L4M7 Whole Life Asset Management Questions and Answers

Explanation

JIT, often referred to as the Toyota production system (TPS), originated in Toyota’s manufacturing plants in Japan in the early 1970s. It was first introduced by the organisation's owner, Taiichi Ohno. The prime goal of JIT is the achievement of zero inventories.

The just-in-time objectives of eliminating waste can be summarised in the 'five zeros: zero defects, zero set-up times, zero inventories, zero handling and zero lead times.

Explanation

Opening stock is the starting amount of inventory that a business has at a fixed moment in time. This could be the start of a financial year, another reporting period or ad hoc stocktake. The concept of opening stock mush not be confused with raw materials

Closing stock is the inventory held at the end of the period under consideration. Thus, the closing stock of one period is automatically the opening stock for the next.

Work in progress is the stock part-way through a manufacturing process; in the service sectors the term is also used for anything between order and delivery.

Buffer stock (safety stock) is the stock held as a contingency or insurance against disruption or unexpected demand.

LO 2, AC 2.1

Explanation

For JIT manufacturing to succeed, companies must have steady production, high-quality workmanship, glitch-free plant machinery, and reliable suppliers.

JIT production systems cut inventory costs because manufacturers do not have to pay storage costs. Manufacturers are also not left with unwanted inventory if an order is canceled or not fulfilled.

Explanation

Last in, first out (LIFO) is a method used to account for inventory that records the most recently produced items as sold first. Under LIFO, the cost of the most recent products purchased (or pro-duced) are the first to be expensed as cost of goods sold (COGS)—which means the lower cost of older products will be reported as inventory.

Moving average: a calculation to analyse data by creating series of averages of different subset of full data set. It is commonly used with time series data to smooth out short-term fluctuation and highlight long-term trends or cycle

ABC analysis is a method of analysis that divides the subject up into three categories: A, B and C.

There is no technique called time-weighted series.

LO 2, AC 2.3

Explanation

Dependent demand is the requirement for stock item which is directly related to and therefore de-pendent upon the rate of production (examples are: raw materials, components, energy).

Independent demand is the requirement for stock item which is not directly related to, and is therefore independent of rate of production.

'Number of independent demand items may be derived from the forecast': Although independent demand is called thus, it can still be influenced by economic factors external to the demand-supply model such as general consumer sentiment and consumers' available disposal income. However, businesses that need to predict the number of products with independent demand needed to sate their customers have it easier than businesses that must calculate the demand for products with dependent demand because there are fewer factors to consider.

'Dependent demand items are not directly correlated with production rate': As mentioned above, dependent demand items are directly correlated with production rate.

'All indirect supplies are independent demand items': Though most indirect supplier are inde-pendent demand, some are determined by the production rate, i.e. energy consumption of a major machinery.

'Car engine is an example of independent demand items in a car assembly plant': Car engine is a component in car which is the finished good of a car assembly plant, it is a dependent demand item.

LO 2, AC 2.1

Explanation

The most basic alarm consists of one or more sensors to detect intruders, and an alerting device to indicate the intrusion. However, a typical premises security alarm employs the following compo-nents:

- Premises control unit (PCU), Alarm Control Panel (ACP), or simply panel: The "brain" of the system, it reads sensor inputs, tracks arm/disarm status, and signals intrusions. In modern system, this is typically one or more computer circuit boards inside a metal enclosure, along with a power supply.

- Sensors: Devices which detect intrusions. Sensors may be placed at the perimeter of the protected area, within it, or both. Sensors can detect intruders by a variety of methods, such as monitoring doors and windows for opening, or by monitoring unoccupied interiors for motions, sound, vibration, or other disturbances.

- Alerting devices: These indicate an alarm condition. Most commonly, these are bells, sirens, and/or flashing lights. Alerting devices serve the dual purposes of warning occupants of intrusion, and potentially scaring off burglars. These devices may also be used to warn occupants of a fire or smoke condition.

- Keypads: Small devices, typically wall-mounted, which function as the human-machine interface to the system. In addition to buttons, keypads typically feature indicator lights, a small multi-character display, or both.etc.

- Interconnections between components. This may consist of direct wiring to the control unit, or wireless links with local power supplies.

In addition to the system itself, security alarms are often coupled with a monitoring service. In the event of an alarm, the premises control unit contacts a central monitoring station. Operators at the station see the signal and take appropriate action, such as contacting property owners, notifying police, or dispatching private security forces. Such signals may be transmitted via dedicated alarm circuits, telephone lines, or the internet.

Explanation

All risk management processes follow the same basic steps, although sometimes different jargon is used to describe these steps. Together these 5 risk management process steps combine to deliver a simple and effective risk management process.

Step 1: Identify the Risk. You and your team uncover, recognize and describe risks that might affect your project or its outcomes. There are a number of techniques you can use to find project risks. During this step you start to prepare your Project Risk Register.

Step 2: Analyze the risk. Once risks are identified you determine the likelihood and consequence of each risk. You develop an understanding of the nature of the risk and its potential to affect pro-ject goals and objectives. This information is also input to your Project Risk Register.

Step 3: Evaluate or Rank the Risk. You evaluate or rank the risk by determining the risk magni-tude, which is the combination of likelihood and consequence. You make decisions about whether the risk is acceptable or whether it is serious enough to warrant treatment. These risk rankings are also added to your Project Risk Register.

Step 4: Treat the Risk. This is also referred to as Risk Response Planning. During this step you assess your highest ranked risks and set out a plan to treat or modify these risks to achieve acceptable risk levels. How can you minimize the probability of the negative risks as well as enhancing the opportunities? You create risk mitigation strategies, preventive plans and contingency plans in this step. And you add the risk treatment measures for the highest ranking or most serious risks to your Project Risk Register.

Step 5: Monitor and Review the risk. This is the step where you take your Project Risk Register and use it to monitor, track and review risks.

Explanation

RFID tags are the small devices that can be embedded in labels or attached to tags which work with radio transmitters and/or receivers to identify themselves.

RFID tags can be used to do the following:

- Track individual items

- Track boxes of products, cages of products and pallets

- Track containers with multiple loads

- Locate equipment within a building

- Trigger alarms should equipment or stock be removed without authorisation.

RFID devices have a very small integrated circuit incorporating a small memory capability - many are smaller than 2mm square and 2mm thick. Despite its size, many can hold 2000 characters of data.

RFID operating rage depends on the radio frequency used, receiver capability and the environment. Some tags are only readable from under 1m, others can have a 100m range.

RFID tags and labels are very specific to the type of material and size of your assets. For example, metal will deactivate the RFID antenna and the tag will not transmit at all. Using RFID on metal requires a special type of tag with an RFID block to prevent interference with the antenna. Liquid products can also affect the reliability of the RFID signal. To use RFID tags in specific environ-ments, some technologies are needed to support them.

Explanation

Dependent demand is the requirement for stock item which is directly related to and therefore de-pendent upon the rate of production (examples are: raw materials, components, energy). The com-ponents in the scenario are dependent demand items.

Independent demand is the requirement for stock item which is not directly related to, and is therefore independent of rate of production.

Explanation

The purposes of stores and warehouses are:

1. Maximum use of space.

2. Ready access to all items.

3. Efficient movement of goods.

4. Effective utilization of labour & equipment’s

5. Maximum protection of items

6. Good-house-keeping.

Explanation

Scheduled maintenance is any repair and upkeep work performed within a set timeframe. It details when given maintenance tasks are performed and by whom. Scheduled maintenance may occur at repeating intervals or in response to a work request.

"Overhauling of machine" means that the machine is regularly checked and corrupted parts are replaced if needed.

"Cleaning of tank" and "Oil changes" also occur at time intervals as scheduled

So the correct answer is "Repair signage damage from a recent storm"

Explanation

In management accounting, reorder level (or reorder point) is the inventory level at which a com-pany would place a new order or start a new manufacturing run.

Reorder level depends on a company’s work-order lead time and its demand during that time and whether the company maintain a safety stock.

If a company maintains a safety stock, reorder level calculation changes are follows:

Reorder Level = Average Demand × Lead Time + Safety Stock

Explanation

The holding cost per day of the beer pallet is equal to 1.50/2=0.75

The beer pallet is stored for 5 days, the total holding cost is: 0.75*5=3.75.

LO 2, AC 2.2

Explanation

MRP I was some of the first business software to be widely adopted during the 1970s. Manufacturers sought these systems in order to improve efficiency and accuracy when it came to basic processes such as production scheduling and inventory management.

By the 1980s, manufacturers realized they needed software that could also tie into their accounting systems and forecast inventory requirements. Enter MRP II, which included these integrations in addition to all the capabilities offered by MRP I. Enterprise resource planning (ERP) software features—which we’ll cover later on—are included in the following table for comparison.

Graphical user interface Description automatically generated

Explanation

Fixed-Time Period System (or Periodic Review system) is the inventory management system in which inventory is checked in fixed time periods, T, and the quantity ordered varies. The system also contains a target inventory level, R, which is restored when order received. The order quantity is calculated as:

Q = R – IP

where: Q = order quantity

R = target inventory level

IP = inventory position

Inventory position (IP) is equal to inventory on-hand plus quantity on order minus backorder (if any)

The order quantity varies because the inventory position at each review point differs from each other.

Diagram Description automatically generated with medium confidence

LO 2, AC 2.3

Explanation

RFID tags have very limited range. The following table was extracted from Wikipedia:

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RFID tags can be used to do the following:

- Track individual items

- Track boxes of products, cages of products and pallet

- Track containers with multiple loads

- Locate equipment within a building

- Trigger alarms should equipment or stock be removed without authorisation.

RFID tags are made of three different components: an RFID chip, which is an integrated circuit (IC), an antenna, and a substrate. RFID chips are very small integrated circuit incorporating a small memory capability - many are smaller than 2mm square and 2mm thick. Despite its size, many can hold 2000 characters of data. Many retailers simply use the tag as a thick label and print both sides with product information and perhaps a barcode.

It is important to note that there are multiple standards in use for RFID - some of these are standardised for industries but there are also national standards in operations. These standards need to be investigated before investment as not all readers work with all cards. GS1 is a non-for-profit organisation which make the standards for barcodes and RFID.

Explanation

Decommissioning or disposal should start with the original specifications of the assets so that the organisation and supplier can make an appropriate plan. Some specifications also mention the is-sues regarding to end-of-life environmental factors.