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

Process configurations - products, Process configurations - products ...

Process configurations - products The categorisation of production systems according to volume of output was discussed: project, job shop, batch and continuous. The Hayes and

Explain why organizations need correct performance metrics, Discuss why org...

Discuss why organizations need to have the correct performance metrics to drive quality. Think of examples in the news and their outcomes.

Objectionable about psychological tests preemployment screen, Utilitarians ...

Utilitarians would not find anything inherently objectionable about psychological tests as long as the interests of all parties were taken into account and given equal consideratio

Competitor charges for same golf clubs in that market, Gibson Golf Clubs ma...

Gibson Golf Clubs manufactures titanium golf clubs and sells them in retail outlets all over the U.S. and Europe. GGC is revising its current pricing structure. Would the following

Explain what is the break even quantity beyond, The first process is expect...

The first process is expected to incur $280,000 of fixed cost and add $60 of variable cost for each unit produced. The second process has fixed costs of $200, 00 and adds $70 per e

Explain what is job evaluation, 1) What is job evaluation? What method(s) o...

1) What is job evaluation? What method(s) of job position evaluation does employer use? Explain why. (Remember, "Job Evaluation" is not the same as "Performance Evaluation.") 2) Wh

Explain upper control limit for an r-chart, Twenty samples of subgroup size...

Twenty samples of subgroup size 3 (n=3) were collected for a variable measurement. Determine the upper control limit (UCL) for an R-chart if the mean of the sample ranges equals

Production efficiencies and reducing unit costs, A manufacturer concerned m...

A manufacturer concerned mainly with production efficiencies and reducing unit costs is known as Production oriented.

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