine the merits of the change. This determines the
required volume needed such
that there is no effect to the company due to the change.
If making changes to fixed costs (changing advertising
expenditure etc.):
Incremental break even volume = change in expenditure /
unit contribution.
Thus if a company increased its advertising expenditure by
$1 million, and its unit contribution for the specific product is
$20, then the company would need to sell an additional
50,000 units to break even on the decision.
If making changes to the unit contribution (change in price, or
variable costs):
Incremental break even volume = (Old Unit Volume x (Old
Unit Contribution – New Unit Contribution)) / New Unit
Contribution
Thus if a company increased its price from $15 to $20, and
had variable costs of $10, it is increasing its unit contribution
from $5 to $10, assume also an old unit volume of 1 million.
It could therefore reduce its volume by 500,000 to break
even on the decision.
When making changes to a specific product, cannibalization
of other products may occur. To calculate the effect of
cannibalization, the Break Even Cannibalization rate for a
change in a product is:

New Product Unit Contribution / Old Product Unit

Contribution.
New Product is the planned addition to a product line (or
change to a product within a product line), Old Product is the
product that loses sales to the new product (or the product
line that loses sales). The cannibalization rate refers to the
percentage of new product that would have gone to the old
product, this must be lower than the break even
cannibalization rate in order for the change to be profitable.

In manufacturing, facility layout consists of configuring the

plant site with lines, buildings, major facilities, work areas,
aisles, and other pertinent features such as department
boundaries. While facility layout for services may be similar
to that for manufacturing, it also may be somewhat different
—as is the case with offices, retailers, and warehouses.
Because of its relative permanence, facility layout probably is
one of the most crucial elements affecting efficiency. An
efficient layout can reduce unnecessary material handling,
help to keep costs low, and maintain product flow through
the facility.

Firms in the upper left-hand corner of the product-process

matrix have a process structure known as a jumbled flow or a
disconnected or intermittent line flow. Upper-left firms
generally have a process layout. Firms in the lower right-hand
corner of the product-process matrix can have a line or
continuous flow. Firms in the lower-right part of the matrix
generally have a product layout. Other types of layouts
include fixed-position, combination, cellular, and certain
types of service layouts.

PROCESS LAYOUT

Process layouts are found primarily in job shops, or firms that

produce customized, low-volume products that may require
different processing requirements and sequences of
operations. Process layouts are facility configurations in
which operations of a similar nature or function are grouped
together. As such, they occasionally are referred to as
functional layouts. Their purpose is to process goods or
provide services that involve a variety of processing
requirements. A manufacturing example would be a machine
shop. A machine shop generally has separate departments
where general-purpose machines are grouped together by
function (e.g., milling, grinding, drilling, hydraulic presses,
and lathes). Therefore, facilities that are configured according
to individual functions or processes have a process layout.
This type of layout gives the firm the flexibility needed to
handle a variety of routes and process requirements.
Services that utilize process layouts include hospitals, banks,
auto repair, libraries, and universities.

Improving process layouts involves the minimization of

transportation cost, distance, or time. To accomplish this
some firms use what is known as a Muther grid, where
subjective information is summarized on a grid displaying
various combinations of department, work group, or machine
pairs. Each combination (pair), represented by an intersection
on the grid, is assigned a letter indicating the importance of
the closeness of the two (A = absolutely necessary; E = very
important; I = important; O = ordinary importance; U =
unimportant; X = undesirable). Importance generally is based
on the shared use of facilities, equipment, workers or records,
work flow, communication requirements, or safety
requirements. The departments and other elements are then
assigned to clusters in order of importance.

Advantages of process layouts include:

• Flexibility. The firm has the ability to handle a variety of

processing requirements.
• Cost. Sometimes, the general-purpose equipment
utilized may be less costly to purchase and less costly
and easier to maintain than specialized equipment.
• Motivation. Employees in this type of layout will probably
be able to perform a variety of tasks on multiple
machines, as opposed to the boredom of performing a
repetitive task on an assembly line. A process layout
also allows the employer to use some type of individual
incentive system.
 • System protection. Since there are multiple machines
available, process layouts are not particularly vulnerable
to equipment failures.

Disadvantages of process layouts include:

• Utilization. Equipment utilization rates in process layout

are frequently very low, because machine usage is
dependent upon a variety of output requirements.
• Cost. If batch processing is used, in-process inventory
costs could be high. Lower volume means higher per-
unit costs. More specialized attention is necessary for
both products and customers. Setups are more frequent,
hence higher setup costs. Material handling is slower
and more inefficient. The span of supervision is small
due to job complexities (routing, setups, etc.), so
supervisory costs are higher. Additionally, in this type of
layout accounting, inventory control, and purchasing
usually are highly involved.
• Confusion. Constantly changing schedules and routings
make juggling process requirements more difficult.

PRODUCT LAYOUT

Product layouts are found in flow shops (repetitive assembly

and process or continuous flow industries). Flow shops
produce high-volume, highly standardized products that
require highly standardized, repetitive processes. In a
product layout, resources are arranged sequentially, based
on the routing of the products. In theory, this sequential
layout allows the entire process to be laid out in a straight
line, which at times may be totally dedicated to the
production of only one product or product version. The flow of
the line can then be subdivided so that labor and equipment
are utilized smoothly throughout the operation.
Two types of lines are used in product layouts: paced and
unpaced. Paced lines can use some sort of conveyor that
moves output along at a continuous rate so that workers can
perform operations on the product as it goes by. For longer
operating times, the worker may have to walk alongside the
work as it moves until he or she is finished and can walk back
to the workstation to begin working on another part (this
essentially is how automobile manufacturing works).

On an unpaced line, workers build up queues between

workstations to allow a variable work pace. However, this
type of line does not work well with large, bulky products
because too much storage space may be required. Also, it is
difficult to balance an extreme variety of output rates without
significant idle time. A technique known as assembly-line
balancing can be used to group the individual tasks
performed into workstations so that there will be a
reasonable balance of work among the workstations.

Product layout efficiency is often enhanced through the use

of line balancing. Line balancing is the assignment of tasks to
workstations in such a way that workstations have
approximately equal time requirements. This minimizes the
amount of time that some workstations are idle, due to
waiting on parts from an upstream process or to avoid
building up an inventory queue in front of a downstream
process.

Advantages of product layouts include:

• Output. Product layouts can generate a large volume of

products in a short time.
• Cost. Unit cost is low as a result of the high volume.
Labor specialization results in reduced training time and
cost. A wider span of supervision also reduces labor
costs. Accounting, purchasing, and inventory control are
 routine. Because routing is fixed, less attention is
required.
• Utilization. There is a high degree of labor and
equipment utilization.

Disadvantages of product layouts include:

• Motivation. The system’s inherent division of labor can

result in dull, repetitive jobs that can prove to be quite
stressful. Also, assembly-line layouts make it very hard
to administer individual incentive plans.
• Flexibility. Product layouts are inflexible and cannot
easily respond to required system changes—especially
changes in product or process design.
• System protection. The system is at risk from equipment
breakdown, absenteeism, and downtime due to
preventive maintenance.