MG/IE 3400 Lab 2: Problem-Solving and Improvement

C-Term 2003 Due: Monday, January 27 at 4 p.m. Lab #2 Ass !nment

For this lab assignment, you will be continuing your role as a consulting group hired by TimeWise to improve their processes. As your second step, you will be proposing several specific changes to the operations, designed to move them down the path toward lean processes. The lab report that you turn in should be in the form of a Powerpoint presentation, which you will be presenting to the CE of TimeWise !same as before " #haron $ohnson%. Please print out the presentation and turn in a hard copy !you can do this in the form of handouts to save paper% as well as post your file to the digital dropbo& !'f you(ve never done this before, please let me )now. *emember you need to both add the file, and send t". The presentation should propose specific solutions to reduce lead time at Timewise. Two specific solutions that should be considered are+ !,% -ow to assemble the product to better balance the line, and !.% -ow to improve the process flow. /ou may ma)e other suggestions as well. 'n developing the presentation and describing these solutions, you should follow the first four steps in the 01step process. We will test out some of your solutions in our ne&t lab to see how well our results compare to what is predicted. 'n particular, your presentation should outline+ What the problem is and why it is important !theme selection% 2ata that e&plains why the current process is problematic !use data gathered from the lab last wee) as a starting point, as well as your capacity analysis from this session% *oot cause analysis that identifies the underlying causes of the problem !using fishbone diagrams is encouraged, but ma)e sure you draw conclusions% /our proposed solution and its e&pected impact !-ow you will measure that an improvement has occurred once the solution is implemented, and your prediction about the level of improvement%.

'n addition, to help you prepare for the e&am, each group should turn in a solution to Problem 3 on p. ,44 of your te&tboo). For this problem, each member of the group should use a different heuristic to balance the line !longest tas), most following tas)s, positional weight%. For each heuristic solution, calculate the efficiency of the line balance. -ow does this problem compare to developing a line balancing solution for Timewise5 *eflect on the differences in your writeup. This section of the report can be handwritten, but should be attached to the hardcopy of the presentation that you turn in !i.e., you don(t need to submit this portion of the assignment via the digital dropbo&%.