Which term describes a specific production area consisting of one or more people and/or machines with similar capabilities that can be treated as one unit for capacity planning and detailed scheduling?

• A. Work order
• B. Yield
• C. Work cell
• D. Work center

Answer: (D)

A work center is the defined production area that contains one or more people and/or machines with similar capabilities and can be treated as a single unit for capacity planning and detailed scheduling. In CPIM, capacity planning looks at how much work a work center can handle over time, considering setup and run times, available hours, and other constraints. Grouping the relevant resources into a work center provides a clear unit to load, schedule, and manage work across the plant.

A work order is just a directive to produce a specific quantity, a yield is the ratio of good units to input units, and a work cell refers to a group of resources arranged for flow to produce a family of parts, focusing on layout and movement rather than the capacity unit used for planning.