Process Control and Problem Solving - Essay Example

1. Other than the solution that required you to select the number of tables for two and four, what other alternatives would you have to minimize the wait time and maximize the utilization of your facility and staff?

           In the present case, the optimum solution is obtained for Profit maximized ($1254) when Tables for 4=10, Tables for 2=8, wait for staff=3, and kitchen staff =2. Loss of sales is the least ($941). Other than the proposed alternatives, we can have two more possible solutions. There are basically, two areas of concern namely- Order taking and the ovens. The speed of operation at both these places directly influences the waiting time. Therefore, the optimal automation of these two areas would do a great deal of good even if there were initial investments to be made.

1. What is the existing capacity of the organization?

          The restaurant can serve up to 672 customers after taking over the bakery next door and the profit has increased to $2040.

 Managing a Process Layout

 Given the significant downtime and relocation costs, once you have decided to reconfigure equipment to improve process layout, how do you balance the immediate production requirements versus future needs for the facility?

         There must always be a scope for future improvement, and so in order to achieve this, there must always be an effort for finding out better alternatives under the present situation, the existing production must not stop, so the best option for this would be to relocate only one thing at a time. This will ensure that current production stays unaffected and there is scope for future additions to any vacant space.

1. The “cost of delay” is an important cost to consider when redesigning a process. In addition, there is uncertainty in identifying future requirements and new processes that the space will need to accommodate. How do you decide whether to make room for future and unknown processes? How do you determine the “cost of delay” for repositioning the process layout now?

            We need to make room to accommodate only those processes, which can lead to products that have a present and projected rise in demand in the market.  The cost of delay under any such process now depends on relocating existing equipment as well as putting in new ones, which can hamper the current production temporarily.

1. What is the existing capacity of the organization?

The total cost of the relocated factory is $4.3 million, which is considerably less.

Inventory Management

1. Given the data on past demand for surgical and exam gloves, how did you decide on the forecast for each to use in the inventory management planning? How did you take into account that surgical gloves can be substituted for exam gloves but exam gloves cannot be substituted for surgical gloves? How did you take into account the effect of unusual events like the visiting cardiologist and the tornado in a nearby town on demand for each type of glove?

         We can decide on the forecast by ensuring that the EOQ stays below the previous one from historical data. Surgical gloves may be used for exam gloves but vice versa is not possible due to the allergic powder contained in them. During any such events as a visit or a tornado, there is likely to be a larger demand for surgical gloves than exam gloves and as such we give priority to maintaining a surplus stock of surgical gloves rather than comparison to exam gloves.

1. How do you balance the Six Sigma objectives of virtually never suffering a stock out on gloves versus the costs to maintain sufficient inventory to guarantee that medical personnel nearly always have the right glove at hand?

We need to search for the best lot sizes and if possible any discounts on the goods purchased, keeping in mind that we stay near the EOQ value, which will help us in optimizing our costs.

1. What is the existing capacity of the organization?

          The current needs for surgical gloves are 22,500 while that for exam gloves is around 24,000 in number.