University of Engineering and Technology Peshawar (Jalozai Campus)

Department of Mechanical Engineering

8th Semester
Final Term Spring 21 Exam
Industrial Management

Time Allowed: 3 Hours 15 Minutes

Duration includes uploading time Total Marks: 50
Solve All Weightage: 50%

1. INVENTORY CONTROL AT WHEELED COACH

Controlling is one of the toughest problems faced by Wheeled Coach. Operating according
to the strategy of mass customization and responsiveness, management knows that success
is dependent on tight inventory control. Anything else results in an inability to deliver
promptly, chaos on the assembly line, and a huge inventory investment. Wheeled Coach
finds that almost 50% of the $40,000 to $100,000 cost of every ambulance in manufactures
is purchased materials. A large proportion of that 50% is in chassis (purchased from Ford),
aluminum (from Reynolds Metals), and plywood used for flooring and cabinetry
construction (from local suppliers). Wheeled Coach tracks these A inventory items quiet
carefully, maintaining tight security/control and ordering carefully so as to maximize
quantity discounts while minimizing on hand stock. Because of long lead times and
scheduling need at Reynolds, aluminum must actually be ordered as much as 8 months in
advance.
In a crowded ambulance industry in which it is the only giant, its 45% of competitors don’t
have purchasing power to draw the same discounts as Wheeled Coach. But this competitive
cost advantage cannot be taken lightly, according to president Bob Collins. “Cycle counting
in our stockrooms is critical. No part can leave the stockrooms without appearing on the bill
of materials.”
Accurate Bills of Materials are the requirement if productions are going to be built on time.
Additionally, because of the custom nature of each vehicle, most orders are won only after a
bidding process. Accurate BOMs are critical to cost estimation and the resulting bid. For
these reasons, Collins was emphatic that Wheeled Coach maintain outstanding inventory
control. (CLO3= Evaluation, PLO11 = Project Management)

Questions

a. Explain how Wheeled Coach implements ABC analysis? 5 Marks

b. If you were to take over as inventory control manager at Wheeled Coach, what
additional policies and techniques would you initiate to ensure accurate inventory
records? 5 Marks
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 2. SOUTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
Southwestern University (SWU), a large state college in Stephenville, Texas, 30 miles
southwest of the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex, enrolls close to 20,000 students. In a typical
town-gown relationship, the school is dominant force in the small city, with more students
during Fall and Spring than permanent residents.
A longtime football powerhouse, SWU is a member of the Big Eleven conference and is
usually in the top 20 in college football rankings. To bolster its chances of reaching the
elusive and long desired number one ranking, in 2003, SWU hired the legendary Pitterno as
its head coach. One of the demands of coach after joining SWU had been a new stadium.
With attendance increasing, SWU administrators began to face the issue head-on. After 6
months of study, much political arm wrestling, and some serious financial analysis, Dr. Joel
Wisner, president of SWU, had reached a decision to expand the capacity at its on-campus
stadium. Adding thousands of seats, including dozens of luxury skyboxes, would not please
everyone. The influential Pitterno had argued the need for a first-class stadium, one with
built-in dormitory rooms for his players and a palatial office appropriate for the coach of a
future NCCA champion team. But the decision was made, and everyone, including the
coach, would learn to live with it.

SWU Project
Time Estimates (days)
Activity Description Processor(s) Optimistic Most pessimistic Crash
Likely Cost/Day
A Bonding, Insurance, tax structuring --- 20 30 40 $1,500
B Foundations, concreate footings for Boxes A 20 65 80 3,500
C Upgrading skybox stadium seating A 50 60 100 4,000
D Upgrading walkways, stairwells, elevators C 30 50 100 1,900
E Interior wiring, lathes B 25 30 35 9,500
F Inspection approvals E 0.1 0.1 0.1 0
G Plumbing D, F 25 30 35 2,500
H Painting G 10 20 30 2,000
I Hardware/AC/metal workings H 20 25 60 2,000
J Tile/carpets/windows H 8 10 12 6,000
K Inspection J 0.1 0.1 0.1 0
L Final detail work/clean up I, K 20 25 60 4500

The job now was to get construction going immediately after the 2009 season ended. This
would allow exactly 270 days until the 2010 season opening game. The contractor, Hill
Construction (Bob Hill being an alumnus, of course), signed his contract. Bob Hill looked at
the tasks his engineers had outlined and looked President Wisner in the eye. “I guarantee the
team will be able to take the field on schedule next year,” he said with a sense of confidence.
“I hope so” replied Wisner. “the contract of penalty of $10,000 per day for running late is
nothing compared to what Coach Pitterno will do to you if our opening match with Penn
State is delayed or canceled.” Hill, sweating slightly did not need to respond. In football-
crazy Texas, Hill Construction would be mud if the 270-day target was missed.
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 Back in his office, Hill again reviewed the data (see table) and noted that optimistic time
estimates can be used as crash times. He then gathered his foremen. “Folks, if we are not
75% sure we will finish this stadium in less than 270 days, I want this project crashed! Give
me the cost figures for a target date of 250 days and also for 240 days. I want to be early, not
just on time” (CLO2= Application, PLO 9= Ind. And Teamwork)

Questions:

Q1. Construct a network drawing for Hill Construction and determine the critical path. How long is
the project expected to take? 10 Marks

3. DEMAND FOR BASS DRUM

Howard Weiss, owner of a musical instrument distributorship, thinks that demand for Bass
Drums may be related to the number of television appearances by the popular group Stone
Temple Pilots during the previous month. Howard has collected the data shown in the
following table. (CLO2= Application, PLO 9= Ind. And Teamwork)

Questions:

Q1. Graph these data to see whether a linear equation might explain the relationship
between the group’s television shows and Bass Drum sales. 5 Marks
Q2. Use the least square regression method to derive forecasting equation. 10Marks

Demand for Bass Drums 3 6 7 5 10 7

Stone Temple Pilots TV Appearances each month 3 4 7 6 8 5

4. TOYS AND JOB DESIGN AT ABEX COMPANY

The following is a situation that occurred in the ABEX Company, as reported by Plant Manager.

This company manufactured a line of wooden toys. One part of the process involved spray
painting partially assembled toys, after which the toys were hung on moving hooks that carried
them through a drying oven. The operation, staffed entirely by women, was plagued with
absenteeism, high turnover, and low morale. Each woman at her paint booth would take a toy
from the tray beside her, position it in a fixture, and spray on the color according to the required
pattern. She then would release the toy and hang it on the conveyor hook. The rate at which the
hooks moved had been calculated so that each woman, once fully trained, would be able to hang
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a painted toy on each hook before it passed beyond her reach. The women who worked in the
paint room were on a group incentive plan that tied their earnings to the production of the entire
group. Since the operation was new, they received a learning allowance that decreased by regular
amounts each month. The learning allowance was scheduled to fall to zero in six months because
it was expected that the women could meet standard output or more by that time. By the second
month of the training period, trouble had developed. The women had progressed more slowly
than had been anticipated, and it appeared that their production level would stabilize somewhat
below the planned level. Some of the women complained about the speed that was expected of
them, and a few of them quit. There was evidence of resistance to the new situation. Through the
counsel of a consultant, the supervisor finally decided to bring the women together for general
discussions of working conditions. After two meetings in which relations between the work
group and the supervisor were somewhat improved, a third meeting produced the suggestion that
control of the conveyor speed be turned over to the work group.
The women explained that they felt that they could keep up with the speed of the conveyor but
that they could not work at that pace all day long. They wished to be able to adjust the speed of
the belt, depending on how they felt. After consultation, the supervisor had a control marked,
“low, medium, and fast” installed at the booth of the group leader, who could adjust the speed of
the conveyor anywhere between the lower and upper limits that had been set. The women were
delighted and spent many lunch hours deciding how the speed should be varied from hour to
hour throughout the day. Within a week, a pattern had emerged: the first half-hour of the shift
was run on what the women called “medium speed” (a dial setting slightly above the point
marked “medium”). The next two and one-half hours were run at high speed, and the half-hour
before lunch and the half-hour after lunch were run at low speed. The rest of the afternoon was
run at high speed, with the exception of the last 45 minutes of the shift, which were run at
medium speed. In view of the women’s report of satisfaction and ease in their work, it is
interesting to note that the original speed was slightly below medium on the dial of the new
control. The average speed at which the women were running the belt was on the high side of the
dial. Few, if any, empty hooks entered the drying oven, and inspection showed no increase of
rejects from the paint room. Production increased, and within three weeks the women were
operating at 30 to 50 percent above the level that had been expected according to the original
design. Evaluate the experience of the ABEX Company as it reflects on job design, human
relationships, and the supervisor’s role. How would you react as the supervisor to the situation
where workers determine how the work will be performed? If you were designing the spray-
painting set-up, would you design it differently? (CLO3= Evaluation, PLO11= Project
Management) 15 Marks

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