AOM4801 ASSIGNMENT 2
YEAR 2021
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. With a view to winning the consulting contract, elaborate on how Tabpc might apply
and benefit from the House of Quality matrix. ....................................................................................... 5
2.1.3. A call-centre for a brokerage company provides three functions to callers: account
status, order confirmations, and stock quotes. The reliability was measured for each of these
services over one month with these results: 0.80, 0.70, and 0.96, respectively. What is the
overall reliability of the call-centre? ......................................................................................................... 6
2.1.4. Two cooling fans are installed in some laptop computers. Suppose the reliability of
each cooling fan is 0.98. What is the resulting improvement in reliability from adding the second
fan? 7
2.2. SUPPLY CHAIN DESIGN ............................................................................................................. 7
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: ................................................................................................................................ 7
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............... 8
2.2.3. Assume that Dis-Chem (Pty) Ltd is exploring the ideal location for a new
pharmaceutical retail outlet in Johannesburg. They have identified that the relevant outlet will
primarily service four market segments. The market segments include Witkoppen, Lone Hill,
Fourways and Magaliessig. The number of potential customers in each segment, along with the
coordinates, are as follows: ...................................................................................................................... 9
2.2.4. 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: ................ 10
2.3. PROCESS SELECTION, DESIGN AND ANALYSIS .............................................................. 11
2.3.1. Operations generally produce either in response to customer orders and demand, or in
anticipation of them, leading to different types of products. In the context of the manufacturing of
a vehicle such as the new Land Rover Defender, describe the relationship between the “type of
product” and “type of process” and justify your answer. .................................................................... 11
2.3.2. Competitive priorities are introduced in chapter 3 of your prescribed textbook. Consider
the competitive priorities related to a vehicle such as the new Land Rover Defender. In context
of this vehicle, what is the relationship between the process choice and competitive priorities? 11
, 2.3.3. 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. .................................................................................................................................................... 13
2.3.4. With reference to vehicle manufacturing production, such as that of the new Land
Rover Defender, where you would position the operations processes on the Hayes and
Wheelwright matrix. Motivate your answer. ......................................................................................... 14
2.3.5. An express checkout line at a grocery store takes an average of three minutes to ring-
up a customer’s order. On average six customers are in the checkout line. What is the average
number of customers per hour that are processed in the checkout line? ....................................... 14
2.4. FACILITY AND WORK DESIGN................................................................................................ 14
2.4.1. Write a report to management on the different types of layouts. Your report should
clearly outline what each layout entails, as well as the trade-offs between the various layouts. 14
2.4.2. Which layout pattern would be most appropriate for a hospital and a glass-bottle
manufacturer? For each example, motivate your answer.................................................................. 18
2.4.3. Extreme Skateboards (Pty) Ltd assembles skateboards in an assembly line using five
workstations. Management wants an output rate of 210 skateboards per day using a seven-hour
workday. The sum of the task times is eight minutes per skateboard. ............................................ 18
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. Which of the following two methods of forecasting offer better results: statistical
forecasting or judgemental forecasting? In your answer, refer to the trade-offs between these
two approaches. ....................................................................................................................................... 20
2.5.3. A retail store records customer demand during each sales period. Use the demand
data in the table below and answer the questions that follow. .......................................................... 21
3. REFERENCES ................................................................................................................................. 23
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