Q1. Consider a process consisting of three tasks in a machine-paced (conveyor) l
ID: 390262 • Letter: Q
Question
Q1. Consider a process consisting of three tasks in a machine-paced (conveyor) line and a wage rate of $15 per hour. Each task is assigned to a single worker.
Assume there is unlimited demand for the product.)
Tasks
processing time (minutes
1
10
2
12
3
8
a.How much is the process capacity, in units per hour?
b.How much is the total idle time?
c.Compute the efficiency of the line.
d.What is the cost of direct labor ($/unit)?
Now tasks 2 and 3 are combined and assigned to 4 workers, and task 1 is assigned to 2 workers, as shown below:
Tasks
Number of workers
1
2,
2,3
4
e.How much is the process capacity, in units per hour?
f.How much is the total idle time?
g.Compute the efficiency of the line.
h.What is the cost of direct labor ($/unit).
Tasks
processing time (minutes
1
10
2
12
3
8
Explanation / Answer
(a)
Task 2 having the highest cycle time is the bottleneck and its capacity = 60/12 = 5 units per hour. This is also the capacity of the entire process.
(b)
Idle time in task 1 = 12 - 10 = 2 minutes
Idle time in task 2 = 12 - 12 = 0 minutes
Idle time in task 3 = 12 - 8 = 4 minutes
So, total idle time in a cycle = 2+0+4 = 6 minutes
(c)
Efficiency = 1 - idle time / (no of stations x cycle time) = 1 - 6/(3*12) = 5/6 = 0.833 or 83.33%
(d)
Cost of direct labor = total wages per unit of time / the flow rate
= ($15 x 3) / 5
= $9 per unit
--------------------------------------
(e)
Process capacity = min (12, 12) = 12 per hour
(f)
Since both the stations (1 and 2,3) are having equal capacity, there is no idle time.
(g)
Efficiency = 100% (as there is no idle time)
(h)
Cost of direct labor = total wages per unit of time / the flow rate
= ($15 x (4+2)) / 12
= $7.5 per unit
Tasks # workers Effective Processing time per unit Effective capacity 1 2 10 / 2 = 5 minutes 60/5 = 12 per hr. 2,3 4 (8+12) / 4 = 5 minutes 60/5 = 12 per hr.Related Questions
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