Following the American Psychological Association Style Guide

HIGH RELIABILITY ANSWERS 8

High Reliability Answers

Following the American Psychological Association Style Guide

Name

Professor

Introduction

The following questions and answers which follow focus on high reliability in products with a focus on the business industry.

Questions and Answers

1. High reliability can be achieved in a product without having high reliability in the component parts. In fact, any reliability target, no matter how high, can be achieved with only mediocre parts, so long as enough of them are present." Explain why this is the case. An example may help with your explanation.

The following answer is addressing the question of high reliability in products. As the question states, high reliability can be achieved in a product without having high reliability in the component parts. Again, as the question states, in fact, any reliability target, no matter how high, can be achieved with only mediocre parts, so long as enough of them are present.

In my response, I will explain this case, as well as give one examples that may help to further support my explanation.

There is an automobile that is made by Russians that primarily circulates in the Russian marketplace, as well as throughout Eastern Europe known as the Lada. For illustrative purposes which will support my explanation, I will show a picture of the Lada and what it looks like from the Internet below in Figure 1:

Figure 1: Russian-made Lada vehicle

As you can see from the photo above, these vehicles are boxy, small and not known for the power of their engineering such as the case with German-engineered vehicles such as BMW, Mercedes and Volkswagen. Even Audi cars, Swedish Saabs, French Peugeots, Italian Fiats and British Jaguars (originally) and British Land Rovers and Range Rovers have a far better reputation on the marketplace for vehicle products than Lada vehicles have.

However, according to Dassanayake (January 30, 2015), people who once laughed at Lada vehicles are now completed a 180 degree turn in order to come to appreciate Lada vehicles. Dassanayake (January 30, 2015) states that more people are starting to drive Lada vehicles, not only for their reliability, but also for their affordability, despite that fact that the Russians who build these cars are not noted worldwide for their expertise in using the best parts in order to build highly reliable Lada vehicles. The vehicles are selling and have been for a very long time.
2. What are the goals, advantages, and disadvantages of JIT partnerships?

This answer will respond to the question what are the goals, advantages, and disadvantages of the JIT partnerships. First, I will begin by explaining that JIT in this present context refers to Just-In-Time in terms of inventory purposes primarily for business purposes. According to Kokemuller (2017), the goals of the JIT partnerships inventory systems are to ensure that there is not a surplus of stock that is existent within a company’s production cycle and/or organization that would result in higher expenses required in order to stockpile surplus inventory such as any products, items and/or services. Again, according to Kokemuller (2017), the advantages of JIT partnerships are that clients and customers receive their products, items and/or services Just-In-Time, in order to maximize the profit margins of the existing business that is in question. An example of the JIT method working within optimal performance parameters and the JIT method is being used to its best advantage for a business would be the Amazon sellers who sell their products online. Take a specific example such as a hot new cell phone on the market such as the iPhone 8 as an example and someone who is an Amazon seller who uses the JIT method could ensure that within a week’s time, they have full profits of all of their inventory of the iPhone 8 cell phones being sold and that they do not have any surplus inventory just sitting around their home collecting unnecessary dust. The disadvantages of the Just-In-Time system (Kokemuller, 2017) are that since the inventory levels have been minimized, there is the potential that there could be a high demand for the inventory that result in a shortage of the inventory using the JIT method. An example of the JIT method performed and functioning in a disadvantaged situation will be used with the Amazon seller who is selling iPhone 8 cell phones online. Due to the fact that the Amazon seller did use the JIT method, for the online consumer, online client, this same seller who would be out-of-stock because they did not surplus their supply would then go through a period of time when they would lose customers and clients to other Amazon sellers who are competing with them through Amazon and do have the iPhone 8 in stock and potentially in surplus in order to offer a lower price for the product. Once the Amazon seller has replenished their stock and continues to use the JIT method, they would have lost the opportunity to garner a loyal return client and customer base because they did not have the inventory to encourage repeat clientele.
3. Compare, in your own words, short-term scheduling at process-focused, repetitive, and product-focused facilities.

With this particular question, my answer will compare in my own words short-term scheduling at process-focused, repetitive, and product-focused facilities. First, I will begin by discussing short-term scheduling at process-focused scheduling. Process-focused scheduling involves the constant and chaotic scheduling of the tasks and duties that are at hand within an organization (Science-Forums, 2016). An example of process-focused scheduling would be a fast food restaurant such as McDonald’s. Within an organization such as McDonald’s where one hundred hungry clients can enter one McDonald’s franchise within a 60 minute period of time that would consist of everything from outside driv-thru orders, to counter orders inside, to application demands on cell phones and people using the self-checkout services that are within McDonald’s, the scheduling of the process-focused food demands on the kitchen department of McDonald’s would be constant and chaotic.

In terms of short-term scheduling that is repetitive, these practices would customarily take place within any form of an assembly line also using the JIT methods that were discussed earlier (Science-Forums, 2016). An example of short-term scheduling that is repetitive would be the making and the building of Lada vehicles, and/or any vehicle, as previously mentioned. The tasks are repetitive. Each employee is responsible for a specific aspect of building the vehicle to completion and then out for distribution to the marketplace.

Short-term scheduling as it relates to product-focused facilities involves limited quantities of an item, product and/or service that would then be distributed to the public (Science-Forums, 2016). An example of short-term scheduling as it relates to product-focused facilities would be a chocolate store that has luxury chocolates; however a steady and consistent client and customer base for its product right throughout the fiscal year for profit purposes.
4. A certain product has been effectively managed in the past, according to its managers. The previous technique used the economic production quantity model, and resulted in an optimum lot size of 100. For this product, setup time is directly proportional to setup cost, and setup time is currently 40 minutes per batch. How much must setup time decline in order for the lot size to fall to 50 units? 25 units? 10 units? Explain how you determined the declines in setup time you calculated.

This answer is linked to the following question: a certain product has been effectively managed in the past, according to its managers. The previous technique used the economic production quantity model, and resulted in an optimum lot size of 100. For this product, setup time is directly proportional to setup cost, and setup time is currently 40 minutes per batch. How much must setup time decline in order for the lot size to fall to 50 units? 25 units? 10 units? I will explain how I determined the declines in setup time I calculated.

To begin the answer to this question, one thing that has been determined for sure is that it takes 40 minutes to produce a batch that is of the quantity of 100 for this product in question. What we now need to know is how the time would differ is the lot size of 100 changed to 50, then 25, then 10. Let’s go!

Well, if it takes 40 minutes to create a batch and unit size of the product of 100 and part of the question is how long would it take to make a unit and/or batch size of 50 then dividing 40, the amount of time in half, since 50 is half of 100 would result in this first answer being that it would take 20 minutes for this company in question to produce a unit and/or batch size of 50.

Next…how long would it take to make a batch size and/or units that would equal 25? Well, 25 units and/or batch size is one quarter of the batch size and/or unit size of 100 so if you divide the 40 minutes that it takes to do the 100 units and/or batch size by four, then it would take 10 minutes for the company in question to produce a batch size or a unit size of 25. Final question is how long it would take to make the smallest batch size and/or unit size in question which in this question the number is 10. Well, if it takes 40 minutes to produce 100 units and/or batch size and 10 is 10 times less than 100, then we can arrive at our answer by dividing 10 into 40. Therefore, the answer to how long it would take for the company in question to produce a batch size and/or unit size of 10 would be four minutes.
Conclusion

The following questions and answers which are above focus on high reliability in products with a focus on the business industry.

References

Dassanayake, D. (January 30, 2015). “Return of the Lada: Much laughed at car set for comeback

after Land Rover defender demise,” Sunday Express. London, England: Express Newspapers. Retrieved from: http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/555317/Lada-return-Niva-Riva-Land-Rover-Defender-demise-discontinued-Top-Gear-James-May

Kokemuller, N. (2017). “Advantages and Disadvantages of Just-In-Time Inventory,” Chron.

New York, New York: Hearst Newspapers. Retrieved from: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/advantages-disadvantages-justintime-inventory-21407.html

Science-Forums. (2016). Science-Forums. Online: United States. Retrieved from:

https://science-forums.com/index.php?topic=746690.0