Q1 A severe winter ice storm has swept across Virginia and North Carolina, followed by over a
Question:
Q1
A severe winter ice storm has swept across Virginia and North Carolina, followed by over a foot of snow and frigid, single-digit temperatures. These weather conditions have resulted in numerous downed power lines and power outages in the region causing dangerous conditions for much of the population. The electricity company VNC has been overwhelmed and have requested assistance from unaffected five utility companies from Tennessee, Kentucky, and West Virginia. The following table shows the number of utility trucks with crews available from five different companies; the demand for crews in six different regions that VNC cannot get to; and the weekly cost ($1,000s) of a crew going to a specific area (based on the visiting company's normal charges, the distance the crew has to come, and living expenses in an area):From \ To | VA-1 | VA-2 | VA-3 | NC-1 | NC-2 | NC-3 | Total Supply |
KY-1 | $12.8 | $13.7 | $15.0 | $14.2 | $13.6 | $14.4 | 10 |
WV-1 | $10.9 | $10.4 | $10.5 | $12.1 | $14.0 | $14.6 | 14 |
WV-2 | $11.2 | $11.6 | $12.4 | $14.1 | $15.0 | $13.8 | 17 |
TN-1 | $16.7 | $16.1 | $16.1 | $14.3 | $12.9 | $15.4 | 11 |
TN-2 | $13.7 | $14.1 | $15.3 | $15.1 | $15.1 | $15.6 | 12 |
Total Demand | 9 | 12 | 13 | 10 | 8 | 12 | 64 |
The cost is in $1,000s
Determine the number of crews that should be sent from each utility to each affected area that will minimize total costs.
(1.1) Please useNorthwest Corner methodto assign the "from/to" screw members to the needed regions. How much is the total estimate costs VNC has to pay?
(1.2) Please useMinimum Cost Cell methodto assign the "from/to" screw members to the needed regions. How much is the total estimate costs VNC has to pay?
(1.3) Please useExcel Solverto assign the "from/to" screw members. How much is the total estimate costs VNC has to pay?
Q2. Higgins Coal produces coals from West Virginia. Their production cost of coal is $ 135 per ton (short ton). Higgins can ship their coals to their customers (power plants) through truck or rail. The truck's rate for shipping coals is $1.50 per mile per truck (capacity is 20 tons per truck). The rail shipping rate of coal through rail is $5
per mile per rail car (capacity is 100 tons per railcar) + $140 of fixed cost per car (not relevant to distance).
- If the customer is willing to pay $200 per ton for coal, what is the maximal distance that Higgins's coal ships by truck and can still makes profits (profit >=0)? You have to ship in integer number of trucks.
- If the customer is willing to pay $200 per ton for coal, what is the maximal distance that Higgins's coal ships by rail and can still makes profits (profit >=0)?You have to ship in integer number of railcars.
- Please find the equal-cost distance that the landed cost per ton by truck is the same as the landed cost per ton by rail? [Hint: Landed cost/ton(A)=Landed Cost/ton(B), the best way to solve this is to use algebra assuming xmiles is the equal cost distance for both modes A & B, then solve x. ]
Q3 . Lean Practice in your daily experience
Please give me at least one example that you will apply Lean philosophy in the business that you may interact with. Please choose a firm that you have or will have transactions (can be a face-to-face or virtual through the internet) with and use that company as the entity of your analysis, and you observe some 'wastes' or 'inefficiency' in their systems. Potential examples include you visiting a supermarket, a coffee shop, using an online app on your phone to order stuff. You may want to take photos or crop the screen shots and insert in the answer to document the evidence.For the 'opportunity of reducing wastes,' please make sure that improvement will reduce the 'waste' for the majority of business shoppers or users (not just for you).
You should specify
- What activity(ies) will you apply lean philosophy in the operations? What were the potential wastes you observed in the way that system (please specify the firm) used to have?
- How will your new 'process design' do differently so that the firm can reduce the 'wastes' in that process and improved the efficiency and productivity?
- For the entity of your analysis, please describe how you will measure the KPI(s) 'before' and 'after.'
Q4 Optimal Kanban Set
Subaru is using the Kanban system in its assembly line for a critical part of mower production. Its supplier of that part is just nearby, and each Kanban card order will take 12 hours to arrive. Its assembly line is using this part at an average rate of 40 units per hour. Due to the pandemic that disrupts the supplies, Subaru adds extra 100% of inventory as safety stock. The size of the Kanban container is 35 units of parts per container. How many Kanban sets are needed to manage the replenishment of this critical part?
Q5 Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)
Your house needs a new refrigerator and now (Xmas shopping season) is a good time to buy one. After a lot of research, eventually you will choose between two models: Brand A's Energy Saving French-door refrigerator (costs $2300) vs. Brand B's Side-by-side refrigerator (costs $1850, not qualified for Energy Saving). The RI government now offers tax-free (7% of the sales price) on all appliances that are qualified as "Energy Saving." Based on the information, Brand A's refrigerator will cost $13 per month in electricity, and Brand B's refrigerator will cost $16 per month in electricity. Also based on Consumer Reports' assessment, a French-door refrigerator has an estimated average lifetime of 12 years, and a side-by-side door refrigerator has an estimated average lifetime of 15 years. You don't have to use any discount (means 0%) for future costs, but if you like a challenge, please use a 5% discount rate for future annual costs.
(1) Please use all information above to calculate the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) for Brands A's and B's refrigerator. Then divide the TCO by its lifetime to obtain the average annual TCO.
(2) Based on the TCO information, which refrigerator is the lower cost option?
Please include answers in excel files so I can see the cell calculationsOperations Management Creating Value Along the Supply Chain
ISBN: 978-0470525906
7th Edition
Authors: Roberta S. Russell, Bernard W. Taylor