Chapter 8
(4) Peter's Paper Clips uses a three-stage production process: cutting wire to prescribed lengths, inner bending, and outer bending. The cutting process can produce at a rate of 150 pieces per minute; inner bending, 140 pieces per minute, and outer bending, 110 pieces per minute. Determine the hourly capacity of each process stage and the number of machines needed to meet an output rate of 20,000 units per hour. How does facility layout impact your numerical analysis and process efficiency? Explain.
(5) An assembly line with 30 activities is to be balanced. The total amount of time to complete all 30 activities is 42 minutes. The longest activity takes 2.4 minutes and the shortest takes .3 minutes. The line will operate for 480 minutes per day.
a. What are the maximum and minimum cycle times?
b. What output rate will be achieved by each of those cycle times?
(6) In Problem 5, suppose the line is balanced using 10 workstations and a finished product (unit) can be produced every 4.2 minutes.
a. What is the production rate in units per day?
b. What is the assembly line efficiency?
(7) A small assembly line for the assembly of power steering pumps needs to be balanced. Exhibit 8.11 in the text is the precedence diagram. The cycle time is determined to be 1.5 minutes. How would the line be balanced using
a. Longest (largest) processing time first rule?
Station Tasks Total time Idle Time
1
2
3
Total
(9) You have been asked to set up an assembly line to assemble a computer mouse. The precedence network is shown below; task times in minutes are given in parentheses. There are 480 minutes of assembly time per shift and the company operates one shift each day. The required output rate is forecasted to be 60 units per shift.
Work Station
Assigned Tasks
Total Time
Idle Time
A
B
C
D
E
F
(a)....