AOM4801 ASSIGNMENT NO.2 YEAR 2023 SOLUTIONS (due date: 29 May 2023)

AOM4801 ASSIGNMENT 2
YEAR 2023
Advanced Operations Management

, Table of Contents

2.1. GOODS AND SERVICE DESIGN ............................................................................................... 4
2.1.1. Research and write a short paper (maximum one typed page) demonstrating an
example of how a company applies concepts of design for environment (DfE). ............................. 4
2.1.2. The CEO of a company which produces and sells Tablet PCs approaches you with a
problem. He knows what his customers want. They want a Tablet PC which is thin, light to carry,
has a long battery life, fast performance and plenty of storage space. However, he does not
know how to translate this “voice of the customer” into specific technical requirements for
manufacturing and service delivery. He has heard about quality function deployment (QFD) and
a matrix called the House of Quality. Can QFD, using the House of Quality matrix, assist your
CEO? How would you advise your CEO accordingly? ......................................................................... 5
2.1.3. Given the following diagram, determine the total system reliability if the individual
component reliabilities are: A = 0.90 B = 0.80 C = 0.90 D = 0.95 ...................................................... 7
2.2. SUPPLY CHAIN DESIGN ............................................................................................................. 8
2.2.1. When making location decisions, trade-offs need to be considered between economic
and non-economic factors. Explore the principal criteria that might be used for locating each of
the following facilities: ................................................................................................................................ 8
2.2.2. “Two ways to configure and run a supply chain are as a push or pull system”. Critically
discuss this statement, with reference to the trade-offs between these two approaches............. 10
2.2.3. An organisation is evaluating the alternative of manufacturing a part themselves or
purchasing the part from an external supplier. The relevant information is as follows: ................ 11
2.3. PROCESS SELECTION, DESIGN AND ANALYSIS .............................................................. 12
2.3.1. The choice of a particular “process” and “type of product” in manufacturing operations
is strongly related to an operation's competitive priorities. With reference to an operation such
as Nampak Glass, provide a valid argument as to why this is the case.......................................... 12
2.3.2. ........................................................................................................................................................... 12
2.3.2- One approach to help understand the relationships between product characteristics for
manufactured goods and process choice is the product-process matrix, first proposed by Hayes
and Wheelwright. Critically discuss this matrix with reference to the value it can provide to
understanding different types of processes, as well as the positioning of an organisation relative
to the diagonal. ......................................................................................................................................... 14
2.3.3- With reference to the operational processes at Nampak Glass, motivate where you
would position their operations on the Hayes and Wheelwright matrix. .......................................... 15
2.4. FACILITY AND WORK DESIGN................................................................................................ 15

, 2.4.1. Assume you have been approached as an expert in operations layouts with regard to
the following four operations: ................................................................................................................. 15
2.4.2. Fantastic Furniture (Pty) Ltd assembles bed-side tables in an assembly line using four
workstations. Management wants an output rate of 200 bed-side tables per day using a 7.5-hour
workday. The sum of the task times is seven minutes per bed-side table. ..................................... 17
2.5. FORECASTING AND DEMAND PLANNING .......................................................................... 19
2.5.1. Operations managers need to pay attention to forecasting of future demand at all
levels of an organisation’s decision making. Critically analyse this statement with reference to
the different planning horizons. .............................................................................................................. 19
2.5.2. Perimeter Security (Pty) Ltd forecasts the following demand for its most popular alarm
system, called the Wireless Tech Pro. .................................................................................................. 20
2.5.3. .......................................................................................................................................................... 20
3. REFERENCES ................................................................................................................................. 26