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This simulation activity is designed to have students experience the interdependence of management and labour engaged in manufacturing a product. Teachers may wish to run two assembly lines that are competing to produce the most automobiles in a specific time frame. A competition between two groups, or by one group against the clock (where students are expected to produce X number of automobiles in X amount of time), makes it more realistic when problems are introduced that slow or stop production.
Preparation and Directions
Materials
Efficiency Engineers (2-3): Before beginning Assembly Line Simulation, have two or three students set up the conveyor belt. In their role as Efficiency Engineers they should arrange the assembly sequence in order to maximize efficiency. Allow students the opportunity to make and correct their own errors, because problem solving is one of the valuable learning experiences of this simulation.
The Efficiency Engineers may wish to begin by demonstrating how to put together one car before students begin production. Ideally, the students who set up the conveyor belt and assembly line layout can provide "on the job" training for others.
Line Supervisors (1-3): Line Supervisors order materials when supplies are low, and handle problems that arise during production. They also make decisions about changes in the sequence of assembly tasks. Reassigning jobs and seeing to it that defective automobiles are correctly reassembled or salvaged fall under their jurisdiction.
Maintenance Crew (1-2): The Maintenance Crew sees to it that the work area is kept clean and that the conveyor belt is in good repair.
Line Mechanic (1): The Line Mechanic operates the conveyor belt, ensuring that it moves at an appropriate rate of speed.
Inspectors (3-5): Inspectors should be placed at various points along the belt at the end of the line to ensure quality control. At the end of the assembly line the Inspector compares the final product with the order and signs the blank if the automobile passes inspection.
Billers (1-2): Billers take orders for automobiles, complete "Order Blanks" and give these to the labourers to fill. They give the Order Blank in turn to a Line Supervisor. (At the end of the assembly line the Inspector compares the final product with the order and signs the blank if the automobile passes inspection.)
Labourers (10-12): The first few labourers along the conveyor belt are the Rough Cutters. They rough-cut the sheets of parts along the dotted lines and place them on the belt. The next several labourers are the Fine Cutters. They cut individual parts out along the solid lines, and return them to the belt. If the parts are reproduced on white paper, the next step is to have them painted by Designers using crayons or paint, taking care not to colour areas to be glued. The Line Supervisor must know what colours have been specified on the Order Blank so he can pass this information along to the Designers. The next labourers on the line are the Gluers, who paste parts together to complete each automobile.
It is possible to include all students in the simulation as customers, auto dealers, salespersons and union representatives. As well, some students may wait to serve as replacements should someone on the line get injured or become ill. Others may be observers who are given specific criteria about what to observe.
Problem Solving
All will not go smoothly during the simulation experience, nor should it. Difficulties and conflicts during the process provide problem solving opportunities for students. For instance, if there seems to be a snag in the sequence of operations, the teacher can let it go on until a solution is devised by leaders among the students, or he/she can intervene and ask students to describe the problem and proceed to a discussion to arrive at alternative solutions.
Teachers can create life-like problems by handing "problem" cards to students that lead to work conflict and interruptions requiring immediate attention of specific personnel. Sample cards include:
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You have injured your hand on the tools used for rough-cutting. You are on sick leave for 10 minutes. There is no replacement for you, so others must compensate as well as they can. |
You are on maternity/paternity leave for the next 15 minutes. An inexperienced worker replaces you, but is given little or no training because management wants to keep production going. |
The conveyor belt has broken down and the crew is maintaining it for 5 minutes. |
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Labourers request a raise, which management refuses. The labourers decide to strike for 10 minutes. Management meets with them and the union to try to get an agreement that will allow production to continue. Customers are calling because orders are not being filled. They say they will go to the competition. |
You are one of the Maintenance Crew, and it is your holiday time for the next 10 minutes. Will you be replaced temporarily, or will management try to save money by having only one maintenance person working? |
Line Supervisors have not ordered enough supplies. Production is held up while they locate a source for supplies and get them to the conveyor belt. |
Conveyor Belt Setup
The room is set up so that a piece of butcher paper long enough to provide three feet of working space per student can be pulled by a player (Line Mechanic) across a flat surface and then returned in a circular pattern, much like any standard conveyor belt. Such a surface can be arranged by using desks or tables with chairs on each side. When the inspectors reject a car, they place it on the bottom returning belt for salvage recycling. The butcher paper must be narrow enough to provide working space on each side of the belt. Ideally, the belt should be one to two feet wide.
In 1945, Canadians and their allies celebrated the end of a long terrible war-World War II. As a means of preventing warfare in the future, a new organization, the United Nations, was born from the Conference on International Organization in San Francisco. Fifty-one countries, including Canada, signed the original charter to become members in this international organization. As of April 1995, the United Nations includes 185 members who see a need for such a body and willingly accept the responsibilities of membership.
Canada, during the past fifty years, has been an influential participant and leader in matters of peacekeeping, justice, and environmental and economic issues, but we cannot rest on our past involvement. The future beckons with new global issues that must be addressed by fair-minded and caring people everywhere. Students in our classrooms need to be made aware of global interdependence and the United Nations' role on the global stage.
On October 24, 1995 the United Nations celebrated its 50th anniversary. While its far reaching global actions can seem very distant, in order to achieve its goal of assisting people, the United Nations depends upon the individuals in their locality who are empowered to act as responsible citizens.
How is the United Nations Organized?
The United Nations has its headquarters in New York City. It has six principal parts:
· General Assembly
· Security Council
· Economic and Social Council
· Trusteeship Council
· International Court of Justice
· Secretariat
The International Court of Justice, located in The Hague, Netherlands, is the only major organ of the UN not found in New York. Some UN specialized agencies are located in cities throughout the world.
The General Assembly
· acts as a world parliament of nations
· includes all member nations, each having one vote
· requires a majority vote to pass any resolution
· meets from mid-September to mid-December each year
· meets in special emergency cases
· sets new policy
· approves the UN budget
· receives reports from all other bodies of the UN
· is headed by a president with the aid of twenty-one vice-presidents.
Seven committees study issues concerning disarmament, economy and finance, humanitarian and cultural issues, UN administrative and budgetary matters, legal issues, and political and security issues.
The Security Council
Nine supporting votes are needed for a Council decision to be passed. Canada was last a member from 1989 to 1990.
The Secretariat
· is headed by the Secretary-General who is elected by the General Assembly
· administers the policies and programs designed and approved by the other UN bodies
· alerts the Security Council to any threats to world peace and security.
The Economic and Social Council
· has fifty-four members elected by the General Assembly for three years
Some agencies of this council include: Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), World Health Organization (WHO), General Agreement on Tariffs and Trades (GATT), UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).
The Trusteeship Council
The International Court of Justice
Source: United Nations Web site: http://www.un.org
Note: These assessment questions are included as examples only. Teachers are advised to select those that will effectively assess the objectives they have chosen for the unit. It may be necessary to develop other questions. Teachers should use these questions as only one part of the continuing assessment throughout the unit.
Use the following information to answer questions 1 and 2.
The tuna fishing industry employs many people in eastern Canada. Producing a product like this requires a variety of workers at each level of production: resource, manufacturing and service.
1. The production of goods requires:
interdependence only at the resource and manufacturing levels
interdependence only at the manufacturing level
interdependence only at the service level
interdependence among all levels of production
2. Which one of the following statements describes what would happen if tuna fishing were no longer allowed?
Interdependence and the identity of the fishing boat crew will be the only ones to change.
Interdependence and the identity of those involved in each level of production will change.
Interdependence and the identity of the manufacturers of canned tuna will be the only ones to change.
Interdependence and the identity of the service level of tuna production will be the only ones to change.
Use the following information to answer questions 3 to 5.
Flying High Over Labrador and Northeastern Quebec The Canadian government is planning to enlarge and improve the airbase at Goose Bay in Labrador. The government is hoping that this upgrade will mean that a Tactical Fighter Weapons Centre will be established there, providing jobs and security for local Labradorians. Jets are already making regular flights over interior Labrador and northeastern Quebec. The British, American, West German and Canadian air forces conduct low-level training flights in the areas. They fly at altitudes as low as thirty metres and at speeds of up to 960 kilometres an hour. The land the jets fly over is the homeland of the Innu Indians. Today, the Innu people exist almost entirely on welfare. The conditions in the Innu villages are poor with open sewers, garbage heaps, one well for 45 houses, alcoholism, family abuse and neglect. The plans have changed their way of life. Old people and children are traumatized by the flights. The noisy planes make ears ring and hurt for hours afterwards. Before, the Innu hunted for three months in the spring and three months in the fall. Their way of hunting has been disrupted as well. Fish, beaver and muskrat are found dead for no apparent reason. The caribou have been diverted from ancient migratory pathways. The Innu want the plans stopped. For over a decade, the Innu have dreamed of returning to their land. They are becoming a desperate people. The Town of Goose Bay is also concerned. It has a high unemployment rate so the expansion of the air base would create jobs. |
3. Summarize the problems faced by the Innu people and those faced by the residents of Goose Bay.
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Problems of the Innu |
Problems of Goose Bay Residents |
4. Imagine you are an Innu living near Goose Bay. Describe how you would feel in this situation. Be sure to use complete sentences.
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5. Two linkages have been drawn for you on the following web. Use arrows to draw two more linkages to show interdependence.
6. Explain why you drew the arrows on the web where you did.
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