CIPS L4M7 Whole Life Asset Management Exam Practice Test

The turning circle of the forklift truck and the size of the pallet it carries are primary factors in determining aisle width. The aisle width must accommodate forklift maneuvers for safe and efficient access to stored items. Whole-life asset management emphasizes warehouse layout planning to optimize space usage, reduce handling time, and enhance safety.

Explanation

Where stock turn (inventory turnover) is low and there are potential risks of redundancy or obsolescence, the buying organisation may adopt vendor owned stock. In this system, a supplier (vendor) maintains a stock of items ready to be used at the point of customer consumption. The supplier owns the stock until it is used by the purchaser; only then is the purchaser invoiced for it.

Just in case and larger safety stock would significantly increase the stock level, which may cause redundancy or obsolescence.

Forrester effect (or Bullwhip effect) is a distribution channel phenomenon in which forecasts yield supply chain inefficiencies. It refers to increasing swings in inventory in response to shifts in customer demand as one moves further up the supply chain.

Obsolescent stock refers to items that are outdated but may still have some use. Redundant stock, on the other hand, is no longer useful or required by the organization. Effective whole-life asset management requires identifying and managing both types of stock to minimize waste and optimize storage.

Common coding faults include:

Long code words: Codes that are too lengthy are challenging to use and may lead to errors.

Lack of room for expansion: If codes cannot accommodate new items, future adjustments become difficult.

Efficient coding is essential for inventory tracking and asset management, enabling clear, scalable, and user-friendly identification systems.

Low stock levels can lead to:

Delays and higher fulfillment costs: When stock is insufficient, emergency orders and expedited shipping may be necessary, increasing costs.

Stockouts during high demand: Insufficient inventory can lead to missed sales opportunities, negatively impacting customer satisfaction.

Whole-life asset management seeks to balance inventory levels to avoid stockouts while minimizing holding costs.

A bar coding system enables operators to scan items as they are picked, updating inventory levels in real-time. This system minimizes errors and ensures efficient inventory tracking. In whole-life asset management, barcoding helps maintain accurate records, reduces picking errors, and improves warehouse productivity.

Whole-life costing includes all costs from acquisition to disposal, ensuring comprehensive financial planning. Essential components include:

Acquisition and purchase costs: Initial costs incurred to procure the equipment.

Usage costs: Operational expenses, including energy and consumables.

End-of-life costs: Disposal, recycling, or decommissioning expenses.

Whole-life asset management aims to minimize these costs over an asset's lifecycle, ensuring value and performance.

Explanation

ABC analysis is an approach for classifying inventory items based on the items’ consumption val-ues. Consumption value is the total value of an item consumed over a specified time period, for example a year. The approach is based on the Pareto principle to help manage what matters and is applied in this context:

- A items are goods where annual consumption value is the highest. Applying the Pareto principle (also referred to as the 80/20 rule where 80 percent of the output is determined by 20 percent of the input), they comprise a relatively small number of items but have a relatively high consumption value. So it’s logical that analysis and control of this class is relatively intense, since there is the greatest potential to reduce costs or losses.

- B items are interclass items. Their consumption values are lower than A items but higher than C items. A key point of having this interclass group is to watch items close to A item and C item classes that would alter their stock management policies if they drift closer to class A or class C. Stock management is itself a cost. So there needs to be a balance between controls to protect the asset class and the value at risk of loss, or the cost of analysis and the potential value returned by reducing class costs. So, the scope of this class and the inventory management policies are determined by the estimated cost-benefit of class cost reduction, and loss control systems and processes.

- C items have the lowest consumption value. This class has a relatively high proportion of the total number of lines but with relatively low consumption values. Logically, it’s not usually cost-effective to deploy tight inventory controls, as the value at risk of significant loss is relatively low and the cost of analysis would typically yield relatively low returns.

LO 2, AC 2.1

A conveyor system is an efficient and reliable method for transporting items within a warehouse. It reduces reliance on manual labor, lowering error rates and enhancing safety by minimizing the physical handling of goods. Conveyors can also be customized to transport various materials, improving productivity and ensuring consistent movement of goods. This aligns with whole-life asset management principles, which focus on efficiency, cost reduction, and risk mitigation across the asset's lifecycle.

Explanation

Master production schedule (MPS) plans items that have “direct” demand, or “independent de-mand.” With independent demand, the demand comes from sales orders, service orders, or fore-casts, and the demand comes directly from customer—or forecasted—requirements. It is the list that provides the timing of the production schedule and shows how much each machine can produce, how many shifts are used, etc.

A bill of materials (BOM) is a comprehensive inventory of the raw materials, assemblies, subas-semblies, parts and components, as well as the quantities of each, needed to manufacture a product.

Returning redundant stock to the supplier (or selling it) is an effective approach, as it can recover some value and free up warehouse space. This option aligns with whole-life asset management’s emphasis on reducing costs associated with unused assets and managing inventory efficiently.

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

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

Indirect supplies support operations but are not part of the finished product. For a bottling plant, items like lubricants for machine maintenance and office supplies are indirect supplies, as they aid in operation but do not enter the final product. Managing these supplies in whole-life asset management is critical for cost efficiency and operational support.

Explanation

There are different types of maintenance that organizations use to increase the uptime of their assets and utility of their facilities. Based on an organization’s budget, amount of resources, level of combined experience, and maintenance goals, one or more maintenance types are used.

Proactive types of maintenance

Preventive maintenance

Preventive maintenance is the most popular type of proactive maintenance. To start conducting preventive maintenance tasks (PMs), an organization does not need to purchase new technology if it already has a CMMS. This is not the case with predictive maintenance which requires condition monitoring sensors and new software integrations. However, with preventive maintenance, the or-ganization runs the risk of over-scheduling maintenance tasks because tasks are scheduled based on time rather than actual conditions. That said, preventive maintenance achieves 12% to 18% cost savings over reactive maintenance.

Predictive maintenance

Predictive maintenance (PdM) is what savvy maintenance teams aspire to have or are already im-plementing. The major barrier to PdM is the time it takes to implement rather than the cost of the technology itself. For instance, a vibration sensor that can identify imbalance, misalignment, and resonance issues only costs around $200. But the time it takes to install, integrate with other maintenance software, and adopt a culture around is not time that all organizations are willing to allocate. For those that do allocate the time, PdM provides an 8% to 12% cost savings over preventive maintenance.

Condition-based maintenance

Condition-based maintenance (CBM) is at the core of predictive maintenance but, on its own, does not rely on technology to determine the condition of an asset like PdM does. For instance, a manager may instruct an operator to monitor the condition of an asset and submit a work request when a specific condition is met. This approach may, or may not be, as reliable as predictive maintenance. An organization that has highly-trained operators may spot hazardous conditions better than an organization using PdM technology that doesn’t know what to look for.

Scheduled maintenance

Scheduled maintenance includes work that is scheduled on a calendar for completion. The most common type of scheduled maintenance is calendar-based preventive maintenance tasks. These are scheduled well in advance of completion. For instance, an asset with a monthly PM has twelve instances of scheduled maintenance in a given year. However, just because maintenance is scheduled does not mean it’s planned. Planned maintenance implies that a maintenance planner or other type of maintenance worker has fully planned for parts, materials, skills, and other resources to be available during the scheduled time window.

Planned maintenance

Planned maintenance is work that’s prepared for in advance of it taking place. According to an UpKeep survey, it’s also the most popular key performance indicator (KPI) to track. A high planned maintenance percentage indicates that a maintenance team will have resources available to complete work for the time/day the work is scheduled for. Having a high planned maintenance percentage also helps boost other maintenance KPIs like schedule compliance. More planned maintenance means more successful completion of scheduled maintenance.

Routine maintenance

Routine maintenance is a form of time-based maintenance and preventive maintenance, though some organizations differentiate between routine maintenance and preventive maintenance. They use the latter for smaller tasks (i.e. cleaning) performed at higher frequencies (hourly, daily) and the former for larger tasks (i.e. inspections) performed at lower frequencies (weekly, monthly, annually). Additionally, routine maintenance is performed by operators, janitors, and other staff member while preventive maintenance is performed by technicians. Non-routine maintenance includes maintenance that is performed reactively or only when needed based on an asset’s conditions.

Reactive types of maintenance

Emergency maintenance

Emergency maintenance occurs when an asset requires immediate attention in order to keep a facility operational or safe. This is the most reactive and intrusive type of maintenance as it pulls technicians away from other jobs and lowers schedule compliance. In extreme circumstances, emergency maintenance can set an organization back days depending on the scope of the repair, available parts, and the asset’s level of importance. To reduce the amount of emergency maintenance that is both unplanned and unscheduled, organizations adopt various forms of proactive maintenance.

Corrective maintenance

Corrective maintenance is inherently part of emergency maintenance because, when there is an emergency, something needs corrected or fixed. In this way, corrective maintenance is mostly reactive. However, it can also be proactive. If an asset with a condition monitoring sensor detects an issue, a work order is created and a technician is sent to correct it. Similarly, preventive maintenance is considered corrective maintenance if there is an issue to fix. This is rare though as PMs are often conducted when an asset is in good working order.

Other types of maintenance

Deferred maintenance

Deferred maintenance includes repairs and inspections that are put into a backlog due to limited budget and resources. While deferring maintenance saves money up front, the costs of not performing important maintenance compounds at 7% annually. Rising costs come from fines resulting from missed inspections and unscheduled downtime that brings production to a standstill. By far, deferred maintenance and emergency maintenance are the least desired types of maintenance.

Total productive maintenance

Total productive maintenance (TPM) is the broadest type of maintenance that targets more than the assets that need maintained. It also aims to improve employee satisfaction and overall morale in the workplace, specifically in manufacturing plants. TPM does this by increasing overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) and the amount of planned maintenance. More planned work means more workers have the resources they need to do their job, which means higher levels of satisfaction. TPM also leverages machine operators to participate in maintenance and take ownership of their equipment.

Just-in-Time (JIT) inventory management minimizes stock levels by synchronizing orders with production schedules, which:

Reduces holding costs: Less inventory means lower costs for storage and management.

Increases cash flow: Reduced stock levels free up working capital.

Whole-life asset management supports JIT as a cost-saving measure, focusing on maintaining lean inventories while meeting production needs.

Significant coding with sequential numbering assigns codes that reflect specific product attributes (e.g., wattage, type) with an added sequential number for unique identification. This approach facilitates easy identification and tracking, an essential feature in whole-life asset management for maintaining organized inventory records.

Explanation

Cross-docking is the practice of unloading goods from inbound delivery vehicles and loading them directly onto outbound vehicles. By eliminating or minimizing warehouse storage costs, space requirements and inventory handling, cross-docking can streamline supply chains and help them move goods to market faster and more efficiently.

Cross-docking usually takes place in a dedicated docking terminal in a warehouse, where inbound goods are first received at a dock and sorted according to their final destinations. They are then moved to the other side of the dock via forklift, conveyor belt or other equipment and loaded on outbound vehicles.

Cross-docking works best with products that need to be transported quickly, such as food, that have already been sorted and labeled for customers, do not need quality inspections or have steady demand.

Explanation

Typically, ordering costs include expenses for a purchase order, labor costs for the inspection of goods received, labor costs for placing the goods received in stock, labor costs for issuing a supplier’s invoice and labor costs for issuing a supplier payment. These costs are irrelevant from the size of the order and are incurred every time a firm places an order.

The total ordering cost will be equal to ordering cost per order multiply with number of orders.

Explanation

Calculating Inventory Turnover (Stock Turn)

As with a typical turnover ratio, inventory turnover details how much inventory is sold over a period. To calculate the inventory turnover ratio, cost of goods (COGS) is divided by the average inventory for the same period.1

Cost of Goods Sold ÷ Average Inventory or Sales ÷ Inventory

In this exercise, the stock turn equal to sales divided by inventory, or 1,000,000:250,000 = 4.

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

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

There are many different factors that must be considered when assessing warehouse and stock locations:

• Operating cost of the location or area

• Availability and suitability of warehouses

• Availability of manpower or labour

• Proximity to suppliers and customers

• Access to transport infrastructure (domestic and international)

• The political and security environment of the location

LO 1, AC 1.1

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.

Explanation

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

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

A cost-benefit analysis is a process businesses use to analyze decisions (such as capital investment). The business or analyst sums the benefits of a situation or action and then subtracts the costs associated with taking that action.

A cost-benefit analysis (CBA) should begin with compiling a comprehensive list of all the costs and benefits associated with the project or decision.

The costs involved in a CBA might include the following:

- Direct costs would be direct labor involved in manufacturing, inventory, raw materials, manufacturing expenses.

- Indirect costs might include electricity, overhead costs from management, rent, utilities.

- Intangible costs of a decision, such as the impact on customers, employees, or delivery times.

- Opportunity costs such as alternative investments, or buying a plant versus building one.

- Cost of potential risks such as regulatory risks, competition, and environmental impacts.

Benefits might include the following:

- Revenue and sales increases from increased production or new product.

- Intangible benefits, such as improved employee safety and morale, as well as customer satisfaction due to enhanced product offerings or faster delivery.

- Competitive advantage or market share gained as a result of the decision.

An analyst or project manager should apply a monetary measurement to all of the items on the cost-benefit list, taking special care not to underestimate costs or overestimate benefits. A conservative approach with a conscious effort to avoid any subjective tendencies when calculating estimates is best suited when assigning a value to both costs and benefits for a cost-benefit analysis.

Finally, the results of the aggregate costs and benefits should be compared quantitatively to deter-mine if the benefits outweigh the costs. If so, then the rational decision is to go forward with the project. If not, the business should review the project to see if it can make adjustments to either increase benefits or decrease costs to make the project viable. Otherwise, the company should likely avoid the project.

Explanation

Lean thinking aims to remove wastes from work processes. Before diving into the 8 wastes, it is important to understand what waste is. Waste is any action or step in a process that does not add value to the customer. In other words, waste is any process that the customer does not want to pay for.

The original seven wastes (Muda) was developed by Taiichi Ohno, the Chief Engineer at Toyota, as part of the Toyota Production System (TPS). The seven wastes are Transportation, Inventory, Motion, Waiting, Overproduction, Overprocessing and Defects. They are often referred to by the acronym ‘TIMWOOD’. The 8th waste of non-utilized talent or ‘Skills’ of workers was later introduced in the 1990s when the Toyota Production System was adopted in the Western world. As a result, the 8 wastes are commonly referred to as ‘TIMWOODS’.

Source: The lean way

Independent demand items refer to goods that are not directly tied to the production process. Examples include:

Office consumables: Supplies such as paper or printer ink used in general operations.

Completed finished goods: End products ready for sale, whose demand depends on the market rather than production schedules.

In whole-life asset management, managing independent demand items is important for optimizing storage and procurement, as these items impact operational costs differently than production-related items.

Explanation

The ISO 14000 family of standards are developed by ISO Technical Committee ISO/TC 207 and its various subcommittees. For a full list of published standards in the series see their standards catalogue. ISO 14001 provides requirements with guidance for use that relate to environmental systems. Other standards in the family focus on specific approaches such as audits, communications, labelling and life cycle analysis, as well as environmental challenges such as climate change.

ISO 27000 family of standards concerns information technology, with the goal of improving security and protecting company assets. Started in 2005, the two most popular standards are ISO 27001:2013 and 27002:2013. 27001 is management-based system, whereas 27002 is a technical document, focused on the individual and putting a code of conduct in place. Organizations can choose either standard; ISO 27001 has over 22,000 certifications worldwide. It is a broad standard, and for this reason the certification can be customized to fit the needs of the organization, and is not mandatory.

ISO 22000 sets out the requirements for a food safety management system and can be certified to it. It maps out what an organization needs to do to demonstrate its ability to control food safety hazards in order to ensure that food is safe. It can be used by any organization regardless of its size or position in the food chain.

ISO 9001 is a family of quality management standards, there are fourteen in total. Of these, ISO 9001:2015 is the only one that can be certified to. It was first published in 1987, and has since been updated about every 7 years. The standard details how to put a Quality Management System (QMS) in place to better prepare your organization to produce quality products and services. It is customer focused, and places an emphasis on continuous improvement and top management processes that extended throughout the organization.

Explanation

In principle, use of any materials involves an environmental cost. Some packaging materials use a lot of natural resources and energy to produce. The journey taken by packaging from raw material to manufacturing and then to the initial user also incurs a 'carbon footprint'. The weight of packag-ing contributes to the fuel usage of vehicles while the volume used can add up to additional jour-neys or the use of larger vehicles. Finally, the reuse, return, disposal or recycling will also involve additional to the environmental cost.

In this question:

- 'Purchase the packaging materials in bulk' may incur additional fuel and carbon footprint in delivering these materials

- 'Try to reduce the costs of packaging' may prompt the organisation to use less eco-friendly and cheap materials like polystyrene chips

- 'Not use the packaging materials at all' can increase the environmental performance of packag-ing activities, but it also harms the products to be delivered and may cause other environmental problems (i.e. spillage of toxic chemicals into the environment)

So the correct answer should be: 'Adopt international environmental packaging standards'. The International Standards Organisation (ISO) has published several standards regarding packaging and environment, namely ISO 18601, ISO 18602, ISO 18603, ISO 18604, ISO 18605, ISO 18606.

Key considerations in choosing a warehouse location include:

Local regulations: Compliance with bylaws and other local authority requirements.

Nature of items stored: Warehouses for perishable or hazardous items may have specific location requirements.

These factors ensure the warehouse is compliant and suitable for the type of inventory stored, optimizing safety and operational efficiency, both crucial in whole-life asset management.

Barcoding allows DPI to label each item uniquely, making it scannable and easy to track. This method increases efficiency, accuracy, and traceability, key aspects of whole-life asset management that improve inventory control and reduce errors in item identification.

Explanation

Holding extra stocks will always improve customer service levels, or at least reduce the risk of them falling. This implies that if an organisation aims at higher service levels, they should have larger safety stock. However, increasing safety stock is not the only solution to improve service level. The widespread adoption of just-in-time (JIT) techniques particularly in the automotive industry has greatly reduced costs with increased service levels as well as the additional benefit of increased problem visibility.

The correct answer should be 'A safety stock is not always required to achieve a required service level'.

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 imprest system is a form of financial accounting system. The most common imprest system is the petty cash system. The base characteristic of an imprest system is that a fixed amount is re-served, which after a certain period of time or when circumstances require, because money was spent, it will be replenished.

So the correct answer should be "Items are reviewed as part of an imprest system"

LO 2, AC 2.3

Explanation

Unit load is a term used to describe grouping of different items into a convenient stack or stacks which make them easy to handle and store. Typically this involves pallets and/or the plastic wrap-ping of a load.

Stacker is designed to lift and stack pallets. This one is fully mobile so can move easily around the warehouse. An operator would typically sit or stand while driving like a counterbalanced, reach or straddle lift truck.

A load cell is a type of transducer, specifically a force transducer. It converts a force such as ten-sion, compression, pressure, or torque into an electrical signal that can be measured and standard-ized.

Unit price is the price of a single product or service, used for example when buying several things together to refer to the price of each one.

Variable periodic reviews enable ATT to manage seasonal goods effectively by adjusting ordering based on:

Lead times and sales volume: Classifying products by these factors helps in planning, aligning with varying supplier delivery times and unpredictable sales demand.

Implementing a JIT or MRP system would require more sophisticated management tools, making option C the most feasible. This method aligns with whole-life asset management by supporting efficient inventory planning while minimizing stockouts or overstock situations.

Explanation

Costs of operating an asset can widely vary. The following table is an example from Guide to Total Cost of Ownership, New Zealand Government:

Explanation

Raw materials are basic input materials - they are only processed limitedly or have not been pro-cessed at all. Their values are equal to acquisition cost and are the lowest value of stock held.

Secondary components are the products that are combined with others to produce the finished goods. They are acquired in the processed state. Their value is higher than raw materials, but still at acquisition cost.

Work in progress is the stock part-way through manufacture that has not been finished. It is typically not completed yet, so it doesn't have full value. But the costs of processing already carried out makes it more valuable than materials and components.

Finished goods are completed and ready to be used or sold. Finished goods are the most expensive and need to be stored in good conditions.

A contract for hire allows the hirer to use the item for an agreed period and rate, without ownership transferring. This option provides flexibility and avoids the financial commitment of ownership, aligning with whole-life asset management when short-term use or flexibility is more beneficial than purchase.

Explanation

Obsolescent stock is stock, usually finished goods, which is in good condition and satisfactory working but for which demand is irreversibly falling towards zero. Once this demand reaches zero the stock can be considered 'obsolete'. It cannot be used or sold in its current state. Food ingredients (like candy canes) which are out of date are another example.

Explanation

Assets in their end of life need to be removed or disposed. Though an organisation can incur some costs in decommissioning or removal of the assets, it may recover costs by reselling the assets. Therefore, sometimes the organisation can gain positive cash flow from removal and disposal of assets. The answer should be "No, the organisation may recover the value of the assets by reselling it".

LO 3, AC 3.3

Holding costs, or carrying costs, include all costs associated with storing unsold goods. These typically consist of:

Insurance costs: Fees associated with insuring stored goods.

Deterioration costs: Potential loss from goods that deteriorate, expire, or are rendered unusable over time.

Pilferage costs: Losses due to theft or misplacement of goods.

These factors affect the total cost of ownership in asset management, ensuring that only essential stock levels are maintained to avoid unnecessary holding costs.

Options 1 and 2 include costs not generally classified under holding costs (such as the cost of sales), making D the correct answer.

Indirect supplies support operations without becoming part of the final product. They impact operating costs (e.g., maintenance supplies), supporting the production environment but not the end product. Managing indirect supplies is crucial in whole-life asset management to control overhead costs and ensure uninterrupted operations.

Explanation

Two-dimensional (2D) barcodes look like squares or rectangles that contain many small, individual dots. This has many different types (i.e. Data matrix, QR codes, Aztec code,...) and several different standards in use (i.e. GS1 standards, ISO/IEC 18004:2015). It can be substituted for 1D barcode, but it has the capability to hold a larger amount of data. For examples, GS1 Data Matrix can contain 3116 Numeric characters or 2335 Alphanumeric characters while GS1-128 barcode has maximum capacity of 48 characters.

Like 1D barcodes, 2D barcodes are also machine-readable with dots/squares and spaces. They have symbology like this:

Since the code is two dimensional, conventional laser scanner can't read it. 2D barcodes require imaging scanner to read.

2D barcodes can be also used for different purposes throughout the supply chain: identifying prod-ucts/SKU (single unit, packaged or pallet), identifying content of a purchase order or delivery, identifying the batch number from which the item originates, identifying the manufacturer, country of origin etc, tracking status of an order, shipment or delivery

Explanation

Implementing a full ERP system is not an easy option. They are complex systems and the disad-vantages include the following:

- The installation of the ERP system is costly. ERP consultants are very expensive take approxi-mately 60% of the budget.

- The success depends on the skills and experience of the workforce, including education and how to make the system work properly.

- Resistance in sharing internal information between departments can reduce the efficiency of the software.

- The systems can be difficult to use.

- Change of staff, companies can employ administrators who are not trained to manage the ERP system of the employing company, proposing changes in business practices that are not synchro-nized with the system.

- Having an ERP system has many advantages, but does not guarantee the total success of the company. Organizational culture, know how to involve staff and anticipate changes that will suffer the organization using this system of administration, are important elements for the completion of the implementation.

- The effectiveness of the ERP system may decrease if there is resistance to share information be-tween business units or departments. Due to strong changes that implementation of the ERP system brings in the culture of work, there may be poorly trained or disinterested in making use of the same staff...

- The benefits of having an ERP system are not presented immediately with the implementation of the software, they will be evident long after the system is running.

- The culmination of the implementation depends on the ability and skill of the workforce, also involves education and training, to make the system is correctly applied.

Explanation

The core idea of lean manufacturing is actually quite simple…relentlessly work on eliminating waste from the manufacturing process. Waste is defined as any activity that does not add value from the customer’s perspective. According to research conducted by the Lean Enterprise Research Centre (LERC), fully 60% of production activities in a typical manufacturing operation are waste – they add no value at all for the customer.

On the other hand, agile manufacturing places an extremely strong focus on rapid response to the customer – turning speed and agility into a key competitive advantage.

Explanation

Lean thinking aims to remove wastes from work processes. Before diving into the 8 wastes, it is important to understand what waste is. Waste is any action or step in a process that does not add value to the customer. In other words, waste is any process that the customer does not want to pay for.

The original seven wastes (Muda) was developed by Taiichi Ohno, the Chief Engineer at Toyota, as part of the Toyota Production System (TPS). The seven wastes are Transportation, Inventory, Motion, Waiting, Overproduction, Overprocessing and Defects. They are often referred to by the acronym ‘TIMWOOD’. The 8th waste of non-utilized talent or ‘Skills’ of workers was later introduced in the 1990s when the Toyota Production System was adopted in the Western world. As a result, the 8 wastes are commonly referred to as ‘TIMWOODS’.

Source: The lean way

Multiple approval levels for a small purchase request is an example of over-processing since this adds more unnecessary work to users and procurement professionals.

Explanation

Fixed assets may be sold anytime during their useful life. This gives rise to the need to derecognize the asset from balance sheet and recognize any resulting gain or loss in the income statement.

The accounting for disposal of fixed assets can be summarized as follows:

- Record cash receive or the receivable created from the sale:

Debit Cash/Receivable

- Remove the asset from the balance sheet

Credit Fixed Asset (Net Book Value)

- Recognize the resulting gain or loss

Debit/Credit Gain or Loss (Income Statement)

Example

ABC LTD purchased a machine for $2000 on 1st January 2001 which had a useful life of 5 years and an estimated residual value of $500. The machine was being depreciated on straight line basis. However, ABC LTD decided to sell the asset on1 January 2003 for $1500 in order to raise cash for the purchase of a new machine.

The disposal of the fixed asset will be recorded as follows:

Record cash received or the receivable arising from the sale:

Debit Cash $1,500

Remove the asset from the balance sheet

As a fixed asset is recognized in the balance sheet at the Net Book Value (i.e. Cost less Accumulated Depreciation), the machine will be removed from the accounts of ABC LTD in two parts:

First, the Machine Cost must be removed by crediting the ledger:

Credit Machine Cost $2,500

Second, the Accumulated Depreciation in respect of the machine must be removed by debiting the ledger:

Debit Accumalated Depreciation $600*

*Accumulated Depreciation: (2000 - 500)/5 x 2 Years

The combined effect of the above two transactions would be to remove the machine's net book value of $1400 (2000 - 600) from the balance sheet.

Recognize the resulting gain or loss on the sale of machine

ABC LTD received $1500 for an asset with a balance sheet worth of $1400. It therefore earned a gain of $100. The gain will be recorded as follows:

Credit Gain on Disposal $100

Explanation

Many codes have integrated check digits. These are additional numbers or characters added to codes that a computer uses to verify the number is valid. The intention is to reduce the likelihood of miskeying an item and hitting an alternative live item. More often, a system is devised which a computer can calculate using combination of numbers.

Barcode is a graphic symbol used to convey data. Typically the characters in a barcode symbol consist of bars/space pattern. Barcode is the method of representing data in a visual, machine-readable form. Initially barcodes represented data by varying the width and spacing of parallel lines.

Radio-frequency identification (RFID) uses electromagnetic fields to automatically identify and track tags attached to objects.

A prefix is an affix which is placed before the stem of a word or a string. A product code may have prefix which indicates its group, country, origins, etc.

Explanation

In the scenario, one of the requirements for the new software is that the new one will interface with current system. Compatibility testing would be the most appropriate test here.

There are also other acceptance tests that are mentioned in L4M7 study guide:

- Health and safety test aims at establishing new health and safety routines, providing guidance notices and documentation and ensuring designed-in safety in operation.

- Stress testing (sometimes called torture testing) is a form of deliberately intense or thorough testing used to determine the stability of a given system, critical infrastructure or entity. It involves testing beyond normal operational capacity, often to a breaking point, in order to observe the results.

- A dry run (or a practice run) is a testing process where the effects of a possible failure are inten-tionally mitigated. For example, an aerospace company may conduct a "dry run" test of a jet's new pilot ejection seat while the jet is parked on the ground, rather than while it is in flight.

The usage of "dry run" in acceptance procedures (for example in the so-called FAT = factory ac-ceptance testing) is meant as following: the factory – which is a subcontractor – must perform a complete test of the system it has to deliver before the actual acceptance by customer.

Explanation

There are two main processes of recycling – open loop recycling and closed loop recycling.

Open Loop Recycling

Open loop recycling is a method that delays disposal by converting manufactured goods and spent materials into both new raw materials, which can be used for a manufacturing purpose, as a fuel source for a different manufacturing process and waste products.

Typically, materials recycled through open-loop recycling will be used for purposes different from their original purpose.

This means that the input into the recycling process is converted to a new raw material, which can be used as an input into another manufacturing process.

Materials in an open loop recycling process are treated using various forms of treatment including heat, chemical reactions, or physical crushing.

Closed Loop Recycling

Closed loop recycling is a process where waste is collected, recycled and then used again to make the same product it came from. This process is restorative and regenerative by design and aims to keep materials at their highest utility and value always.

Closed loop recycling is focused on resource sustainability, which means that recycling of a material can be done indefinitely without degradation of properties. In this case, conversion of the used product back to raw material allows repeated making of the same product, which helps hazardous waste generators reduce carbon footprint and achieve corporate sustainability initiatives.

Closed-loop recycling is common in specialized industries, such as the computer and battery industries, which use expensive or complex goods that cannot easily be broken down post-consumption into constituent materials.

A prime example of a closed-loop recycling process is the recycling of aluminum cans. Aluminum can be recycled to form new cans with little material degradation or waste creation.

Holding costs include expenses associated with storing inventory. These typically comprise:

Damaged goods: Losses due to items being stored improperly or deteriorating over time.

Storage space: Costs of renting or maintaining warehouse space.

Insurance: Fees for insuring stored items against potential risks.

These costs are integral to whole-life asset management, as they impact overall inventory and storage expenses.

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) enables real-time tracking of items and is commonly used for security in retail to prevent theft. The tags are activated within a specified range, and alarms trigger when items exit without deactivation. RFID in asset management helps in tracking high-value items, ensuring security and reducing loss.

Explanation

The bullwhip effect (or Forrester effect) is a distribution channel phenomenon in which forecasts yield supply chain inefficiencies. It refers to increasing swings in inventory in response to shifts in customer demand as one moves further up the supply chain.

Seasonal demand: consumer interest in purchasing particular products only during a specific peri-od within the calendar year.

OPITZ is a coding system used to form Groups in Group Technology philosophy of Manufactur-ing.

The Pareto Curve is the shape created when the bars of a Pareto Chart are progressively summed and the points joined together. The final curve ends at 100% of items in the chart, which means that you can then draw a line across at 80% and 'bounce' it down to find the bar which, when combined with all bars to its left, will give 80% of all items.

The rate of stock turn (inventory turnover ratio) measures how often inventory is sold and replaced over a period. A lower turnover ratio indicates that inventory is sitting longer, tying up working capital. Calculating this rate helps procurement and finance assess inventory management efficiency, a key focus in whole-life asset management for optimizing working capital and reducing holding costs.

Asset disposal decisions should consider:

Location and accessibility: Equipment located in hard-to-reach areas may have higher disposal costs.

Type of equipment and components: Some equipment has specific disposal requirements, especially if it contains hazardous materials or valuable components that can be recycled.

These assessments align with whole-life asset management by identifying factors that impact disposal costs and potential environmental effects, ensuring the responsible removal of assets.

Indirect stock refers to items that are necessary for the operation of the manufacturing process but are not incorporated into the finished product. Examples include maintenance supplies, office consumables, and tools. In whole-life asset management, indirect stock management ensures that essential operational items are available without tying up excessive capital in inventory that doesn’t contribute directly to production output.

Barcode technology has several limitations:

Requires line-of-sight scanning (LOS): Barcodes must be directly visible to scanners, reducing flexibility in scanning items in bulk.

No read/write capabilities: Barcodes can only store static data, limiting functionality in dynamic inventory environments.

Labour-intensive: Each barcode must be scanned individually, making it time-consuming in high-volume environments.

Despite these limitations, barcodes are widely used due to their low cost. Whole-life asset management often considers RFID as a more efficient alternative to barcodes, especially in high-value asset tracking.