Measures of Dispersion and Variability: Range, QD, AD and SD
Operations management task.docx
1. (Mt) – Operations management task
Unformatted Preview Name:_____________________________ OPMT 625 Bordoloi Individual
Assignment # 2 (Production Planning, Capacity & Bottleneck Analysis) (You may use Excel
for your own work, but please submit your answer in PDF or Word format) Purpose: This
assignment is designed to reflect upon several related concepts of Operations Management,
such as Production Planning, Bottleneck Management, Capacity and Demand Management,
and Sensitivity (What-If) Analysis. This is also a good lead-off to the book, The Goal. You do
not need to use Solver in this assignment (though you can). Task: You manage the
production process in the high-tech facility of Dale Computers Inc. The facility consists of
three different assembly lines (1, 2, 3) making two different products, X and Y. Assembly
Line 2 is dedicated to the assembly of product X, and assembly line 3 is dedicated to product
Y. Assembly Line 1 can assemble both the products. The production process begins with the
procurement of raw materials from suppliers. Next, the raw materials are processed into six
independent subassemblies, A–F, in separate work areas within the facility. Each product is
then assembled from these subassemblies in one of the assembly lines. Product X involves
the assembly of subassemblies A, B, C, and E. Product Y requires that subassemblies B, C, D,
E, and F be assembled. Subsequent to assembly, each product is finished, customized
(painted and other options added), packaged and shipped. Current trends indicate that 20%
of product X and 50% of product Y are customized. Following are the capacities of the work
areas producing the subassemblies: Subassembly Type Capacity (Units/Week) A B C D E F
2500 2400 2350 2250 3600 1200 The annual demands for the products are as shown
below: Sub-assemblies required Product for one unit of product Annual Unit Sales X (2 of
A); (1 of B, C, E) 52,000 Y (1 of B, C, F); (2 of D, E) 52,000 The capacities of the assembly
lines and the finishing, packaging and customizing areas are as given below: Assembly line 1
1200 units/week Finishing 2500 units/week Assembly line 2 500 units/week Customizing
850 units/week Assembly line 3 600 units/week Packaging 3000 units/week Notes: (1)
Assume 52 operating weeks/year. Converting to weekly demand may be helpful. Page 1 of 2
(2) Plan production to just meet the demand (do not overproduce). Answer the following
questions Show your calculations. 1) From the point of view of capacity management, what
is the key business issue for Dale Computers, given that demand forecast is available? [Note:
Answer this in concept, before you do Part 2 below] 2) With the current weekly demands of
1000 for each product X and Y, what is the current bottleneck resource? [Note: Don’t change
demand yet] 3) Management must deal with changing demand and resource constraint, by
analyzing alternative business scenarios. If the weekly demand for X and Y increased
2. proportionately (= by same percentage), identify the top three resources that are bottleneck
candidates. [Note: Take Assembly Lines together as a single resource] 4) Now, if demands
for X and Y change disproportionately (= by different percentage) in the above situation,
what does your analysis tell you about its effect on bottleneck shift, especially in product
mix situation of a multiple product plant? Defend your answer with necessary “what-if”
examples. [Note: this part will assess your critical thinking] Page 2 of 2