Chapter 8  Process Layout

Chapter
8 / Process Layout

TRUE/FALSE

  1. Layout planning involves decisions about the physical arrangement of economic activity centers within a facility.

Answer: True

Reference: Introduction

Difficulty: Easy

Keywords: layout, planning, economic, activity, center

  1. An economic activity center is anything that consumes space.

Answer: True

Reference: Introduction

Difficulty: Easy

Keywords: economic, activity, center

  1. The absolute location is the placement of the center relative to other centers.

Answer: False

Reference: Layout Planning

Difficulty: Moderate

Keywords: absolute, location, relative

  1. A flexible-flow layout is a layout in which workstations or departments are arranged in a linear path.

Answer: False

Reference: Strategic Issues

Difficulty: Moderate

Keywords: flexible-flow, linear

  1. A line-flow layout is best for low-volume, high-variety production.

Answer: False

Reference: Strategic Issues

Difficulty: Moderate

Keywords: line, flow, volume, variety

  1. A line-flow layout generally has slower processing rates than a flexible-flow layout.

Answer: False

Reference: Strategic Issues

Difficulty: Moderate

Keywords: line, flow, rate, flexible-flow

  1. A cell is two or more dissimilar workstations located close together through which a limited number of parts or models are processed with line flows.

Answer: True

Reference: Strategic Issues

Difficulty: Moderate

Keywords: cell, workstations, line, flow

  1. Many project processes use a fixed-position layout.

Answer: True

Reference: Strategic Issues

Difficulty: Moderate

Keywords: project, fixed, position, layout

  1. In the fixed-position layout, the product is fixed in place, and the workers, tools, and equipment come to the product.

Answer: True

Reference: Strategic Issues

Difficulty: Moderate

Keywords: fixed, position, product, workers

  1. Layout flexibility means either that the facility remains desirable after significant changes occur or that it can be easily and inexpensively adapted in response to changes.

Answer: True

Reference: Strategic Issues

Difficulty: Moderate

Keywords: layout, flexibility

  1. One common performance criterion for layouts is level of capital investment.

Answer: True

Reference: Strategic Issues

Difficulty: Moderate

Keywords: performance, criterion, capital, investment

  1. Group technology collects similar parts into families and organizes machine tools into separate cells.

Answer: True

Reference: Creating Hybrid Layouts

Difficulty: Moderate

Keywords: group, technology, machine, cells, families, part

  1. An OWMM arrangement reduces labor requirements but increases inventory.

Answer: False

Reference: Creating Hybrid Layouts

Difficulty: Moderate

Keywords: cell, OWMM, hybrid, inventory, labor

  1. A one-person cell in which a worker operates several different machines simultaneously to achieve a line flow is called a one-worker, multiple-machines (OWMM) cell.

Answer: True

Reference: Creating Hybrid Layouts

Difficulty: Moderate

Keywords: cell, OWMM, line, flow

  1. A block plan allocates space and indicates the placement of each department within the framework of a new or existing building.

Answer: True

Reference: Designing Flexible-Flow Layouts

Difficulty: Easy

Keywords: block, plan

  1. A closeness matrix is a table that gives a measure of the relative importance of each pair of centers being located close together.

Answer: True

Reference: Designing Flexible-Flow Layouts

Difficulty: Easy

Keywords: closeness, matrix, importance

  1. A closeness matrix reflects the qualitative judgments of managers and employees.

Answer: True

Reference: Designing Flexible-Flow Layouts

Difficulty: Moderate

Keywords: closeness, matrix, judgment

  1. The load–distance method is used to evaluate line-flow layouts based on proximity factors.

Answer: False

Reference: Designing Flexible-Flow Layouts

Difficulty: Moderate

Keywords: load, distance, line, flow, proximity

  1. One important factor in office layout is proximity to coworkers and supervisors.

Answer: True

Reference: Designing Flexible-Flow Layouts

Difficulty: Moderate

Keywords: factor, office, layout

  1. Euclidean distance calculations are usually more realistic than rectilinear distance calculations when determining the walking distance between economic activity centers in a building.

Answer: False

Reference: Designing Flexible-Flow Layouts

Difficulty: Moderate

Keywords: Euclidean, rectilinear, distance

  1. In a route collection system, the stockpicker gathers the quantity of an item required to satisfy a group of customers in the same truck or rail car.

Answer: False

Reference: Designing Flexible-Flow Layouts

Difficulty: Moderate

Keywords: warehouse, layout, route, collection, batch-picking, stockpicker

  1. Line balancing is the assignment of work to stations in a line to achieve the desired output rate with the smallest number of workstations.

Answer: True

Reference: Designing Line-Flow Layouts

Difficulty: moderate

Keywords: line, balance, workstations, line

  1. Line balancing strives to create workstations so that the capacity utilization for the bottleneck is not much higher than for the other workstations in the line.

Answer: True

Reference: Designing Line-Flow Layouts

Difficulty: moderate

Keywords: line, balance, workstations, line, bottleneck

  1. Line balancing applies only to line processes that do assembly work, or to work that can be bundled in many ways to create the jobs for each workstation in the line.

Answer: True

Reference: Designing Line-Flow Layouts

Difficulty: moderate

Keywords: line, balance, workstations, line

  1. Immediate predecessors are the smallest units of work that can be performed independently.

Answer: False

Reference: Designing Line-Flow Layouts

Difficulty: Moderate

Keywords: predecessor, work

  1. The balance delay is the amount by which efficiency falls short of 100 percent.

Answer: True

Reference: Designing Line-Flow Layouts

Difficulty: Moderate

Keywords: balance, delay, efficiency, line

  1. To generate the maximum output, the cycle time should be set as the longest elemental task time.

Answer: True

Reference: Designing Line-Flow Layouts

Difficulty: Moderate

Keywords: cycle, time, output, task

  1. Paced lines require that inventory storage areas be placed between stations.

Answer: False

Reference: Designing Line-Flow Layouts

Difficulty: Moderate

Keywords: paced, line, inventory

  1. A mixed-model line produces several items belonging to the same family.

Answer: True

Reference: Designing Line-Flow Layouts

Difficulty: Moderate

Keywords: mixed, model, line, family

MULTIPLE CHOICE

  1. An economic activity center can be:
  2. a person.
  3. a copier.
  4. a coffee machine.
  5. All of these can be economic activity centers.

Answer: d

Reference:Layout Planning

Difficulty: Moderate

Keywords: economic, activity, center

  1. Which of the following is NOT a question that managers must answer before making decisions regarding physical arrangements?
  2. What centers should the layout include?
  3. How much space and capacity does each center need?
  4. What is the balance delay of the layout?
  5. How should each center’s space be configured?

Answer: c

Reference:Layout Planning

Difficulty: Moderate

Keywords: balance, delay, line, layout

  1. The particular space that an economic activity center occupies in a facility is its:
  2. relative location.
  3. capacity.
  4. absolute location.
  5. closeness.

Answer: c

Reference:Layout Planning

Difficulty: Moderate

Keywords: economic, activity, center, absolute, location

  1. Which of the following is a disadvantage of under-sizing the productive space of a work center?
  2. Safety hazards
  3. Cramping employees
  4. Increased productivity
  5. Improved quality

Answer: a

Reference:Layout Planning

Difficulty: Moderate

Keywords: sizing, safety

  1. Which of the following is an advantage or characteristic of a flexible-flow layout over a line-flow layout when volumes are low?
  2. General-purpose and less capital-intensive resources
  3. Faster processing rates
  4. Lower inventory
  5. Less flexibility

Answer: a

Reference: Strategic Issues

Difficulty: Moderate

Keywords: line, flow, flexible

  1. A flexible-flow layout is an arrangement of employees and equipment by:
  2. service.
  3. product.
  4. size.
  5. function.

Answer: d

Reference: Strategic Issues

Difficulty: Easy

Keywords: flexible, flow, layout

  1. Which one of the following statements about layout is best?
  2. A flexible-flow layout requires more capital-intensive resources than a line-flow layout.
  3. A flexible-flow layout allows for more specialized employee supervision when required.
  4. When volumes are low, a line-flow layout requires less equipment than a flexible-flow layout.
  5. High volume and low customization pose an excellent opportunity for implementation of a flexible-flow layout.

Answer: b

Reference: Strategic Issues

Difficulty: Moderate

Keywords: flexible, flow, line, supervision

  1. The line-flow layout organizes resources according to the product. Which one of the following is a characteristic of a line-flow layout?
  2. Processing rates are faster than for a flexible-flow layout.
  3. This arrangement is invulnerable to changes in product mix.
  4. There is less space tied up in inventory than in a flexible-flow layout.
  5. Material handling devices are of a variable-path nature.

Answer: a

Reference: Strategic Issues

Difficulty: Moderate

Keywords: line, flexible, flow

  1. Layout choices must be closely tied to flow strategy. Which one of the following firms is most likely to select a flexible-flow layout?
  2. A construction company that builds dams and bridges
  3. An airplane company that assembles airplanes
  4. An automated car wash
  5. A machine tool manufacturer who produces customized machine tools

Answer: d

Reference: Strategic Issues

Difficulty: Moderate

Keywords: flexible, flow

  1. Which one of the following statements about layout is best?
  2. A flexible-flow layout tends to have less inventory than a line-flow layout.
  3. A line-flow layout relies more on general-purpose resources.
  4. Material handling is the most important performance criterion for layout decisions.
  5. A flexible-flow layout tends to allow more customization of products and services than a line-flow layout.

Answer: d

Reference: Strategic Issues

Difficulty: Moderate

Keywords: flexible, flow, line, customization

  1. Which one of the following statements is a disadvantage of a line-flow layout?
  2. Processing rates tend to be slower.
  3. It is more vulnerable to changes in the products and services offered.
  4. More space and capital are tied up in inventory.
  5. Materials handling tends to be costlier.

Answer: b

Reference: Strategic Issues

Difficulty: Moderate

Keywords: line, flow, layout

  1. One characteristic typical of line-flow layout is:
  2. jumbled work flows.
  3. high resource flexibility.
  4. high-volume demand.
  5. variable path materials–handling devices.

Answer: c

Reference: Strategic Issues

Difficulty: Moderate

Keywords: line, flow, volume

  1. Which one of the following characteristics is more likely for a line-flow layout than for a flexible-flow layout?
  2. More inventory
  3. Higher product customization
  4. Faster processing rates
  5. Jumbled routings

Answer: c

Reference: Strategic Issues

Difficulty: Moderate

Keywords: line, flow, flexible, rate

  1. Which one of the following statements about line-flow layout is best?
  2. A line-flow layout groups workstations or departments according to function.
  3. A line-flow layout is less suitable for products or services with short lives than a flexible-flow layout.
  4. In the line-balancing problem, the “theoretical minimum” number of stations is always the optimal number of stations.
  5. If a line’s “balance delay” is minimized, so is its efficiency.

Answer: b

Reference: Strategic Issues

Difficulty: Moderate

Keywords: line, flow, flexible

  1. Which type of layout would a roofing company probably use?
  2. Flexible-flow layout
  3. Line-flow layout
  4. Hybrid layout
  5. Fixed-position layout

Answer: d

Reference: Strategic Issues

Difficulty: Moderate

Keywords: fixed, position, layout

  1. A grocery store groups similar products (e.g., fresh fruits and vegetables are all in one area) and routes its customers along fairly predetermined paths. Which one of the following best describes its layout strategy?
  2. Flexible-flow layout
  3. Hybrid layout
  4. Fixed-position layout
  5. Line-flow layout

Answer: b

Reference: Strategic Issues

Difficulty: Moderate

Keywords: hybrid, layout

  1. A company that assembles big airplanes or locomotives is likely to have which of the following layouts?
  2. Flexible-flow layout
  3. Line-flow layout
  4. Hybrid layout
  5. Fixed-position layout

Answer: d

Reference: Strategic Issues

Difficulty: Moderate

Keywords: fixed, position

  1. Which of the following statements about performance criteria relative to layouts is NOT generally true?
  2. In most cases, only one of the possible performance criteria is emphasized.
  3. Capital investment can vary by layout, depending on floor space, equipment needs, and inventory levels.
  4. Relative locations of centers should restrict large flows to short distances if materials handling is stressed.
  5. A flexible layout allows a firm to adapt quickly to changing customer needs and preferences.

Answer: a

Reference: Strategic Issues

Difficulty: Moderate

Keywords: layout, performance, criteria

  1. Which of the following statements about performance criteria relative to layouts is NOT generally true?
  2. Layout flexibility means either that the facility remains desirable after significant changes occur or that it can be easily and inexpensively adapted to respond to them.
  3. The $225 cost of rental space cost per year for a four-drawer lateral file is an example of the flexibility performance criterion.
  4. Flexibility is an important criterion for line-flow layout.
  5. A retail store manager may emphasize flexibility, atmosphere, customer convenience, and sales design in a new layout.

Answer: b

Reference: Strategic Issues

Difficulty: Moderate

Keywords: layout, flexibility, criterion

  1. The primary difference between an OWMM cell and a GT cell is:
  2. A worker in a GT cell must be more highly trained than one in an OWMM cell.
  3. A GT cell groups products by size or machining requirements and an OWMM cell groups products by processes.
  4. There is only one worker in the OWMM configuration.
  5. There are much higher flow rates in an OWMM cell.

Answer: a

Reference: Creating Hybrid Layouts

Difficulty: Moderate

Keywords: GT, cell, OWMM

  1. Which one of the following statements regarding an OWMM cell is FALSE?
  2. There is less inventory in an OWMM cell than in a traditional layout.
  3. There is less demand for labor in an OWMM cell than in a traditional layout.
  4. A worker operates several machines simultaneously to achieve a flexible flow.
  5. If setup time for a part in an OWMM cell is high, management could choose to add another machine to the cell.

Answer: c

Reference: Creating Hybrid Layouts

Difficulty: Moderate

Keywords: OWMM, cell, inventory, labor, setup

  1. Parts are grouped into families for group technology. Which criterion listed below is NOT a generally accepted method for grouping parts?
  2. Size
  3. Shape
  4. Demand
  5. Color

Answer: d

Reference: Creating Hybrid Layouts

Difficulty: Moderate

Keywords: GT, part, family, group

  1. When using group technology, once parts have been grouped into families, the next step is to:
  2. examine the order list to determine a production sequence.
  3. organize the machine tools into cells.
  4. choose workers to become family managers.
  5. update the parts database and lock out any further changes.

Answer: b

Reference: Creating Hybrid Layouts

Difficulty: Moderate

Keywords: group, technology, family, part, cell

  1. Which one of the following statements about hybrid layouts is best?
  2. Hybrid layouts are usually used when demand for a single product is high.
  3. Cost savings are achieved due to the low utilization of certain machines and cells.
  4. Orders spend less time in the shop due to simplified routings.
  5. A cell consists of several machines of the same type.

Answer: c

Reference: Creating Hybrid Layouts

Difficulty: Moderate

Keywords: hybrid, layout, routing

  1. A firm using group technology can more easily:
  2. handle billing.
  3. check on the status of an unfinished customer order.
  4. accept new customer orders.
  5. purchase new capital equipment.

Answer: b

Reference: Designing Flexible-Flow Layouts

Difficulty: Moderate

Keywords: group, technology, GT

  1. Warehouse layout is a special example of flexible-flow layout. What type of system is employed when a stock picker selects a variety of items to be shipped to a customer?
  2. Out and back
  3. Route collection
  4. Batch picking
  5. Zone system

Answer: b

Reference: Designing Flexible-Flow Layouts

Difficulty: Moderate

Keywords: warehouse, layout, route

  1. Warehouse layout is a special example of flexible-flow layout. What type of system is employed when a stock picker picks one item at a time and oscillates between the dock and the storage area?
  2. Out and back
  3. Route collection
  4. Batch picking
  5. Zone system

Answer: a

Reference: Designing Flexible-Flow Layouts

Difficulty: Moderate

Keywords: warehouse, layout, back

  1. Warehouse layout is a special example of flexible-flow layout. What type of system is employed when a stock picker gathers the quantity of an item required to satisfy a group of customer orders to be shipped in the same truck or rail car?
  2. Out and back
  3. Route collection
  4. Batch picking
  5. Zone system

Answer: c

Reference: Designing Flexible-Flow Layouts

Difficulty: Moderate

Keywords: warehouse, layout, batch

  1. Warehouse layout is a special example of flexible-flow layout. What type of system is employed when a stock picker gathers all needed items in his or her assigned area and places them on a powered conveyor line?
  2. Out and back
  3. Route collection
  4. Batch picking
  5. Zone system

Answer: d

Reference: Designing Flexible-Flow Layouts

Difficulty: Moderate

Keywords: warehouse, layout, zone

  1. Which one of the following statements about office layout is best?
  2. Traditional layouts aim to reduce privacy.
  3. Office layout is a special case of line-flow layout.
  4. Privacy is the dominant criterion for office layout.
  5. Studies at several state government departments revealed a strong link between privacy and satisfaction with the supervisor (and job).

Answer: d

Reference: Designing Flexible-Flow Layouts

Difficulty: moderate

Keywords: office, layout, privacy, satisfaction

  1. Which one of the following statements regarding line-flow layout is best?
  2. The line-flow layout organizes resources around common functions.
  3. Two basic questions in line balancing are how many stations are needed and what work elements are assigned to each station.
  4. Maximizing the number of stations can optimize the efficiency of an assembly line.
  5. As desired hourly output rate becomes higher, the cycle time of the assembly line becomes longer.

Answer: b