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Floor-On Ltd., operates a line that produces self-adhesive tiles. This line cons

ID: 336287 • Letter: F

Question

Floor-On Ltd., operates a line that produces self-adhesive tiles. This line consists of single-machine stations that are balanced (station rates equal). A Manufacturing Technologist has estimated the bottleneck rate, rb, of the line to be 1,280 cases per 16-hour day, and the raw process time, T0, to be 15 minutes. The actual throughput of the line, TH, averages 1,200 cases per 16-hour day, and cycle time, CT, has averaged 3 hours. Find the following and enter into the respective answer boxes below with the exact format stated:

a. Critical WIP, W0 = rb * T0 to the nearest whole number of cases (enter only the number in the answer box).

b. Actual average throughput, TH, to the nearest whole number of cases per hour (enter only the number, no letters).

c. Actual average work-in-process, using Little's Law: WIP = TH X CT (to the nearest whole number of cases).

d. Best-case Throughput, THbest. (Round to nearest whole number)

e. Practical-worst-case Throughput, THpwc. (Enter numerical answer to one decimal place).

f. Based on actual TH vs THpwc is the operation considered "lean?" (Answer should be entered as either a yes or a no).

Explanation / Answer

a) rb = 1280/16 = 80 cases per hour

T0 = 3 hours

W0 = rb*T0 = 80*3 = 240 cases

b) Actual average throughput, TH = 1200/16 = 75 cases per hour

c) Average average WIP, w = TH x CT = 75*3 = 225 cases

d) THbest = rb = 80 cases per hour

e) CTpwc = T0 + (w-1) /rb = 3 + (225-1)/80 = 5.8 hours

THpwc = w / CTpwc = 225 / 5.8 = 38.79 cases per hour

f) Yes, TH is substantially better than THpwc, therefore, the operation can be considered "lean"