Ch01 Introduction-3e-S 12-15, 16/06, 06/04/07

Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION
REVIEW QUESTIONS
1.1 What are some of the realities mentioned at the beginning of the chapter that modern
manufacturing enterprises must cope with? Name four.
Answer: The realities mentioned in the text are (1) globalization (!) international
outsourcing (") local outsourcing (#) contract manufacturing ($) trend toward the
ser%ice sector (&) 'ualit( expectations and ()) the need for operational e*cienc(.
1.! What is a production s(stem?
Answer: +s de,ned in the text a production s(stem is a collection of people
e'uipment and procedures organized to perform the manufacturing operations of a
compan( (or other organization).
1." -roduction s(stems can be di%ided into two categories or le%els. Name and brie.(
de,ne the two le%els.
Answer: The two categories gi%en in the text are (1) facilities which consist of the
factor( the e'uipment in the factor( and the wa( the e'uipment is organized/ and
(!) manufacturing support s(stems which is the set of procedures used b( the
compan( to manage production and to sol%e the technical and logistics problems
encountered in ordering materials mo%ing the wor0 through the factor( and ensuring
that products meet 'ualit( standards. -roduct design and certain business functions
are included among the manufacturing support s(stems.
1.# What are manufacturing s(stems and how are the( distinguished from production
s(stems?
Answer: + manufacturing s(stem is a logical grouping of e'uipment in the factor(
and the wor0er(s) who operate(s) it. 1xamples include wor0er2machine s(stems
production lines and machine cells. + production s(stem is a larger s(stem that
includes a collection of manufacturing s(stems and the support s(stems used to
manage them. + manufacturing s(stem is a subset of the production s(stem.
1.$ 3anufacturing s(stems are di%ided into three categories according to wor0er
participation. Name the three categories.
Answer: The three categories are (1) manual wor0 s(stems (!) wor0er2machine
s(stems and (") automated s(stems.
1.& What are the four functions included within the scope of manufacturing support
s(stems?
Answer: +s identi,ed in the text the four functions are (1) business functions (!)
product design (") manufacturing planning and (#) manufacturing control.
1.) Three basic t(pes of automation are de,ned in the text. What is ,xed automation and
what are some of its features?
Answer: 4ixed automation is a s(stem in which the se'uence of processing (or
assembl() operations is ,xed b( the e'uipment con,guration. 1ach operation in the
se'uence is usuall( simple but the integration and coordination of man( such
operations into one piece of e'uipment ma0es the s(stem complex. T(pical features
of ,xed automation are (1) high initial in%estment for custom2engineered e'uipment
(!) high production rates and (") relati%el( in.exible in accommodating product
%ariet(.
1.5 What is programmable automation and what are some of its features?
Answer: 6n programmable automation the production e'uipment is designed with
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Ch01 Introduction-3e-S 12-15, 16/06, 06/04/07
the capabilit( to change the se'uence of operations to accommodate di7erent
product con,gurations. The operation se'uence is controlled b( a program, which is a
set of instructions coded so that the( can be read and interpreted b( the s(stem.
8ome of the features of programmable automation are (1) high in%estment in general
purpose e'uipment (!) lost production time due to changeo%ers of ph(sical setup
and reprogramming (") lower production rates than ,xed automation (#) .exibilit( to
deal with %ariations and changes in product con,guration and ($) most suitable for
batch production.
1.9 What is .exible automation and what are some of its features?
Answer: 4lexible automation is an extension of programmable automation. + .exible
automated s(stem is capable of producing a %ariet( of parts (or products) with
%irtuall( no time lost for changeo%ers from one part st(le to the next. There is no lost
production time while reprogramming the s(stem and altering the ph(sical setup.
+ccordingl( the s(stem can produce %arious mixes and schedules of parts or
products instead of re'uiring that the( be made in batches. The features of .exible
automation are (1) high in%estment for a custom2engineered s(stem (!) continuous
production of %ariable mixtures of products (") medium production rates and (#)
.exibilit( to deal with product design %ariations
1.1: What is computer integrated manufacturing?
Answer: +s de,ned in the text computer2integrated manufacturing (;63) denotes the
per%asi%e use of computer s(stems to design the products plan the production
control the operations and perform the %arious information2processing functions
needed in a manufacturing ,rm. True ;63 in%ol%es integrating all of these functions in
one s(stem that operates throughout the enterprise.
1.11 What are some of the reasons wh( companies automate their operations? Nine reasons
are gi%en in the text. Name ,%e.
Answer: The reasons gi%e in the text are (1) to increase labor producti%it( (!) to
reduce labor cost (") to mitigate the e7ects of labor shortages (#) to reduce or
eliminate routine manual and clerical tas0s ($) to impro%e wor0er safet( (&) to
impro%e product 'ualit( ()) to reduce manufacturing lead time (5) to accomplish
processes that cannot be done manuall( and (9) to a%oid the high cost of not
automating.
1.1! 6dentif( three situations in which manual labor is preferred o%er automation.
Answer: The ,%e situations listed in the text are the following: (1) The tas0 is
technologicall( too di*cult to automate. (!) 8hort product life c(cle. (") ;ustomized
product. (#) To cope with ups and downs in demand. ($) To reduce ris0 of product
failure.
1.1" <uman wor0ers will be needed in factor( operations e%en in the most highl(
automated operations. The text identi,es at least four t(pes of wor0 for which humans
will be needed. Name three.
Answer: The four t(pes of wor0 identi,ed in the text are (1) e'uipment maintenance
(!) programming and computer operations (") engineering pro=ect wor0 and (#) plant
management.
1.1# What is the >8+ -rinciple? What does each of the letters stand for?
Answer: The >8+ -rinciple is a common sense approach to automation and process
impro%ement pro=ects. > means ?understand the existing process@ 8 stands for
?simplif( the process@ and + stands for ?automated the process.@
1.1$ The text lists ten strategies for automation and process impro%ement. 6dentif( ,%e of
these strategies.
Answer: The ten strategies listed in the text are (1) specialization of operations (!)
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Ch01 Introduction-3e-S 12-15, 16/06, 06/04/07
combined operations (") simultaneous operations (#) integration of operations ($)
increased .exibilit( (&) impro%ed material handling and storage ()) on2line
inspection (5) process control and optimization (9) plant operations control and (1:)
computer2integrated manufacturing (;63).
1.1& What is an automation migration strateg(?
Answer: +s de,ned in the text an automation migration strateg( is a formalized plan
for e%ol%ing the manufacturing s(stems used to produce new products as demand
grows.
1.1) What are the three phases of a t(pical automation migration strateg(?
Answer: +s de,ned in the text the three t(pical phases are the following: -hase 1:
3anual production using single2station manned cells operating independentl(. -hase
!: +utomated production using single2station automated cells operating
independentl(. -hase ": +utomated integrated production using a multi2station
automated s(stem with serial operations and automated transfer of wor0 units
between stations.
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