MME40001 Engineering Management 2 Topic: Operations Management

Tutorial 9: Quality and Process Strategies Chapter-06 & 07

Problem 1: Use Pareto analysis to investigate the following data collected on a printed-circuit-board
assembly line:

Defect Number of Defect

Occurrences
Component not adhering 143
Excess adhesive 71
Misplaced transistors 601
Defective board dimension 146
Mounting holes improperly positioned 12
Circuitry problems on final test 90
Wrong component 212

(a) Prepare a graph of the data and (b) What conclusions do you reach?

Problem 2: A list of 16 issues that led to incorrect formulations in Mary’s jam manufacturing plant is provided
below:

List of Issues
1. Incorrect measurement
2. Antiquated scales
3. Lack of clear instructions
4. Damaged raw material
5. Operator misreads display
6. Inadequate clean-up
7. Incorrect maintenance
8. Inadequate flow controls
9. Variability
10. Equipment in disrepair
11. Technician calculation off
12. Jars mislabelled
13. Temperature controls off
14. Incorrect weights
15. Priority miscommunication
16. Inadequate instructions

Create a fish-bone diagram and categorize each of these issues correctly, using the “four Ms” method.

Problem 3: A recent Gallop poll of 519 adults who flew in the past year (published in The Economist, June
16, 2007, p. 6) found the following their number 1 complaints about flying: cramped seats (45), cost (16),
dislike or fear of flying (57), security measures (119), poor service (12), connecting flight problems (8),
overcrowded planes (42), late planes/waits (57), food (7), lost luggage (7), and other (51).

a) What percentage of those surveyed found nothing they disliked?

b) Draw a Pareto chart summarising these responses. Include the “no complaints” group.
c) Use the “four Ms” methods to create a fish-bone (cause-and-effect) diagram for the ten (10) specific
categories of complaints (exclude “other” and “no complaints”).
d) If you were managing an airline, what two or three specific issues would you tackle to improve
customer service? Why?

Abstracted from Heizer, J., and Render, B,. Operations Management, 8e, 2006. Pearson. 1
Problem 4: What type of process strategy must be more effective for making each of the following
products?
i. Beer
ii. Wedding invitations
iii. Automobiles
iv. Paper
v. Big Macs
vi. Motorcycles

Problem 5: Discuss on a probable Service Blueprint for service at a University enrollment office. The three
levels of interaction is a mandatory requirement for developing a service blueprint, while the other
categories are subjective.

Problem 6: Identify specifically service based firms that compete on each of the four processes
1. Process Focus
2. Repetitive
3. Product Focus
4. Mass Customization.

Problem 7: Meile Machine Shop, Inc., has a 1-year contract for the production of 200,000 gear housings
for a new off-road vehicle. Owner Larry Meile hopes the contract will be extended and the volume
increased next year. Meile has developed costs for three alternatives. They are general purpose equipment
(GPE), flexible manufacturing system (FMS), and expensive, but efficient, dedicated machine (DM). The
cost data follow:
General- Flexible Dedicated
purpose Manufacturing Machine
Equipment System (DM)
(GPE) (FMS)
Annual contracted units 200,000 200,000 200,000
Annual fixed cost $100,000 $200,000 $500,000
Per unit variable cost $15 $14 $13

Required: Using the information provided:

(a) Which process is best for this contract?
(b) Solve the problem graphically
(c) Using either (a) the analytical solution or (b) the graphical solution, identify the volume ranges
where each process should be used.
(d) Determine the best process for each of the following volumes (1) 75,000, (2) 275,000, and (3)
375,000.

Abstracted from Heizer, J., and Render, B,. Operations Management, 8e, 2006. Pearson. 2