Materials Requirement Planning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Materials Requirement Planning - Essay Example One of these long term benefits of materials requirements planning is the fact that the software involved in materials requirement planning shall serve as a facilitator for the company to even benefit more from commonality because at every point in time, inventory organization is going to be undertaken by the software to ensure that the right allocation of materials and products are in place for production to begin. The system of having to undertake product and material inventory manually and mechanically would therefore be taken care of. Role of commonality and how it benefits the company Going through the models of commonality available to Schwinn Bicycle Company, there are two major roles that the system can be said to be playing for the company. The first has to do with the benefit of overcoming market pressure and the second has to do with assurance of cost reduction for manufacturers. On the benefit of overcoming market pressure, it can be seen that the major idea behind common ality is the ability to interchange components and parts of the bicycles produced with others (The Guardian, 2012). What this means to rate of production is that at any point in time, manufacturers are not obliged to look for the exact component or part that would fit into a specific area of the bicycle in the line of production. Subsequently, the time that spent on searching for parts is incorporated into the actual production time. In a typical example, the search for replacements for steel as against aluminum and aluminum as against titanium can easily be taken care of through the functioning of commonality. Ideally therefore, manufacturers are afforded the luxury of dealing with materials as and when they are available to fit into another component and not necessarily complete a search for a new component. What is more, the company is able to cut down on cost significantly especially when it comes to the cost of labor. Indeed, commonality ensures cost benefit production in sever al ways (Gardener, 2001). In the case of Schwinn Bicycle Company, the company can have the luxury of depending on only a few laborers to get most parts of their production executed because the principle of commonality permits that one employee may play several roles on the production line especially when the use of common materials that can fit into other components are involved (Gardener, 2001). For example within the company’s set up, it would not have to have an aluminum expert as well as a steel expert for the production of crown race. This is because the very laborer who works with aluminum could be trained to work with steel and so the cost of employing two workers becomes saved for the company. Still on cost benefit, it can be said that anytime demand meets supply or even exceeds it because market pressure is beaten by means of commonality, productivity goes high and this results in market revenue. The company therefore has the benefit of completing several units of bi cycles within shorter time frames, sales of which translate into increase in revenue for the company. How materials requirement planning (MRP) is useful to Schwinn One major criticism that has often come up against companies in the line of commonality is their refusal to adhere to the basic principles of materials require

Why the World Should Turn to Nuclear Energy Research Paper

Why the World Should Turn to Nuclear Energy - Research Paper Example On top of that the demand for fossil fuels will increase along with an increase in the prices and lesser supplies. The only alternative to solve the problem of energy crisis in a manner that it does not affect the environment and also does not result in economic stagnation might be nuclear energy (Wolfe; Pearson and Goodwin). It is gradually being accepted all over the world as an energy efficient and alternative source of fuel. Countries like France generate 75 percent of their power and have cleaner air quality (Walton). Nuclear energy is cheap, safe and produces minimum waste. This paper argues in favor of increasing adoption of nuclear energy to meet future needs. Arguments for Nuclear Energy For most of the developing countries such as France and Japan, and other developing countries such as China and India, nuclear energy has remained a topic of major debates and energy policies. China plans to add 30 nuclear plants by 2020, whereas India plans to generate 25 percent of its ene rgy from nuclear plants. Why the countries have laid emphasis on nuclear energy is summed up below (Holton). Environmental concerns due to rising greenhouse emissions As the worldwide demand for electricity rises, increasing amounts of fossils fuels have been used, and have led to the heightening of carbon emissions and the greenhouse effect. Most countries all over the world have a major concern as to how to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions. Most of the developing countries have increased industrial production and hence the requirement for energy is high. The Kyoto Protocol in 2005 has raised the issue of nuclear energy as an alternative, solar and wind energy being also debated, but the latter two have problems of huge space requirements. Prominent environmentalists have supported nuclear energy and scientists predict that it can reduce the carbon emissions by 25 percent by tripling nuclear generating capacity worldwide (Holton). Low cost of nuclear energy production Due to pot ential climate change, carbon emissions are have been capped and thus become expensive due to imposition of carbon taxes. Alternative carbon free energy is needed, that will be compliant with the emission needs and also cater to the demand. Nuclear power is currently the cheapest, low-carbon option for generating electricity. In the US, hydroelectric power plants are regulated so as to allow salmon fish to regain their habitat, and ability of biomass and geothermal sources producing electricity is limited. Nuclear power will increase the cost competitiveness, and studies my MIT scientists reveal that it can bring the prices down to $5 per 15 tons (Arm). Minimal waste generated by nuclear plants Nuclear waste is radioactive and remains radioactive for a long period of time, and can be potentially dangerous to human health (Dupea and Morley). The advantage in nuclear waste is that it is not directly released into the atmosphere unlike coal and oil emissions. This radioactive waste can be safely buried in underground repositories without harm to the environment. The feasibility of such a disposal technique has been studies and supported by scientists (Wolfe). Another way to even reduce the volume of waste is to generate power by processing this waste to recover unused uranium and other fissile material. This optimizes waste disposal, increasing economic viability and considerably increasing sustainability by not relying on such waste repositories (Arm). Nuclear waste, if reprocessed, is small in volume, and limited uranium supplies can be extended through it. Nuclear waste takes up very little space, and nuclear powers per capita lifetime waste could be fitted into a can of soda