Chapter 15 Short-Term Scheduling

1) Which of the following is NOT a key direct benefit from effective internal or external scheduling?
A) lower cost
B) greater use of assets
C) more dependable delivery
D) higher quality
E) added flexibility

2) What is the objective of scheduling?

A) maximize quality
B) minimize cost
C) minimize response time
D) prioritize and allocate demand to available facilities
E) minimize lead time

3) The correct sequence from longest to smallest duration scheduling is:

A) capacity planning, aggregate planning, master schedule, short-term scheduling.
B) aggregate planning, capacity planning, master schedule, short-term scheduling.
C) master schedule, capacity planning, aggregate planning, short-term scheduling.
D) master schedule, aggregate planning, capacity planning, short-term scheduling.
E) capacity planning, master schedule, aggregate planning, short-term scheduling.

4) Forward scheduling is the scheduling of:

A) the end items or finished products.
B) jobs as soon as the requirements are known.
C) the start items or component parts.
D) the final operation first beginning with the due date.
E) jobs according to their profit contributions.

5) Short-term schedules are prepared:

A) directly from the aggregate plans.
B) directly from the capacity plans.
C) from inventory records for items that have been used up.
D) from master schedules, which are derived from aggregate plans.
E) from the purchasing plans.

6) Which of the following is not an effectiveness criterion for scheduling?

A) minimizing customer waiting time
B) minimizing completion time
C) minimizing WIP inventory
D) maximizing utilization
E) maximizing flow time

7) Which of the following considers process capacity when scheduling?

A) cap loading
B) constrained loading
C) capacitated loading
D) backward loading
E) finite loading
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8) Forward scheduling:
A) begins with a delivery date, then offsets each operation one at a time, in reverse order.
B) has the same meaning as "finite loading."
C) is often used in service environments such as catering a banquet or scheduling surgery.
D) starts the schedule as soon as the job requirements are known.
E) produces a schedule only if it meets the due date.

9) The short-term scheduling activity called "loading":

A) assigns dates to specific jobs or operations steps.
B) specifies the order in which jobs should be done at each center.
C) assigns jobs to work centers
D) assigns workers to jobs.
E) assigns workers to machines.

10) Which of the following is NOT required to be known in order to schedule process-focused facilities?
A) the sequence of work
B) which workers are assigned to each work center
C) the time required for each item
D) the capacity of each work center
E) the availability of each work center

11) A work center had actual input of 280 hours and actual output of 270 hours. What is the change in
backlog?
A) 10
B) -10
C) 0
D) 1.037
E) Unable to determine with the given information

12) A work center had planned outputs of 10, 15, 13, and 20 hours with actual outputs of 12, 14, 13, and 18
hours. What is the cumulative deviation in output?
A) 0
B) 1
C) -1
D) 58
E) Unable to determine with the given information

13) The assignment method is:

A) a method to highlight overloads in a given work center.
B) a computerized method of determining appropriate tasks for an operation.
C) a form of linear programming for optimally assigning tasks or jobs to resources.
D) the same thing as the Gantt schedule chart.
E) a method for achieving a balance between forward and backward scheduling.

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14) What is a scheduling technique used to achieve an optimum, one-to-one matching of tasks and
resources?
A) the assignment method
B) Johnson's rule
C) the CDS algorithm
D) the appointment method
E) the reservation method

15) There are two jobs to be assigned to two workers. The profit for worker A on job 1 is $5 and on job 2 is
$8. The profit for worker B on job 1 is $10 and on job 2 is $12. How should the work be divided using the
assignment method?
A) worker A assigned to job 1 and worker B assigned to job 2
B) worker A assigned to job 2 and worker B assigned to job 1
C) worker A gets both jobs 1 and 2
D) worker B gets both jobs 1 and 2
E) unable to determine

16) If job 5 takes 3, 4 or 5 hours to be completed by workers A, B, and C, respectively, what would the row
values for job 5 be after performing Step 1A of the assignment method?
A) 3, 4, 5
B) 8, 9, 10
C) 0, 1, 2
D) 6, 7, 8
E) 1, 4/3, 5/3

17) Which of the following is an aid used to monitor jobs in progress?

A) a Gantt load chart
B) the assignment method
C) a Gantt schedule chart
D) Johnson's rule
E) a Gantt progress chart

18) If an assignment problem consists of 6 workers and 7 projects:

A) one worker will not get a project assignment.
B) one worker will be assigned two projects.
C) each worker will contribute work toward the seventh project.
D) one project will not get a worker assigned.
E) The problem cannot be solved by assignment method.

19) If an assignment problem consists of 5 workers and 4 projects:

A) one worker will not get a project assignment.
B) one project will be assigned two workers.
C) the fifth worker will split time among the four projects.
D) one project will not get a worker assigned.
E) The problem cannot be solved by assignment method.

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20) Three jobs are to be assigned to three machines. Cost for each job-machine combination appears in the
table below. Perform the first two steps of the assignment method (subtract the smallest number in each
row and subtract the smallest number in each column; then cover with straight lines). At this point in the
problem-solving process:

Machine A Machine B Machine C

Job 1 11 14 6
Job 2 8 10 11
Job 3 9 12 7

A) the row for Job 1 contains the values 5, 6, and 0.

B) calculations are complete, and the problem is ready for an optimal set of assignments.
C) the column for Machine B indicates that it should be retired.
D) Job 1 should be performed on Machine B.
E) Job 1 should be performed on Machine A.

21) The jobs listed below need to be completed. Assume that it is now day 140. If the jobs are sequenced
according to the longest processing time rule, what is the lateness of job A?
Processing Job due date
Job Time (days) (days)
A 20 180
B 30 200
C 10 175
D 16 230
E 18 210
A) 0.0 days
B) 24.0 days
C) 7.4 days
D) 9.0 days
E) 11.6 days

22) The jobs listed below need to be completed. Assume that it is now day 140. If the jobs are sequenced
according to the shortest processing time rule, what is the average completion time?
Processing Job due date
Job Time (days) (days)
A 20 180
B 30 200
C 10 175
D 16 230
E 18 210
A) 47.6 days
B) 60.2 days
C) 94.0 days
D) 2.5 days
E) 238.0 days

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23) EDD stands for what?
A) earliest due date
B) earliest design date
C) earliest detrimental date
D) earliest decision date
E) economic date determination

24) Using LPT priority would result in what sequence for Jobs A, B, C, and D if their process times are 4,
6, 5, and 2 respectively?
A) ABCD
B) DCBA
C) DACB
D) DABC
E) BCAD

25) Orders are processed in the sequence in which they arrive if (the) ________ rule sequences the jobs.
A) earliest due date
B) slack time remaining
C) first come, first served
D) critical ratio
E) Johnson's

26) Which of the following dispatching rules ordinarily gives the best results when the criterion is
quickest time for completion of the full sequence of jobs?
A) shortest processing time (SPT)
B) critical ratio (CR)
C) first in, first out (FIFO)
D) first come, first served (FCFS)
E) longest processing time (LPT)

27) Five jobs are waiting to be processed. Their processing times and due dates are given below. Using the
shortest processing time dispatching rule, in which order should the jobs be processed?
Processing Job due date
Job Time (days) (days)
A 4 7
B 7 4
C 8 11
D 3 5
E 5 8
A) A, B, C, D, E
B) C, E, A, D, B
C) B, D, A, E, C
D) D, A, E, B, C
E) C, E, A, B, D

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28) Sequencing (or dispatching):
A) assigns dates to specific jobs or operations steps.
B) assigns jobs to work centers.
C) specifies the order in which jobs should be done at each center.
D) assigns workers to jobs.
E) assigns workers to machines.

29) Five jobs are waiting to be processed. Their processing times and due dates are given below. Using the
earliest due date dispatching rule, in which order should the jobs be processed?
Processing Job due date
Job Time (days) (days)
A 4 7
B 2 4
C 8 11
D 3 5
E 5 8
A) C, E, A, D, B
B) A, B, C, D, E
C) B, D, A, E, C
D) C, B, A, E, D
E) B, D, A, C, E

30) Flow time represents the time:

A) an order spends waiting for processing at a work center.
B) an order spends being processed at a work center.
C) an order spends moving from one work center to another.
D) to complete an order, including time spent in processing and in waiting.
E) none of the above

31) Which of the following dispatching rules tends to minimize job flow time?
A) FCFS: first come, first served
B) SPT: shortest processing time
C) EDD: earliest due date
D) LPT: longest processing time
E) FCLS: first come, last served

32) Average completion time for a schedule sequence at a work center is the ratio of:
A) total processing time to the number of jobs.
B) total flow time to total processing time.
C) total flow time to the number of jobs.
D) total processing time plus total late time to the number of jobs.
E) total flow time plus total late time to the number of jobs.

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33) Eight jobs have been sequenced at a single work center. Total processing time for the eight jobs is 34
hours, and total flow time for the sequence is 85 hours. For this schedule, utilization is ________ and the
average number of jobs in the system is ________.
A) 100 percent; 10.625
B) low; .0941
C) 0.400 or 40 percent; 2.5
D) 0.235 or 23.5 percent; 4.25
E) maximized; minimized

34) Five welding jobs are waiting to be processed. Their processing times and due dates are given below.
Using the critical ratio dispatching rule, in which order should the jobs be processed? All dates are
specified as days from today.
Processing Job due date
Job Time (days) (days)
A 4 7
B 2 4
C 8 11
D 3 5
E 5 11
A) B, D, A, E, C
B) C, D, A, B, E
C) C, E, A, D, B
D) E, B, A, D, C
E) B, D, A, C, E

35) Which critical ratio value implies that a job is already late?
A) more than 100
B) 1
C) less than 1
D) 10
E) 3.4

36) What is the priority rule that sequences jobs using the smallest ratio of due date from today to
processing time?
A) critical ratio
B) earliest due date
C) first come, first served
D) longest processing time
E) shortest processing time

37) Which of the following is an advantage of the FCFS dispatching rule when used in services?
A) FCFS maximizes utilization.
B) FCFS minimizes the average number of jobs in the system.
C) FCFS minimizes the average lateness of all jobs.
D) FCFS maximizes the number of jobs completed on time.
E) FCFS seems fair to customers.

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38) What does the use of the shortest processing time sequencing rule generally produce?
A) maximum average lateness
B) maximum utilization
C) maximum effectiveness
D) minimum average flow time
E) B and D

39) Which of the following is a limitation of rules-based dispatching systems?

A) Rules need to be revised to adjust to changes in orders, product mix, and so forth.
B) Rules may not recognize idle resources.
C) Rules may not recognize bottleneck resources
D) Rules may not be able to prioritize two jobs with identical due dates.
E) All of the above are limitations.

40) A recent advance in short-term scheduling that makes use of expert systems and simulation in solving
dynamic scheduling problems is:
A) forward scheduling.
B) backward scheduling.
C) infinite scheduling.
D) finite capacity scheduling.
E) progressive scheduling.

41) Which of the following is NOT tracked by scheduling optimization systems used in retail stores?
A) cars parked in the parking lot
B) individual store sales
C) transactions
D) units sold
E) customer traffic

42) Which of the following is TRUE regarding services scheduling?

A) The critical ratio sequencing rule is widely used for fairness to customers.
B) The emphasis is on staffing levels, not materials.
C) Reservations and appointments are often used to manipulate the supply of services.
D) Labor use can be intensive, and labor demand is usually stable.
E) All of the above are true.

Answers
1. D
2. D
3. A
4. B
5. D
6. E
7. E
8. D
9. C
10. B
11. A
12. C
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 13. C
14. A
15. B
16. C
17. C
18. D
19. A
20. A
21. D
22. A
23. A
24. E
25. C
26. A
27. D
28. C
29. C
30. D
31. B
32. C
33. C
34. B
35. C
36. A
37. E
38. E
39. E
40. D
41. A
42. B

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