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 key aspects of operations management, 1- With respect to a firm's s...

1- With respect to a firm's supply chain design, what are some key challenges in terms of achieving an optimal level of mass customization? 2 - Articulate key aspects of operati

Explain characteristic shared by frame relay and atm, which of the followin...

which of the following is a characteristic shared by frame relay and ATM? a. the use of virtual circuits b. the use of fixed-sized packets known as cells c. the use of ded

Financial risk, the importance of the measurtement of market risk for finan...

the importance of the measurtement of market risk for financial institution

Calculate the mean absolute deviation, Since May of 2005, the purchase mana...

Since May of 2005, the purchase manager at a department store has been using a 4-period moving average to forecast sales in upcoming months. Sales data for the months of January th

Explain the importance of performance appraisal, Explain the importance of ...

Explain the importance of performance appraisal. Significance of performance appraisal: This is helpful in operational decisions of personal management relating to pay rais

Explain flowchart uses symbols to represent, A process flowchart uses symbo...

A process flowchart uses symbols to represent which of the following?

Explain in a cellualr network advancement cells must use, In a cellualr net...

In a cellualr network advancement cells must use the same or nearly the same frequencies for their voice signal channels in order to work properly?

Describe the key factors that impact location decisions, Discuss the key fa...

Discuss the key factors that impact location decisions. As an example, if locating a facility in India, what location decisions would a fast-food chain have to consider as compared

Explain toyota and the recalls, Discuss why organizations need to have the ...

Discuss why organizations need to have the correct performance metrics to drive quality. Think of examples in the news and their outcomes. For example: • Toyota and the recalls • B

Explain marketing is considered both an art and a science, Marketing is con...

Marketing is considered both an art and a science. How do the 4Ps, or marketing mix, help us bridge the gap between art and science? a. Marketing is about advertising.

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