Time lag effects - operations function, Operation Management

Assignment Help:

Time Lag Effects - Operations Function

Feedback control in complex systems can bring its own problems, due to time lag between measuring the output deviation and realising the effects of the corrective adjustments. A well-known illustration of this phenomenon was presented by Jay W Forrester in his book, Industrial Dynamics. He had been consulted by a white goods manufacturing concern which had been experiencing wildly fluctuating production levels over a period of years; despite the best efforts of the company's management they had been unable to keep production output in reasonable balance with customer demand. Forrester and his team studied the operations of the company's distribution chain (shown in simplified form in the figure) and formulated a computer simulation model of the factory - warehouse - distributor - retailers.

1355_Time Lag Effects – Operations Function.png

The figure below (adapted from Forrester, 1965) shows the results obtained when a 10 per cent step-increase in demand at the retail outlets was introduced. This chart is necessarily 'cluttered', to show how the various order, inventory and production levels changed in response to the initial increase in sales.

1964_Time Lag Effects – Operations Function 1.png

For our purposes it will be sufficient if you locate the two lines labeled 'Retail sales' and 'Factory production output'. It was found that, because of a series of time-lags in the chain, the feedback signal was greatly amplified by the time it reached the factory, resulting in over-reaction. Note that the production level climbs by 45 per cent, creating an excessive build up of inventories. In response the production level falls to 3 per cent less than the original level, and so on. It takes about 18 months for the fluctuations to be damped out.


Related Discussions:- Time lag effects - operations function

Explain about the level capacity strategy, Explain about the level capacity...

Explain about the level capacity strategy. Level capacity strategy: The organisation produces or manufactures at a constant rate of output avoiding any changes or fluctua

Explain collected information on the number of customers, Rosa's Italian re...

Rosa's Italian restaurant wants to develop forecasts of daily demand for the next week. The restaurant is closed on Mondays and experiences a seasonal pattern for the other six day

Explain advertising budget, The production manager at company XYZ needs to ...

The production manager at company XYZ needs to prepare forecasts of product demand in order to plan for appropriate production quantities. In the past, demand for the product has b

Give example of groupthink, You have been assigned the task of assembling a...

You have been assigned the task of assembling a team to accomplish some task or project in your organization. What do you do? What is important for you to know? What do you need to

Explain patient incentives as well as provider outreach, Please summarize B...

Please summarize Blue Cross Blue Sheild Health Insurance, review members service, new/ current/ upcoming technology, accreditation or certifications and patient incentives as well

Explain human relations movement, Compare and contrast Scientific Managemen...

Compare and contrast Scientific Management and the Human Relations Movement

Explain manager of a production department, Suppose that you are the manage...

Suppose that you are the manager of a production department that uses 400 boxes of rivets per year. The supplier quotes you a price of $8.50 per box for an order size of 199 boxes

Explain and contrast the rights of bond holders, Describe and contrast the ...

Describe and contrast the rights of bond holders and preferred stockholders. Which has the best position in a default, which one would you buy all other things being equal?

Calculate the normal time for the job, A work  sampling  study  is to  b...

A work  sampling  study  is to  be made of a typist  pool. It is  left that  typists are idle  30 % of the  time. How many observations  should  be made  in order  to  have 395.5%

Define the critical path, The following is a table of activities associated...

The following is a table of activities associated with a project at Bill Figg Enterprises, their durations and what activities each must precede: Activity Duration (weeks) Prece

Write Your Message!

Captcha
Free Assignment Quote

Assured A++ Grade

Get guaranteed satisfaction & time on delivery in every assignment order you paid with us! We ensure premium quality solution document along with free turntin report!

All rights reserved! Copyrights ©2019-2020 ExpertsMind IT Educational Pvt Ltd