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Chapter 9: Multiple Choice Questions 1. The layout strategy that deals with low-volume, high-variety production is a. fixed-position layout b. retail layout c. warehouse layout d. office layout e. none of the above 2. A good layout requires determining a. material handling requirements b. capacity and space requirements c. environment and aesthetics d. cost of moving between various work areas e. all of the above 3. The fixed-position layout would be most appropriate in which of the following cases? a. a fast food restaurant b. a doctor's office c. a gourmet restaurant d. constructing a Boeing 777 4. For which of the following operations would a fixed-position layout be most appropriate? a. assembly of an automobile b. production of TV sets c. construction of a ship d. refining of crude oil e. discount store 5. Because the fixed-position layout problem is so difficult to solve on-site, operations managers a. virtually never employ this layout strategy b. utilize this approach only for construction projects such as bridges and office towers c. increase the size of the site d. often complete as much of the project as possible off-site 6. One factor impacting the fixed-position layout strategy is a. minimizing difficulties caused by material flow varying with each product b. requiring frequent contact close to one another c. balancing product flow from one work station to the next d. the movement of material to the limited storage areas around the site 7. One of the major advantages of process-oriented layouts is a. high equipment utilization b. large work-in-process inventories c. flexibility in equipment and labor assignment d. smooth and continuous flow of work 8. The main issue in designing process-oriented layout concerns the relative positioning of _____ to minimize

cost of material handling. a. work stations b. departments c. raw materials d. entrances, loading docks, etc.

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9. A process layout would be most appropriate in which of the following cases? a. constructing a Boeing 777 aircraft b. a fast-food restaurant c. an automobile factory d. a gourmet restaurant 10. The major problem addressed by the process-oriented layout strategy is a. the movement of material to the limited storage areas around the site b. requiring frequent contact close to one another c. the provision of low-cost storage with low-cost material handling d. minimizing difficulties caused by material flow varying with each product 11. The most common tactic followed in process-layout planning is to arrange departments or work centers so

they a. minimize the cost of skilled labor b. maximize the machine utilization c. allocate the available space equally to all the departments d. minimize the costs of material handling 12. A process-oriented layout is best suited for a. the assembly of products like automobiles and appliances b. the mass production of uniform products c. high-volume, low-variety production d. low-volume, high-variety production 13. Which of the following is true for process layouts, but false for product layouts? a. low in-process inventories b. flexibility in equipment and labor assignments c. low variety of products d. high volume of output 14. A big advantage of a process-oriented layout is a. its flexibility for variety b. its low cost c. the simplified scheduling problem presented by this layout strategy d. the ability to employ low-skilled labor 15. The typical goal used when developing a process-oriented layout strategy is to a. minimize the distance between adjacent departments b. minimize the material handling costs c. maximize the number of different tasks which can be performed by an individual machine d. minimize the level of operator skill necessary 16. Which of the following is true of a focused factory? a. They may be focused in ways other than by product line or layout. b. They may be focused only by processing requirements. c. They are much like a product facility within an otherwise process facility. d. All of the above are true. 17. In the use of relationship charts for office layouts, the code "U" means the closeness between two

departments is a. (U)nknown b. (U)nusually important c. (U)nimportant d. of (U)sual importance

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18. Which rating reflects the highest importance for two departments' closeness to each other? a. A b. E c. I d. O e. X 19. According to the text book, an office layout a. groups workers, their equipment, and spaces/offices to provide for movement of information b. addresses the layout requirements of large, bulky projects such as ships and buildings c. seeks the best personnel and machine utilization in repetitive or continuous production d. allocates shelf space and responds to customer behavior 20. Which of the following constitutes a major trend influencing office layouts? a. downsizing b. globalization c. environmental issues d. virtual companies 21. Which of the following does not support the retail layout objective of maximizing customer exposure to

products? a. convey the store's mission with the careful positioning of the lead-off department b. use prominent locations for high-impulse and high-margin items c. maximize exposure to expensive items d. use end-aisle locations 22. Balancing low-cost storage with low-cost material handling is important in a(n) a. fixed-position layout b. process-oriented layout c. office layout d. product-oriented layout e. warehouse layout 23. Which of the following is strongly associated with "cross-docking"? a. non-value-adding activities such as receiving and storing b. multi-modal transportation facilities at seaports c. processing items as soon as they are received into a distribution center d. use of manual product identification systems 24. The major problem addressed by the warehouse layout strategy is a. the movement of material to the limited storage areas around the site b. minimizing difficulties caused by material flow varying with each product c. requiring frequent contact close to one another d. addressing trade-offs between space and material handling 25. Which one of the following is not common to product-oriented layouts? a. a high rate of output b. specialization of labor c. ability to adjust to changes in demand d. low unit costs

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26. Which of the following layouts generally has the best machine utilization? a. fixed-position layout b. product-oriented layout c. process-oriented layout d. office layout 27. Which type of layout is used to achieve a smooth and rapid flow of large volumes of output? a. process-oriented b. batch-oriented c. product-oriented d. unit production e. fixed-position 28. A product layout would be most appropriate in which of the following cases? a. a grocery store b. a doctor's office c. a gourmet restaurant d. a fast food restaurant 29. The assumption of stability of demand is important for justifying which of the following layout types? a. fixed-position layout b. product-oriented layout c. process-oriented layout d. all of the above 30. An adequate volume for high equipment utilization is an assumption for which of the following layout

types? a. product-oriented layout b. process-oriented layout c. warehouse layout d. retail layout 31. A product-oriented layout would be most appropriate for which one of the following businesses? a. a grocery store b. steel-making c. insurance sales d. clothing alterations 32. The assumptions necessary for a successful product layout include all of the following except a. adequate volume for high equipment utilization b. standardized product c. volatile product demand d. all of the above are appropriate assumptions 33. Which of these layouts is most suitable for processing sugar from sugar beets or sugar cane? a. process-oriented layout b. fixed-position layout c. focused factory d. product-oriented layout

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34. Which of the following is true regarding fabrication lines? a. They are the same thing as assembly lines. b. They are the same thing as focused factories. c. They are a special type of process-oriented layout. d. Balancing their assembly line is more technological than worker oriented. 35. In product-oriented layout, line balancing is usually undertaken to a. minimizing material handling within workstations b. minimizing labor movement between workstations c. equalizing the space allocated to the different workstations d. maximizing equipment utilization e. minimizing the imbalance in the work loads among workstations 36. The disadvantages of product-oriented layout include a. there is a lack of flexibility in handling a variety of products or production rates b. high volume is required because of the large investment needed to set up the process c. work stoppage at any one point ties up the whole operation d. all of the above are disadvantages of product-oriented layouts 37. The main advantage of a product-oriented layout is typically a. low raw material cost b. employability of highly skilled labor c. high flexibility d. low capital cost e. low variable cost per unit 38. In a product layout the process of deciding how to assign tasks to work stations is referred to as a. station balancing b. process balancing c. task allocation d. line balancing 39. In assembly line balancing, the minimum number of workstations is a. the ratio of the sum of all task times to cycle time b. the ratio of the production time to units required c. the ratio of the sum of task times to number of workstations d. none of the above 40. In assembly line balancing, cycle time (the ratio of production time to demand), is the a. minimum time that a product is available at each work station b. maximum time that a product is available at each work station c. optimum time that a product is available at each work station d. desired cycle time that a product is available at each work station e. all of the above 41. A production line is to be designed to make 500 El-More dolls per day. Each doll requires 11 activities

totaling 16 minutes of work. The factory operates 750 minutes per day. The desired cycle time for this assembly line is

a. half minute b. one and one-half minutes c. two minutes d. 5,500 minutes

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42. A production line is to be designed for a job with 4 tasks. The task times are 2.4 minutes, 1.4 minutes, 0.9 minutes, and 1.7 minutes. The maximum cycle time is ______ and the minimum cycle time is ______ minutes. a. 1.8; 1.4 b. 1.6; 0.9 c. 6.4; 2.4 d. 2.4; 0.9 43. Cycle time is computed as a. desired output divided by the daily operating time b. daily operating time divided by the product of desired output and the sum of job times c. the product of desired output and the sum of job times divided by daily operating time d. daily operating time divided by the desired output 44. Daily capacity of a product layout is determined by a. operating time divided by cycle time b. cycle time divided by operating time c. operating time divided by total task time d. total task time divided by cycle time 45. Four hundred and eighty minutes of production time are available per day. The demand for the product is

120 units per day. What is the cycle time? a. 4 minutes b. 480 minutes c. 120 minutes d. 57600 minutes 46. A production line is to be designed for a product whose completion requires 21 minutes of work. The

factory works 400 minutes per day. Can an assembly line with five workstations make 100 units per day? a. yes, with exactly 100 minutes to spare b. no, but four workstations would be sufficient c. no, it will fall short even with a perfectly balanced line d. yes, but the line's efficiency is very low 47. Four hundred and eighty minutes of production time are available per day. The demand for the product is 60

units per day. What is the cycle time? a. 8 minutes b. 2 minutes c. 30 minutes d. 60 minutes 48. Four hundred and eighty minutes of production time are available per day. The demand for the product is 80

units per day. Each unit of the product requires 30 minutes of work. What is the theoretical minimum number of workstations?

a. 2 b. 30 c. 80 d. 5 49. Which of the following is not a heuristic rule for assigning tasks to work stations in a product layout? a. longest task time b. largest (most) number of following tasks c. median tasks first d. shortest task time

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50. If a layout problem is solved by use of "heuristics," this means that a. there was no other way to solve the problem b. no computer software was available c. the problem has only a few alternatives to evaluate d. a "satisfactory" solution is acceptable 51. Which of the following is a common heuristic for assembly line balancing? a. debits near the windows, credits near the door b. manufacturers locate near materials, retailers locate near customers c. earliest due date first d. ranked positional weight Chapter 9: Multiple Choice Answers 1. e 2. e 3. d 4. c 5. d 6. d 7. c 8. b 9. d 10. d 11. d 12. d 13. b 14. a 15. b 16. a 17. c 18. a 19. a 20. d 21. c 22. e 23. c 24. d 25. c 26. b

27. c 28. d 29. b 30. a 31. b 32. c 33. d 34. d 35. e 36. d 37. e 38. d 39. a 40. b 41. b 42. c 43. d 44. a 45. a 46. c 47. a 48. d 49. c 50. d 51. d