Week 13 - Happy Thanksgiving!

We didn't have class this week due to the Thanksgiving break.  Happy Thanksgiving!


My Dad showed me this picture. I think it's fun!



Week 12

We didn't actually meet in class tonight because Mr. Allen had business to take care of out of town.  We still studied chapter 11 from our textbook on our own though.  Chapter 11 discusses Location.  In week 10, we covered chapter 8 on Process Layout.  This chapter is similar in that there are some mathematic equations to use for solving optimal location.  The major difference being that we are looking at building/plant/facility/warehouse location in the world versus process layout/location within a building.

Location plays a critical part in managing value chains.  Some of the dominant factors in determining where to locate manufacturing facilities include:

• Favorable Labor Climate
• Proximity to Markets
• Quality of Life
• Proximity to Suppliers and Resources
• Proximity to Parent Company's Facilities
• Utilities, Taxes, and Real Estate Costs

The factors for determining location for a service organization are the same as those for manufacturing with one important addition: the impact of location on sales and customer satisfaction.  "Customers usually care about how close a service facility is, particularly if the process requires considerable customer contact."

I've considered the possibilty of starting a small tax return preparation business.  The thought has come to mind to bring the service to the customer.  I'm sure it's not a new idea or concept.  It could save time to be in the customer's home where they keep their repository of records because sometimes people aren't sure what records to bring to the office.  Time is wasted contacting the customer for new needed information and then waiting for the new information to arrive.  Often times, multiple reminders are needed.  The customer's home would be a prime location to sit down and complete the tax return.  I only have one major reservation about the idea though--liability risk.  If my computer were to blow-up and start a fire, I would feel better about it happening to my office space versus my customer's home, etc.

Week 11

This week we learned about Lean Systems.  Our textbook defines lean systems as "operations systems that maximize the value added by each of a company's activities by paring unnecessary resources and delays from them."

Lean systems typically have the following characteristics:

• Pull Method of Work Flow
• Consistent Quality at the Source
• Small Lot Sizes
• Uniform Workstation Loads
• Standardized Components and Work Methods
• Close Supplier Ties
• Flexible Workforce
• Line Flows
• Automation,
• Five S (5S) Practices
• Preventive Maintenance

One of the things I found interesting about this chapter were the new Japanese terms I learned that the Japanese use to describe their application of lean systems principles.  One of the words I liked was "poka-yoke."  Poke-yoke are defined as mistake-proofing methods aimed at designing fail-safe systems that minimize human error.  A company could use the poke-yoke method by making different parts of the modular product in such a way that allows them to be assembled in only one way--the correct way.  I think that is such a good idea.  If I'm ever in charge of designing a modular product, I'll remember and try to apply this poke-yoke method.

The Kanban system was introduced in this chapter too.  Kanban is a Japanese word meaning "card" or "visable record."  I've heard the term  mentioned in my cost accounting class before, now I understand what it is better and that it's a word with Japanese origins.  I'm pretty sure we use a type of Kanban in our office processes of preparing tax returns.

Week 10

We took our second exam this week.  I experienced some technical issues with three of the exam questions.  The graphics didn't display properly, but Mr. Allen was very understanding and modified my test score to compensate.  They were my favorite type of problems too-Weighted-Distance Scores.

Week 9

This week we focused on Process Layout.  Our class textbook explains that layout planning "involves decisions about the physical arrangement of economic activity centers needed by a facility's various processes.  An economic activity center can be anything that consumes space...Layout has many practical and strategic implications.  Altering a layout can affect an organziation and how well it meets its competitive priorities."

Some of the ways that layout can affect an organizations and how well it meets its competitive priorities are:

• Increasing customer satisfaction and sales at a retail store
• Facilitating the flow of materials and information
• Increasing the efficient utilization of labor and equipment
• Reducing hazards to workers
• Improving employee morale
• Improving communication

Layouts are usually described as either flexible-flow, line-flow, fixed-position, or a hybrid.

One of the topics of the chapter I found interesting was the weighted-distance method, sometimes called hte load-distance method.  It's a mathematical tool that helps evaluate facility locations.  The objective is to select a layout that minimizes the total weighted distances.  I plan on trying this tool in the future.

The steps to arriving at a layout's weighted distance score are as follows:

• Calculate the distance (euclidean or rectilinear) measures between the economic centers.
• Determine the relative importance of each pair of centers being located close together.  The measure used to determine this can be a qualitative judgment on a scale from 0 to 10 or it could be the number of trips between each pair of centers per day, etc.  The number you come up with for each pair is their closeness factor or proximity score.
• Multiply the proximity scores by the distance between the centers.
• The sum of the products becomes the layout's weighted-distance score.

The problems we have done in class have been simple enough to do by hand.  There is an application that comes with the book that can help solve the problem too.  To this day, I haven't been able to get the application/add-in to work with my newer 2010 version of MS EXCEL.  I'm excited to say that I finally found an upgrade online and the system is working for me now.  I think it might be quicker to do it by hand for simple problems though.