MRP Production Scheduling & Capacity Planning 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which of the following is a key difference between infinite loading and finite loading in scheduling?
- Infinite loading uses actual routings; finite loading uses capacity bills
- Infinite loading ignores capacity limits; finite loading enforces them (Correct answer)
- Infinite loading is used for purchased parts; finite loading for manufactured parts
- Infinite loading applies only to bottleneck resources
Correct answer: Infinite loading ignores capacity limits; finite loading enforces them
Infinite loading calculates loads without enforcing capacity limits, while finite loading caps work at available capacity.
Question 2: A dispatch list is BEST described as:
- A report showing all open purchase orders by vendor
- A prioritized sequence of jobs to be worked on at a specific work center (Correct answer)
- A master list of all MPS end items by due date
- A summary of completed jobs for payroll reporting
Correct answer: A prioritized sequence of jobs to be worked on at a specific work center
A dispatch list provides shop floor workers and supervisors with a prioritized queue of jobs for each work center.
Question 3: In production scheduling, 'operation overlapping' (also called lead time overlap) means:
- Running two different products on the same machine simultaneously
- Starting a downstream operation before the upstream operation is fully complete (Correct answer)
- Scheduling preventive maintenance during production downtime
- Combining similar setups to reduce changeover time
Correct answer: Starting a downstream operation before the upstream operation is fully complete
Overlapping passes partial lots to the next operation before the prior operation finishes, compressing total lead time.
Question 4: Which capacity planning level is associated with Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) and uses aggregate resources like labor hours or machine hours?
- Capacity Requirements Planning (CRP)
- Rough-Cut Capacity Planning (RCCP)
- Resource Requirements Planning (RRP) (Correct answer)
- Input/Output Control
Correct answer: Resource Requirements Planning (RRP)
RRP operates at the S&OP level, checking whether aggregate production plans are feasible against broad resource groups.
Question 5: A manufacturer calculates that its work center efficiency is 85% and utilization is 90%. What is the rated capacity if the nominal capacity is 400 hours per week?
- 340 hours
- 360 hours
- 306 hours (Correct answer)
- 380 hours
Correct answer: 306 hours
Rated capacity = nominal capacity × utilization × efficiency = 400 × 0.90 × 0.85 = 306 hours.
Question 6: Which scheduling approach is most suitable for a high-volume, repetitive manufacturing environment with stable demand?
- Job shop scheduling with dispatch lists
- Rate-based scheduling using a level production strategy (Correct answer)
- Project scheduling with a Gantt chart
- Event-driven scheduling triggered by customer orders
Correct answer: Rate-based scheduling using a level production strategy
Rate-based scheduling sets a constant daily or weekly production rate, which suits repetitive, stable-demand environments.
Question 7: What is the primary purpose of a 'pegging' report in an MRP/production scheduling system?
- To link a specific inventory balance to its physical storage location
- To trace a demand requirement back to its parent order or customer demand source (Correct answer)
- To calculate the setup time for a specific work center
- To identify items that have exceeded their reorder point
Correct answer: To trace a demand requirement back to its parent order or customer demand source
Pegging traces where a requirement originated, linking a component need back through the BOM to the ultimate customer order or forecast.
MRP Production Scheduling & Capacity Planning 5
Which of the following is a key difference between infinite loading and finite loading in scheduling?