INFO 564 Homework Assignment-1
Question 1 (40 points)
Consider the following serial process that produces shirts. All steps (A, B, C, D, and E) are necessary to create each finished shirt. Each step employs a single worker. Task times are shown on each step.
Note: A and B are done simultaneously. The front and back portion of the shirt arrive at A and B respectively. After preparation they are assembled in C before going on to D and E. Times shown at each station are per unit.
(8 pts each)
- What is the throughput time of the very first unit?
- What is the bottleneck operation?
- What is the cycle time achieved by this process?
- Working eight hours a day what is the daily capacity of the process?
- What is the capacity utilization of each operation in the above process?
- What is the average capacity utilization of the above process?
Question 2 (40 pts)
For this question consider hiring another worker and duplicating Operation C as shown in the diagram below. The two workers work on successive products; they don’t work on the same product at the same time. The product still requires the five Steps (A, B, C, D, E).
(8 pts each)
- What is the throughput time of the very first unit?
- Where is the bottleneck now?
- What is the cycle time?
- Working 8 hours a day, what is the daily capacity of the process?
- What is the amount of time needed to make one unit? (Imagine one person doing all of the above operations).
- What is the capacity utilization of each of the 6 people in the above process?
- What is the overall capacity utilization of the above process?
Question 3 (20 pts)
Consider the process shown in Question 1. A proposal has been made to combine the two operations A and B. In other words, the two workers currently working on A and B separately, will now each do both A and B before passing the unit on to the next station (C). This involves an additional minute switching from A to B, so the time needed to do both A and B becomes 5 minutes.
- What is the bottleneck of this process?
- What is the cycle time now?
- Wht is the capacity in an 8-hour day?
- Would you recommend this proposal? Why or why not?