CHAPTER 9: LAYOUT STRATEGIES Suggested Solutions to Selected Questions

Question 9.1
Movements = (4 8) + (9 7) + (7 4) + (6 3) + (8 2) + (10 6) = 32 + 63 + 28 + 18 + 16 + 60 = 217 (in 100s) = 21,700 Cost = 21,700 $1 = $21,700

Summer II, 2009

Question 9.2 (a) Plan A movements = (20x6)+(12x18)+(8x2)+(6x4)+(10x2)+(4x18) = 120+216+16+24+20+72 = 468 (in 100s) = 46,800 Cost =46,800 x 0.50 = $23,400.00

(b) Plan B movements = (20x6)+(8x18)+(12x2)+(10x4)+(6x2)+(4x18) = 120+144+24+40+12+72 = 412 (in 100s) = 41,200 Cost =41,200 x 0.50 = $20,600.00

(c) Plan C movements = (20x6)+(10x18)+(6x2)+(8x4)+(12x2)+(4x18) = 120+180+12+32+24+72 = 440 (in 100s) = 44,000 Cost =44,000 x 0.50 = $22,000.00

(d) Plan B is the lowest cost, at $20,600.

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Question 9.10 (a) Takt time Minutes available per day/Units demanded per day 420/250 1.68 minutes (1.1 4.76 1.1 5 1.7 3.1 1.0)/1.68 8.0/1.68

(b) Number of cross-trained employees

(c) The cleaning operation is substantially longer than the others so it warrants special consideration to ensure that a smooth flow can be maintained. A machine constrained task or lack of cross-training may suggest that more traditional assembly line balancing techniques be used.

Question 9.11

(a) Cycle time = =

(60)(60 sec) 180 PLAs 3,600 = 20 seconds per PLA 180 task time cycle time 60 =3 20

(b) Theoretical minimum of workstations = =

(c) Yes, it is feasible. Station 1 with A and C; Station 2 with B and D; and Station 3 with E.

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Question 9.15 (a)

(b) Station 1 gets A, G, and B and has 0.5 minutes left over. Station 2 gets C, D, and E, with no time left over. Station 3 gets F, H, I, and J and has 0.5 minutes left over. Improvements in efficiency would seem impossible. The times are in 0.5 minute increments and cant be sub-divided to achieve exact balance. Total of 1 minute of idle time/cycle. (c) If stations 1 and 3 each had 0.5 minute more work to do, the line would be 100% efficient; perhaps support tasks could be assigned to them.
Time Station Task (minutes) 1 A 5 G 3 B 1.5 2 C 3 D 4 E 3 3 F 2 H 3.5 I 2 J 2 Time Left (minutes) 5 2 0.5 7 3 0 8 4.5 2.5 0.5 Ready Tasks B, G B C, E E, D E F H I J

Summary Statistics Cycle time Time allocated (cyc sta) Time needed (sum task) Idle time (allocated-needed) Efficiency (needed/allocated) Balance delay (1-efficiency)

10 minutes 30 minutes/cycle 29 minutes/unit 1 minute/cycle 96.67% 3.333% 3

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(d) Theoretical minimum no. of stations

3

Question 9.19 The assembly-line activities are:

Time Task (in minutes) Predecessors A B C D E F G H I J K 3 6 7 5 2 4 5 7 1 6 4 50 None None A A, B B C F D, E H E G, I, J Ready Tasks A, B C, D, E D, E, F F, G, H, I J, H, I, K K, J Time Station Left Assignment 1 3 3 2 2 0 1 1 2 3 3 4 4 5 5 6 6

(a)

(b)

24hr 96 units

60min hr

15min

(c)

1 unit 10 min

60 min hr

24 hr = 144unitsper day. day

5 stations

(d)

50 min per unit 10 min per cycle

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(e) Efficiency

Time needed per unit Time allocated per unit Total task time (Cycle time) (Number of stations) 50 (10)(6) 50 60 .8333, or 83.33%

(f) Idle time

= time allocated per unit - time needed per unit = 60 - 50 = 10 min/cycle

(g) Best assignment is shown in part (a); efficiency is shown in part (e) (i.e., 83.33%)

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