Question

Research the process of producing an expensive product (assume that it is something that must cost at least $1,000). After learning the steps that must be accomplished to produce such a product, address the following:

a. What would you expect the layout of a producing facility to look like (in other words, what is the process layout for such an operation)?

b. What would determine when someone had finished working on one of these products (in other words, how would someone know that it was time to work on producing the next unit)?

c. How would the efficiency of the production operation that you have envisioned be calculated (your answer should be specific to the type of product you selected, not just a general discussion of efficiency)?

d. From your research, are there any ways in which the production of the product could be made more efficient than the way that it is normally produced? If so, what recommendations could you make? If not, describe another way in which the product could be made, even if it was inefficient.

Answer 1

a. In this example, I would imagine the layout of a producing facility to be very efficient. It would be divided into different stations that would each be dedicated to a particular task.

b. The way in which someone would know that they were done working on this product is that the manufacturers would be trained to recognize the details and the specific characteristics that show high quality in a product.

c. The product I selected is high-end shoes. The way in which efficiency would be calculated in this case would be by paying attention to the number of people who are working on a product, the time they take to produce it, and the final number of products we have.

d. I do not believe that there are other ways to make this product that would result in more efficiency. However, it is possible to produce the product in a less efficient way, such as using a cobbler who makes every pair by hand.