Orlando’s Arnold Palmer Hospital, founded in 1989, specializes in treatment of women and children and is renowned for its highquality rankings (top 10% of 2000 benchmarked hospitals), its labor and delivery volume (more than 10,000 births per year, and growing), and its neonatal intensive care unit (5th highest survival rates in the nation). But quality medical practices and high patient satisfaction require costly inventory—some $30 million per year and thousands of SKUs.* With pressure on medical care to manage and reduce costs, Arnold Palmer Hospital has turned toward controlling its inventory with just-in-time (JIT) techniques. Arnold Palmer Hospital’s JIT system reduces inventory investment, expensive traditional ordering, and bulky storage, and supports quality with a sterile delivery. Please turn in a paper of two to three pages (page counting does not including cover and reference list) discussing the following questions, 1. What do you recommend be done when an error is found in a pack as it is opened for an operation? 2. How might the procedure for custom surgical packs described here be improved? 3. Provide examples of JIT for your arguments and relate them to Arnold Palmer Hospital. 4. When a doctor proposes a new surgical procedure, how do you recommend the SKU for a new custom pack be entered into the hospital’s supply-chain system? USE THESE REFERENCES: Sample Problem: Bryant Electronics produces short runs of battery-powered pocket lanterns. You have been asked to reduce inventory by introducing a kanban system. After several hours of analysis you have developed the following data for connectors used in one work cell. How many kanbans do you need for this connector? Daily demand 1,500 units Production lead-time 1 day Safety stock 1 day Kanban size 250 units Answer: Demand during lead time=1500 Safety stock=1500 Therefore: Maximum inventory level=1500+1500=3000 Number of kanbans needed=maximum inventory level/kanban size=3000/250=12 Optional Heizer and Render''s book provides a nice and comprehensive overview of Operations Management. It is highly recommended if you are serious in pursuing a concentration in Operations Management. Heizer, J and Render B. (2001) Principles of Operations Management, ISBN 0-13-027147-0 Aghazadeh, S. M. Does Manufacturing Need to Make JIT Delivery Work? Management Research News. Patrington: 2004. Vol. 27, Iss. 1; p. 27