What is a customer order decoupling point? Why is it important?

2. Why is it that reducing moves, delays, and storages in a manufacturing process is a good thing?

Can they be completed eliminated?

3. What does the product-process matrix tell us? How should the kitchen of a Chinese restaurant be

structured?

4. What is the objective of assembly-line balancing? How would you deal with the situation where

one worker, although trying hard, is 20 percent slower than the other 10 people on the line

The A call center employs 1,000 agents. Every month 50 employees leave the company, and 50 new

employees are hired.

a. How long on average does an agent work for this call center?

Suppose the cost of hiring and training a new agent is $1,000. The manager of this call center believes

that increasing agents' salaries would keep them working longer at the company. The manager wants

to increase the average time that an agent works for the call center to 24 months or two years.

b. If an agent works for the call center for 24 months on average, how much can the company save

on hiring and training costs over a year? Hint: first determine the current annual cost for hiring

and training, then determine the new annual cost for hiring and training.

. For each of the following variables, explain the differences (in general) as one move from a work-

center to an assembly line environment.

a. Throughput time (time to convert raw material into the product).

b. Capital/labor intensity.

c. Bottlenecks.

Q5. How would you characterize the most important difference for the following issues when comparing a

work-center (job shop) and an assembly line?