Principles of Manufacturing
Subject 15.762x – Supply Chains and Manufacturing Systems: Planning
Course Syllabus
As part of the Principles of Manufacturing MicroMasters program, this course will expose learners to
concepts and models important in supply chain and manufacturing system planning, so that you
can better coordinate various resources and assets to optimize the delivery of goods, with an emphasis on
key tradeoffs and phenomena. There will be a particular emphasis on (i) how to cope with variability as it
arises across a supply chain or manufacturing system; and (ii) how to manage these systems in light of
economies of scale and/or limited resources in the supply processes. The course will introduce a set of
concepts, models and operational tactics for dealing with variability and resource constraints. The
overriding intent is to provide learners with a knowledge foundation of applicable methods and tools that
will allow them to apply these learnings to practice with positive impact.
Instructors
Stephen Graves Abraham j. Siegel Professor of Management Science, MIT
Sean Willems Haslam Chair in Supply Chain Analytics, University of Tennessee Knoxville
Time Commitment
● Length: 8 Weeks + 1 Exam Week
● Weekly Effort: 10-hours
○ includes lectures, readings, concept checks and 7 weekly assignments.
Pre-requisites:
• Engineering Undergraduate preparation
• Some knowledge of basic manufacturing systems and/or supply chains: helpful but not
necessary
• Knowledge of probability theory: Learners need to have a base knowledge of
probability concepts and random variables that is sufficient to complete the assignment
in week 1.
Deadlines
● Modules are released weekly starting on March 10, 2020 @ 15:00 UTC
● Assignments are due two weeks after release @ 15:00 UTC
● Lecture content ends on May 5, 2020 15:00 UTC and a timed exam will be released on
that date, which must be completed by May 12, 2020 by 15:00 UTC
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Grading
Weekly Assignments (each of 7 assignments counts 5%) 35%
Usually due 2 weeks after the respective week has launched. Maximum of 3 attempts
allowed per question. (except open responses)
Exam 65%
The Final exam will be released 5/05/20 and is due by 5/12/20. The questions on the
exam will be similar in content, style and difficulty to the questions on the weekly
assignments from week 2 to week 7. (The week-1 assignment is on fundamental
concepts from probability, and is intended to establish a base level of prerequisite
knowledge that will be required throughout the class.)
Concept Checks
These should be completed within the week of their release. They are simple questions
pulled from the lecture videos to make sure you’ve understood the main topics
covered. There is no limit to the # of submissions and answers/explanations are usually
available. They should be helpful to do prior to attempting the weekly assignment, and
are not graded.
The grading scheme used for the Principles of Manufacturing MicroMasters is:
A 89-100%
B 75-88%
C 60 – 74%
F <60%
(A passing grade (A or B or C) is required for the certificate.)
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Academic Policy
We will follow the edX honor code pledge:
By enrolling in an edX course, you have already agreed that you will:
• Complete all graded material (homework, midterm and final exams) with your own work
and only your own work. You will not submit the work of any other person.
• Maintain only one user account and not let anyone else use your username and/or
password. Having two user accounts in any single course is grounds for immediate and
permanent dismissal.
• Not engage in any activity that would dishonestly improve your results, or improve or
hurt the results of others.
• Not post answers to problems that are being used to assess student performance.
We will strictly enforce this honor code pledge. Students found violating this pledge will be
dealt with directly. If we become aware of any suspicious activity we reserve the right to
remove credit, not award or revoke a certificate, ban from any and all POM courses as well as
notify edX for other actions. With the introduction of the MicroMasters Credential, the
importance of honesty in work has been elevated to a much higher level than before. We will
diligently monitor this and be very proactive. So please, do your own work.
Discussion
• The Discussion Forum is available to all registered students of this class. It is the online
community of learners that you joined when you registered.
• You may use the forum to ask questions, to seek clarifications, or to start or reply to
topical discussions.
• Please do not use the Discussion Forums for questions or help on Graded Assignments
or on the Final Exam. If you have clarification questions or other problems on these
topics - email your question (stating the specific problem number and issue) to 15.762x-
help@[Link]. We will respond as quickly as possible.
• However, we do want to encourage learners to use the discussion forum to help each
other with some aspects of the graded assignments. More specifically, to get
clarifications or for some of the assignments the learners will use spreadsheets or
MATLAB to solve a problem. For such exercises, it is common for learners to have ‘bugs’
in their models that are hard to uncover; as such, the model might not execute or solve,
or it might generate answers that are clearly incorrect. In such cases, it can be difficult
for the learner to find or see their own bugs. Hence, in these cases, we encourage (and
allow) learners to use the Discussion Forum to ask their fellow learners for help.
• Learners should post questions strictly related to clarifications or debugging of the
spreadsheets/MATLAB code. Any posts asking for final solutions or other learner’s
work WILL BE DELETED. However, learners are allowed to post a screenshot of their
own own if that is sufficient to debug or upload their work/spreadsheet/code on Google
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Drive and share a link in their discussion forum post. The intent here is to provide just
enough details required for debugging the work.
• In responding to such requests, learners should only provide help as might be needed
to debug the work. The intent is to provide answers that will then help the learner to
correct the approach so that the learner can then address the assigned questions. For
instance, an appropriate answer might be of the form “the formula is not correct,” or
"the data is inappropriate" etc.
• The teaching staff will monitor these discussions to assure that they are consistent with
the intent: we want each learner to do his/her own work, with the recognition that
often they may need some help with the approach.
Forum Best Practices
The forum can be a very useful tool to get help! The discussion forum helps improve your ability
to search and talk about many different topics throughout the course. Here are some simple
guidelines to help you successfully navigate and interact on the forum:
• When starting a discussion thread, it will either be a QUESTION or a COMMENT.
• If your question or comment is on a specific Video Segment, Quick Question, or Practice
Problem, be sure to use its associated "New Post" button.
• Before posting a question, check to see if it has already been posted.
• If you have a question on a Graded Assignment or a Final Exam problem DO NOT USE
THE DISCUSSION FORUM! Instead, send an email to 15.762x-help@[Link]
• However, we do want to encourage learners to use the discussion forum to help each
other with some aspects of the graded assignments. More specifically, to get
clarifications or for some of the assignments the learners will use spreadsheets or
MATLAB to solve a problem. For such exercises, it is common for learners to have ‘bugs’
in their models that are hard to uncover; as such, the model might not execute or solve,
or it might generate answers that are clearly incorrect. In such cases, it can be difficult
for the learner to find or see their own bugs. Hence, in these cases, we encourage (and
allow) learners to use the Discussion Forum to ask their fellow learners for help.
• Learners should post questions strictly related to clarifications or debugging of the
spreadsheets/MATLAB code. Any posts asking for final solutions or other learner’s
work WILL BE DELETED. However, learners are allowed to post a screenshot of their
own own if that is sufficient to debug or upload their work/spreadsheet/code on Google
Drive and share a link in their discussion forum post. The intent here is to provide just
enough details required for debugging the work.
• In responding to such requests, learners should only provide help as might be needed
to debug the work. The intent is to provide answers that will then help the learner to
correct the approach so that the learner can then address the assigned questions. For
instance, an appropriate answer might be of the form “the formula is not correct,” or
"the data is inappropriate" etc.
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• The teaching staff will monitor these discussions to assure that they are consistent with
the intent: we want each learner to do his/her own work, with the recognition that
often they may need some help with the approach.
• Use a descriptive and specific title to your post. This will attract the attention of other
students having the same issue.
• Reply to an already existing discussion if you see someone had the same question.
• Actively upvote other posts, and other students will upvote yours! The more upvotes
your posts have, the more likely they are to be seen.
• Follow “netiquette” or common writing practices for online communication. Your
writing should be neutral and not try to express emotions (positive or negative).
• For example: To post mathematical equations, enclose the equation within dollar signs
($) to activate “math mode”. If you want to practice, go to the discussion forum and try
typing the following into your text box: $x_i = y^2 + 5\cdot y$
The instructors and TA’s are here to ensure you have the best opportunity to learn the
material. We will monitor the discussion forum and email for the course every day, and strive
to respond to questions as quickly as possible. Some delay may occur owing to time of day or
week, and in the interest of collecting similar questions before issuing an answers. In that
case we will try to at least acknowledge receipt of an inquiry.
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Class Schedule
Please note:
● Material for each week will be released on Tuesdays at 15:00 UTC.
● Graded Problem Sets are also always due at 15:00 UTC on the specified day.
WEEK 1: INTRODUCTION
Released 3/10/2020
This week we provide an overview of the class, and discusses challenges that arise in planning
of supply chains and manufacturing systems. We will also discuss guidelines for the application
of models for decision support and for trade-off studies. We will use an assignment to convey
the expectations on the prerequisite knowledge of probability.
Graded Problem Sets #1 is due 3/24/2020
WEEK 2: DEMAND FORECASTING
Released 3/17/2020
We discuss types of forecasts and intent, and guidelines for implementing a forecast model. We
introduce common time series methods for forecasting, and measures for forecast error. We
show how to set parameters for these forecast models, depending upon the nature of the
variability in the underlying time series. We show how to include seasonality and trend factors
in the forecast models.
Graded Problem Sets #2 is due 3/31/2020
WEEK 3: INVENTORY BASICS I
Released 3/24/2020
We start with a discussion of types, functions and costs of inventory in manufacturing systems
and supply chains. We then introduce the newsvendor model and derive its solution. This
model captures the critical trade-offs in matching supply to uncertain demand, and provides a
means for optimizing the order quantity. We also cover a periodic review inventory model,
namely the base stock model (or order-up-to model). We illustrate how to measure expected
costs and the service levels for these fundamental inventory models.
Graded Problem Sets #3 is due 4/07/2020
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WEEK 4: INVENTORY BASICS II
Released 3/31/2020
In this week we continue our coverage of fundamental inventory models that are the building
blocks for planning supply chains and manufacturing systems. We introduce the economic
order quantity (EOQ) model, which captures the tradeoff between inventory and order
frequency under constant, known demand. We develop a total cost equation from which we
obtain the optimal order quantity. We also introduce and analyze a continuous review
inventory model, which extends the EOQ model to a context with uncertain demand.
Graded Problem Sets #4 is due 4/14/2020
WEEK 5: MODEL APPLICATIONS AND EXTENSIONS
Released 4/7/2020
The intent of this week is to demonstrate how the fundamental inventory models developed in
prior two weeks can be used for various tactical planning applications. The examples include:
an application of cyclic scheduling of two product families; an application to evaluate a dual
sourcing option; an analysis of shipping options, by ship or by air; and an evaluation of the
benefits from a cross-dock operation. One theme in several of the examples is how simple
inventory models can be used to assess the benefits from risk pooling. We also cover an
important extension to accommodate uncertainty in the replenishment lead times.
Graded Problem Sets #5 is due 4/21/2020
WEEK 6: MULTI-STAGE MODELS FOR SUPPLY CHAINS
Released 4/14/2020
We introduce and discuss the guaranteed service model as a model for a single inventory stage.
We show how to use this single-stage model as a building block to model a supply chain as a
multi-stage network. We show how to use this network model to determine the placement of
safety stocks across a supply chain; the network model can also be used for identifying and
evaluating various supply chain improvement opportunities.
Graded Problem Sets #6 is due 4/28/2020
WEEK 7: MULTI-STAGE MODELS FOR MANUFACTURING SYSTEMS
Released 4/21/2020
We discuss two approaches for the tactical modeling of multi-stage manufacturing systems.
One approach assumes that the planning system relies on planned lead times, and that each
stage in the system has some amount of production flexibility. In this case there is a tradeoff
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between the planned lead times (and the resulting inventory) and the production variability.
We present a model for examining this tradeoff. The second approach is to extend the
guaranteed-service single-stage model to account for a capacity constraint as would exist in
manufacturing systems. We show the insights from this model and how to use it to determine
where within a manufacturing system one might place a decoupling stock.
Graded Problem Sets #7 is due 5/5/2020
WEEK 8: SUPPLY CHAIN PLANNING IN PRACTICE
Released 4/28/2020
In this week we will present and discuss large-scale real-world applications that illustrate how
some of the concepts in class have been implemented. A particular emphasis will be on the
lessons and challenges from these implementations, as well as on the achievable benefits.
No problem set for week 8
EXAM 5/5/2020
This is a timed exam that covers all material presented to date. You have one week to complete
the test.
The exam is due on or before 5/12/2020.