The two basic issues for schedulers in low-volume systems are what?

Chapter 16 T/F

Flow-shop scheduling" is used in high volume systems.

TRUE
Flows shops are high volume operations.

Line balancing is a major factor in the design and scheduling of low volume systems because of batch processing.

FALSE
Line balancing is used in high volume operations.

Scheduling in intermediate-volume systems has three basic issues: run size, timing, and sequence.

TRUE
These are the basic issues in scheduling in intermediate-volume systems.

When operations are often bottlenecked, additional planned idle time will improve the throughput in those areas.

FALSE
Additional planned idle time would reduce throughput in bottlenecked operations.

When orders exceed our capacity, priority rules are used to select which orders will be accepted.

FALSE
Priority rules are used to determine the sequence in which orders will be processed.

The term loading, as used in scheduling, refers to choosing the order in which jobs will be processed in low-volume systems.

FALSE
Loading refers to which jobs will be assigned to which resources or blocks of time.

Loading is the determination of which work centers should perform which jobs.

TRUE
Loading refers to which jobs will be assigned to which resources or blocks of time.

8. A Gantt chart is a basic scheduling tool but works best for high-volume systems.

FALSE
A Gantt chart works best for low volume systems.

9. A Gantt chart is a basic scheduling tool that is most useful in low-volume systems.

TRUE
A Gantt chart is most useful in low-volume systems.

10. A schedule chart depicts the loading and idle times for a group of machines or departments.

FALSE
A schedule chart depicts the progress of jobs.

11. The output of the system cannot exceed the output of the bottleneck operation(s).

TRUE
The bottleneck limits the system's potential output.

12. The elimination of idle time on both bottleneck and non-bottleneck operations must be accomplished to optimize output.

FALSE
Eliminating idle time on non-bottleneck operations might actually decrease output.

13. As long as the bottleneck operations are used effectively idle time in non-bottleneck operations will not affect the overall productivity of the system.

TRUE
Idle time in non-bottleneck operations doesn't necessarily affect system productivity.

14. The quantity sent to a bottleneck operation could be split into two or more process batches to better utilize a bottleneck resource rather than process the entire batch.

FALSE
At a bottleneck smaller batches likely would reduce utilization.

16. Input/output (I/O) control refers to monitoring the productivity changes since productivity is determined by the ratio of Output to Input.

FALSE
I/O control refers to monitoring output and waiting times at work centers.

17. Infinite loading and finite loading are two major approaches used to load work centers.

TRUE
These are the two major loading approaches.

18. A schedule chart can be used to monitor job progress.

TRUE
A schedule chart monitors job progress.

19. The assignment model seeks an optimum matching of tasks and resources.

TRUE
Matching jobs with resources can be done with the assignment model.

20. Sequencing is concerned with the order in which jobs are done, while loading is concerned with assigning jobs to work centers or workstations.

TRUE
Sequencing concerns order, loading concerns assignment.

21. Priority rules are widely used to sequence jobs in high-volume systems.

FALSE
Priority rules are used in low-volume systems.

22. The assignment method is limited to a maximum of two jobs per resource.

FALSE
There are no such limits in the use of the assignment method.

23. Priority rules generally assume that job setup cost is independent of processing sequence of jobs.

TRUE
If setup cost isn't sequence-independent, certain assignment rules might not perform as anticipated.

24. In a single work center, makespan improvement can be accomplished by selecting the optimal sequencing rule.

FALSE
Makespan remains constant regardless of the sequencing rule in this situation.

25. Priority rules are used in low-volume systems to identify an optimal processing sequence.

FALSE
What is optimal depends on what facet of performance is critical in low-volume systems.

26. The SPT priority rule always results in the lowest average completion time.

TRUE
SPT minimizes average flow time.

27. Bottlenecks may shift with the passage of time, so that different operations become bottleneck operations at different times.

TRUE
As systems become more balanced, bottlenecks can shift across operations.

28. If optimal sequencing through three work centers is desired, Johnson's Rule II is used rather than Johnson's Rule.

FALSE
No simple rule is available for optimal scheduling across more than two work centers.

29. In the decision-making hierarchy, scheduling decisions are the final step in the transformation process before actual output occurs.

TRUE
Scheduling is the last phase of the coordination-and-control hierarchy.

31. The theory of constraints has a goal of maximizing flow through the entire system.

TRUE
The theory of constraints is focused on maximizing throughput.

32. A major disadvantage of the SPT rule is that it tends to make very short jobs wait for a long time while longer, more important jobs are processed.

FALSE
SPT's disadvantage is that very long jobs might wait much longer than is appropriate.

33. The SPT rule minimizes idle time for subsequent operations.

TRUE
Because it minimizes average flow time, downstream operations are less likely to be starved.

34. Johnson's rule is a technique used to sequence jobs through a two-step work sequence

TRUE
Johnson's rule is for two work centers.

35. A basic difference between scheduling in service systems and scheduling in manufacturing systems is the random nature of requests in manufacturing systems as opposed to more uniform requests in service systems.

FALSE
Services tend to experience less uniform demand.

36. Batch process helps maximize worker efficiency.

TRUE
Setup times can be economized on in a batch process.

37. Because scheduling is a matter of detailed execution, it has little impact on the operations strategy of an organization.

FALSE
Scheduling has significant strategic aspects.