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

Factors for plant location choice - proximity to market, Factors for plant ...

Factors for plant Location choice - Proximity to Market Organization s may choose to locate facilities close to their market, not merely to minimize transportation costs, but

Developed a project and is interested in what, A company has developed a pr...

A company has developed a project and is interested in accelerating the schedule if possible. Below network diagram and tables show all information needed. Partial crashing is avai

Describe imagine that you are the release that might result, Search the new...

Search the news for a current event/ issue/ crises a company is dealing with today. Imagine that you are the release that might result in a favourable article. Follow the format su

Which is considered part of a companys intellectual property, 1. When a com...

1. When a company plans a new product development project, which department should impact the decisions? (Points : 5) Sales and Marketing Engineering Manufacturing Fina

Airline implementing a policy that need to buy second seat, Answer the foll...

Answer the following questions: 1. what are the pros and cons of an airline implementing a policy that heavier customers need to buy a second seat? Research an airline and provide

Explain how is the critical incident technique, 1) How do effective manager...

1) How do effective managers assess performance and what is the role and process of the Behaviourally Anchored Rating Scale (BARS)? 2) How is the critical incident technique used t

Management of change projects, Choose an Operations Management problem rela...

Choose an Operations Management problem relating to an organisation with which you are familiar and undertake a critical review. This should include (indicative marks provided):

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