The Basics
All activities required to produce goods and services.
Operations Management
The ability of a good or service to satisfy a human need.
Utility
Developing a plan to convert an idea into a finished product.
Design Planning
Deciding where the production facility will be located.
Site Selection
The process of ensuring goods meet design specifications.
Quality Control?
U.S. manufacturers bringing manufacturing jobs back to the United States.
Reshoring
Utility created by converting raw materials and finances into products.
Form Utility
Creating specifications from which a product can be produced.
Product Design
The arrangement of machinery and personnel within a facility.
Plant Layout
A team of employees who meet to solve quality problems.
Quality Circle
Producing large numbers of identical products to lower costs.
Mass Production
An economy where more effort is devoted to services than goods.
Service Economy
A group of similar products that differ only in minor ways.
Product Line
Managing inventory to minimize holding and stock-out costs.
Inventory Control
The examination of the quality of work-in-process.
Inspection
Breaking raw materials down into different component parts.
Analytical Process
Total or near-total use of machines to do work.
Automation
The amount of products or services an organization can produce.
Capacity
Ensuring materials and resources are in the right place at the right time.
Scheduling
Eliminating waste from all production activities.
Lean Manufacturing
Combining raw materials or components to create a finished product.
Synthetic Process
The use of programmable machines to perform various tasks.
Robotics
Producing the same products over a long period of time.
Continuous Process
The time period during which an operational plan is in effect.
Planning Horizon
Obtaining required supplies and parts from other firms.
Purchasing