09 KRM Om10 Tif ch07

Operations Management: Processes and Supply Chains, 10e (Krajewski et al.
)
Chapter 7 Constraint Management
1) A bottleneck is an operation that has the lowest efective capacity of any operation in the process.
Answer: TRUE
Reference: Introduction
Difculty: Moderate
Keywords: bottleneck, efective capacity
2) The process with the least capacity is called a bottleneck if its output is less than market demand.
Answer: TRUE
Difculty: Moderate
Keywords: bottleneck, capacity
3) The process with the least capacity is called a bottleneck if its output is still greater than the market
demand.
Answer: FALSE
Difculty: Moderate
4) Operating processes close to their capacity can result in low customer satisfaction and even losing
money despite high sales levels.
Answer: TRUE
Reference: The Theory of Constraints
Difculty: Moderate
Keywords: capacity, customer satisfaction
Learning Outcome: Explain options for managing bottlenecks and managing capacity in service and
manufacturing processes.
5) The Theory of Constraints method is also referred to as the drum-bufer-rope method.
Answer: TRUE
Difculty: Easy
Keywords: TOC, theory of constraints, drum-bufer-rope
6) According to the Theory of Constraints, the four operational measures include inventory, throughput,
delivery lead times and utilization.
Answer: FALSE
Difculty: Moderate
Keywords: TOC, capacity measures, inventory, throughput, operating expense, utilization
7-1
Copyright 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall
7) A business school with plenty of classroom space that hires adjunct faculty for a semester to meet
unusually high student demand for courses is an example of elevating a bottleneck.
Answer: TRUE
Difculty: Moderate
Keywords: elevate bottleneck, TOC
8) Any system composed of resources that are operating at maximum output will, by defnition, have
maximum output for the entire system.
Answer: FALSE
Difculty: Moderate
Keywords: constraint, bottleneck, TOC
9) In a shop managed according to TOC principles, inventory is needed only in front of bottlenecks in
order to prevent them from sitting idle.
Answer: FALSE
Difculty: Moderate
Keywords: TOC, bufer
10) The frst step in applying the Theory of Constraints is to identify the constraint.
Answer: TRUE
Difculty: Moderate
Keywords: constraint, bottleneck, TOC
11) The fnal step in applying the Theory of Constraints is to repeat the frst four steps.
Answer: TRUE
Difculty: Moderate
Keywords: inertia, TOC
12) Lanny discovers that the bottleneck is the riveting machine so he schedules all production around
when that machine is available. This is an example of elevating the constraint in the fve-step constraint
management process.
Answer: FALSE
Difculty: Moderate
Keywords: exploit constraint, TOC
13) A bottleneck process has the lowest capacity and the longest total time from the start to the fnish.
Answer: TRUE
Reference: Identifcation and Management of Bottlenecks
Difculty: Moderate
Keywords: bottleneck process, lowest capacity, longest total time
7-2
14) A competent operations manager should frst eliminate all of the bottlenecks from the process.
Answer: FALSE
Difculty: Moderate
Keywords: bottleneck process
15) Short term capacity planning should be driven by identifcation and management of bottlenecks.
Answer: TRUE
Difculty: Moderate
Keywords: capacity planning, bottleneck
16) Line balancing is the assignment of work to stations in a line to achieve the desired output rate with
the smallest number of workstations.
Answer: TRUE
Reference: Managing Constraints in a Line Process
Difculty: Moderate
Keywords: line balance, workstations, line
17) Line balancing strives to create workstations so that the capacity utilization for the bottleneck is much
higher than for the other workstations in the line.
Answer: FALSE
Difculty: Moderate
Keywords: line balance, workstations, line, bottleneck
18) Line balancing applies only to line processes that do assembly work, or to work that can be bundled in
many ways to create the jobs for each workstation in the line.
Answer: TRUE
Difculty: Moderate
Keywords: line balance, workstations, line
19) Immediate predecessors are the smallest units of work that can be performed independently.
Answer: FALSE
7-3
Difculty: Moderate
Keywords: predecessor, work, task
20) The balance delay is the amount by which efciency falls short of 100 percent.
Answer: TRUE
Difculty: Moderate
Keywords: balance delay, efciency
21) To generate the maximum output, the cycle time should be set as the longest elemental task time.
Answer: TRUE
Difculty: Moderate
Keywords: cycle time, output, task
22) Paced lines require that inventory storage areas be placed between stations.
Answer: FALSE
Difculty: Moderate
Keywords: paced line, inventory
23) A mixed-model line produces several items belonging to the same family.
Answer: TRUE
Difculty: Moderate
Keywords: mixed model line, family
24) The focus for a process improvement exercise should be on balancing:
A) fow.
B) capacity.
C) workload.
D) time.
Answer: A
Difculty: Moderate
Keywords: TOC, theory of constraints, fow
25) According to the Theory of Constraints, the four operational measures of capacity include all of the
following EXCEPT:
A) inventory.
B) throughput.
C) utilization.
7-4
D) delivery lead times.
Answer: D
Difculty: Moderate
26) Practical application of the Theory of Constraints involves the implementation of all of the following
steps EXCEPT:
A) Identify the system bottleneck(s).
B) Exploit the bottleneck(s).
C) Reduce the capacity at the bottleneck(s).
D) Elevate the bottleneck(s).
Answer: C
Difculty: Moderate
27) Consider consecutive processes A-B-C, where process A has a capacity of 20 units per hour, process B
has a capacity of 25 units per hour, and process C has a capacity of 30 units per hour. Where would an
operations manager want any inventory?
A) in front of process A
B) in front of process B
C) in front of process C
D) Inventory should not exist anywhere.
Answer: A
Difculty: Moderate
Keywords: TOC, theory of constraints, inventory
28) Use the process fow diagram to determine which of these events has the greatest net beneft.
A) reducing the fow time at Station A from 8 to 7 minutes
B) increasing the capacity at Station B to 8 units per hour
C) increasing the capacity at Station C to 7 units per hour
D) reducing the fow time at Station D from 9 to 8 minutes
Answer: C
Difculty: Moderate
Keywords: TOC, theory of constraints, bottleneck
AACSB: Analytic skills
7-5
Answer: D
Difculty: Moderate
Answer: A
Difculty: Moderate
31) Work should be released into the system when:
A) a customer order is received.
B) the frst step in the process is idle.
C) a customer order is completed.
D) the bottlenecks need work.
Answer: D
Difculty: Easy
7-6
32) The second step in Theory of Constraints application, "exploit the bottleneck(s)," means that the
analyst should:
A) create a schedule that maximizes the throughput of the bottlenecks.
B) repeat the analysis process to look for other bottlenecks.
C) consider increasing capacity of the bottleneck.
D) schedule non-bottleneck resources to support the bottleneck.
Answer: A
Difculty: Moderate
Keywords: bottleneck, TOC, theory of constraints
33) The third step in Theory of Constraints application, "subordinate all other decisions to Step 2," means
that the analyst should:
A) wait for authorization before proceeding with any system-wide changes.
B) schedule non-bottleneck processes to support the bottleneck schedule.
C) seek to increase capacity of only the bottleneck resources.
D) should seek to increase capacity of both the bottleneck and non-bottleneck resources.
Answer: B
Difculty: Moderate
34) The fourth step in Theory of Constraints application, "elevate the bottleneck(s)," means that the
analyst should:
B) repeat the analysis process to look for other bottlenecks.
Answer: C
Difculty: Moderate
7-7
35) The ffth step in Theory of Constraints application, "do not let inertia set in," means that the analyst
should:
B) repeat the analysis to identify and manage new set of constraints.
Answer: B
Difculty: Moderate
36) Which of the following statements regarding setups is TRUE?
A) Unusually high setup times result in higher utilization.
B) Processes are generating output throughout the entire setup process.
C) A machine used in a line process would probably have fewer setups than a batch process.
D) A TOC analyst would not be concerned with setup times on non-bottleneck machines.
Answer: D
Difculty: Moderate
Keywords: setup, TOC, bottleneck
37) There are three consecutive steps in a customer service process. The frst two steps are each capable of
serving 25 customers per hour while the third step can process only 20 customers per hour. Which of the
following statements regarding this system is true?
A) The entire system is capable of processing 25 customers per hour.
B) There are foating bottlenecks in the system.
C) If the frst two steps are run at full capacity, then the third step has a waiting line.
D) The frst and second steps are bottlenecks for the system.
Answer: C
Difculty: Moderate
Keywords: capacity, bottleneck
7-8
Table 7.1
The fgure above shows the call routing process for a customer service call center. Incoming calls are
routed, depending on the complexity of the caller's request. Simple request are routed to work center B,
while the more complex calls are routed to work center C (which also takes simple calls when not busy).
The numbers in parentheses are the time in minutes for each step of the process.
38) Use the information in Table 7.1. What is the throughput time for the process, assuming that the Call
Center is always busy and has customers waiting to be processed?
A) 24 minutes
B) 18 minutes
C) 20 minutes
D) 22 minutes
Answer: B
Difculty: Easy
Keywords: bottleneck, throughput time
39) Use the information in Table 7.1. What is the process bottleneck?
A) A
B) B and C together
C) D
D) E
Answer: C
Difculty: Easy
Keywords: process bottleneck
40) Use the information in Table 7.1. What is the 8-hour capacity for the process?
A) 24 calls
B) 17.1 calls
C) 40 calls
D) 48 calls
Answer: D
Difculty: Moderate
7-9
41) Use the information in Table 7.1. Where would you expect customer wait times to occur?
A) D only
B) C and D
C) A only
D) E only
Answer: B
Difculty: Moderate
Keywords: bottleneck, capacity, customer wait times
Table 7.2
The fgure above shows the process for paying tuition at a major university. Students are provided their
bill for the next term for review, then routed to diferent tables for questions to be answered before fnally
paying their tuition at E. The numbers in parentheses are the time in minutes for each step of the process.
42) Use the information in Table 7.2. What is the throughput time for the A-B-C-E process route?
A) 17 minutes
B) 27 minutes
C) 21 minutes
D) 19 minutes
Answer: A
Difculty: Easy
43) Use the information in Table 7.2. What is the throughput time for the A-B-D-E process route?
A) 17 minutes
B) 27 minutes
C) 21 minutes
D) 19 minutes
Answer: C
Difculty: Easy
7-10
44) Use the information in Table 7.2. What is the capacity for the A-B-C-E process route?
A) 10 students per hour
B) 6 student per hour
C) 3.5 students per hour
D) 2.9 students per hour
Answer: A
Difculty: Moderate
45) Use the information in Table 7.2. What is the capacity for the A-B-D-E process route?
B) 6 student per hour
C) 3.5 students per hour
Answer: B
Difculty: Moderate
46) Use the information in Table 7.2. If 60% of the students are routed to C and 40% are routed to D, what
is the average capacity per hour for the process?
B) 6.5 student per hour
C) 8 students per hour
Answer: D
Difculty: Hard
47) Use the information in Table 7.2. Where would you expect student wait times to occur?
A) D only
B) B, C and D
C) A only
D) E only
Answer: B
Difculty: Hard
Keywords: bottleneck, capacity, customer wait times
7-11
Table 7.3
The fgure above shows the process for customers arriving at Pierre's Spa and Salon. After signing in,
customers are routed to diferent locations in the Spa for the two diferent services provided. The
numbers in parentheses are the time in minutes for each step of the process.
48) Use the information in Table 7.3. What is the throughput time for the A-B-C-D -H routing?
A) 48 minutes
B) 30 minutes
C) 53 minutes
D) 23 minutes
Answer: C
Difculty: Easy
49) Use the information in Table 7.3. What is the throughput time for the A-B-E-F-G-H routing?
A) 48 minutes
B) 30 minutes
C) 53 minutes
D) 23 minutes
Answer: A
Difculty: Easy
50) Use the information in Table 7.3. What is the process bottleneck?
A) H
B) B
C) C
D) D
Answer: D
Difculty: Moderate
7-12
Table 7.4
The fgure above shows the process for customers arriving at Hobbies Unlimited for several advertised
crafts demonstrations. After signing in, customers are routed to diferent locations in the store for the two
diferent programs provided. The numbers in parentheses are the time in minutes for each step of the
process.
51) Use the information in Table 7.4. What is the throughput time for the A-B-C-D-G routing?
A) 25 minutes
B) 70 minutes
C) 105 minutes
D) 60 minutes
Answer: D
Difculty: Easy
52) Use the information in Table 7.4. What is the throughput time for the A-B-E-F-G routing?
A) 25 minutes
B) 70 minutes
C) 105 minutes
D) 60 minutes
Answer: B
Difculty: Easy
53) Use the information in Table 7.4. How many customers can be processed through the A-B-C-D-G
routing during a 4-hour evening session?
A) 48
B) 24
C) 32
D) 12
Answer: D
Difculty: Moderate
7-13
54) Use the information in Table 7.4. How many customers can be processed through the A-B-E-F-G
routing during a 4-hour evening session?
A) 8
B) 24
C) 12
D) 32
Answer: A
Difculty: Moderate
Table 7.5
A company makes four products that have the following characteristics: Product A sells for $50 but needs
$10 of materials and $15 of labor to produce; Product B sells for $75 but needs $30 of materials and $15 of
labor to produce; Product C sells for $100 but needs $50 of materials and $30 of labor to produce; Product
D sells for $150 but needs $75 of materials and $40 of labor to produce. The processing requirements for
each product on each of the four machines are shown in the table.
Work centers W, X, Y, and Z are available for 40 hours per week and have no setup time when switching
between products. Market demand for each product is 80 units per week. In the questions that follow, the
traditional method refers to maximizing the contribution margin per unit for each product, and the
bottleneck method refers to maximizing the contribution margin per minute at the bottleneck for each
product.
55) Use the information in Table 7.5. Which work center is of greatest concern to the operations manager?
A) Work Center W
B) Work Center X
C) Work Center Y
D) Work Center Z
Answer: B
Difculty: Moderate
Keywords: TOC, bottleneck
7-14
56) Use the information in Table 7.5. Using the traditional method, which product should be scheduled
frst?
A) Product A
B) Product B
C) Product C
D) Product D
Answer: D
Difculty: Hard
Keywords: TOC, bottleneck, proft per minute at bottleneck
57) Use the information in Table 7.5. Using the traditional method, in what sequence should products be
scheduled for production?
A) D, C, B, A
B) D, B, A, C
C) C, D, A, B
D) C, D, B, A
Answer: B
Difculty: Hard
Keywords: TOC, bottleneck, sequence, proft per minute at bottleneck
58) Use the information in Table 7.5. Using the traditional method, what is the optimal product mix
(consider variable costs onlyoverhead is not included in this proft calculation)?
A) 71 A, 80B, 80C, 80 D
B) 80A, 72B, 80C, 80D
C) 80A, 80B, 60C, 80D
D) 80A, 80B, 80C, 70D
Answer: C
Difculty: Hard
Keywords: TOC, bottleneck, proft per minute at bottleneck, mix
59) Use the information in Table 7.5. Using the traditional method, what is the proft if the company
manufactures the optimal product mix (consider variable costs onlyoverhead is not included in this
proft calculation)?
A) less than or equal to $8,100
B) greater than $8,100 but less than or equal to $8,300
C) greater than $8,300 but less than or equal to $8,500
D) greater than $8,500
Answer: C
Difculty: Hard
7-15
60) Use the information in Table 7.5. Using the bottleneck method, which product should be scheduled
frst?
A) Product A
B) Product B
C) Product C
D) Product D
Answer: C
Difculty: Hard
61) Use the information in Table 7.5. Using the bottleneck method, in what sequence should products be
A) D. C. B. A
B) D, C, A, B
C) C, D, A, B
D) C, D, B, A
Answer: D
Difculty: Hard
62) Use the information in Table 7.5. Using the bottleneck method, what is the optimal product mix
(consider variable costs onlyoverhead is not included in this proft calculation)?
A) 71 A, 80B, 80C, 80 D
B) 80A, 72B, 80C, 80D
C) 80A, 80B, 60C, 80D
D) 80A, 80B, 80C, 70D
Answer: A
Difculty: Hard
63) Use the information in Table 7.5. Using the bottleneck method, what is the proft if the company
proft calculation)?
Answer: D
Difculty: Hard
7-16
Table 7.6
Burdell Industries makes four diferent models of computer printers: the E-1000, the S-2000, the P-2000
and the N-1000. The E-1000 sells for $200 and has $40 in parts and $40 in labor; the S-2000 sells for $150
and requires $30 in parts and $30 in labor; the P-2000 sells for $100 and has $20 in parts and $20 in labor;
and the N-1000 sells for $75 but requires only $10 of parts and $10 of labor. Fixed overhead is estimated at
$5,000 per week. The manufacture of each printer requires four machines, Machines #1, 2, 3 and 4. Each of
the machines is available for 40 hours a week and there is no setup time required when shifting from the
production of one product to any other. The processing requirements to make one unit of each product
are shown in the table. Weekly product demand for the next planning period has been forecasted as
follows: 80 E-1000s; 65 S-2000s; 35 P-2000s; and 20 N-1000s.
In the questions that follow, the traditional method refers to maximizing the contribution margin per unit
for each product, and the bottleneck method refers to maximizing the contribution margin per minute at the
bottleneck for each product.
64) Use the information in Table 7.6. Which machine is the bottleneck operation?
A) Machine 1
B) Machine 2
C) Machine 3
D) Machine 4
Answer: C
Difculty: Moderate
frst?
A) Product E
B) Product S
C) Product P
D) Product N
Answer: A
Difculty: Hard
7-17
A) N, S, E, P
B) N, E, P, S
C) P, E, N, S
D) E, S, P, N
Answer: D
Difculty: Hard
67) Use the information in Table 7.6. Using the traditional method, what is the optimal product mix?
A) 120 E, 90 S, 60 P, 55 N
B) 60 E, 20 S, 50 P, 33 N
C) 80 E, 65 S, 35 P, 5 N
D) 80 E, 65 S, 20 P, 35 N
Answer: C
Difculty: Hard
68) Use the information in Table 7.6. Using the traditional method, what is the proft if Burdell
manufactures the optimal product mix?
Answer: B
Difculty: Hard
Keywords: TOC, bottleneck, proft per minute at bottleneck, mix, proft
frst?
A) Product E
B) Product S
C) Product P
D) Product N
Answer: D
Difculty: Hard
7-18
A) N, S, E, P
B) N, E, P, S
C) P, E, N, S
D) E, S, P, N
Answer: A
Difculty: Hard
71) Use the information in Table 7.6. Using the bottleneck method, what is the optimal product mix?
A) 80 E, 65 S, 35 P, 20 N
B) 60 E, 20 S, 50 P, 33 N
C) 120 E, 90 S, 60 P, 55 N
D) 80 E, 65 S, 30 P, 20 N
Answer: D
Difculty: Hard
72) Use the information in Table 7.6. Using the bottleneck method, what is the proft if Burdell
Answer: C
Difculty: Hard
7-19
Table 7.7
A company makes four products that have the following characteristics: Product A sells for $75 but needs
$20 of materials and $20 of labor to produce; Product B sells for $90 but needs $45 of materials and $20 of
labor to produce; Product C sells for $110 but needs $50 of materials and $30 of labor to produce; Product
D sells for $135 but needs $75 of materials and $40 of labor to produce. The processing requirements for
each product on each of the four machines are shown in the table.
Work centers W, X, Y, and Z are available for 40 hours per week and have no setup time when switching
between products. Market demand is 50 As, 60 Bs, 70 Cs, and 80 Ds per week. In the questions that follow,
the traditional method refers to maximizing the contribution margin per unit for each product, and the
bottleneck method refers to maximizing the contribution margin per minute at the bottleneck for each
product.
73) Use the information in Table 7.7. Which work center is the bottleneck operation?
A) Work Center W
B) Work Center X
C) Work Center Y
D) Work Center Z
Answer: C
Difculty: Moderate
frst?
A) Product A
B) Product B
C) Product C
D) Product D
Answer: A
Difculty: Hard
7-20
A) A, B, C, D
B) A, C, B, D
C) A, D, B, C
D) D, B, C, A
Answer: B
Difculty: Hard
A) 37 A, 60 B, 70 C, 80 D
B) 50 A, 51 B, 70 C, 80 D
C) 50 A, 60 B, 62 C, 80 D
D) 50 A, 60 B, 70 C, 60 D
Answer: D
Difculty: Hard
77) Use the information in Table 7.7. Using the traditional method, what is the proft if the company
proft calculation)?
Answer: B
Difculty: Hard
frst?
A) Product A
B) Product B
C) Product C
D) Product D
Answer: A
Difculty: Hard
7-21
A) A, D, B, C
B) D, A, B, C
C) A, D, C, B
D) D, A, C, B
Answer: C
Difculty: Hard
A) 37 A, 60 B, 70 C, 80 D
B) 50 A, 51 B, 70 C, 80 D
C) 50 A, 60 B, 62 C, 80 D
D) 50 A, 60 B, 70 C, 60 D
Answer: B
Difculty: Hard
81) Use the information in Table 7.7. Using the bottleneck method, what is the proft if the company
proft calculation)?
Answer: C
Difculty: Hard
7-22
Table 7.8
King Supply makes four diferent types of plumbing fxtures: W, X, Y and Z. The contribution margins for
these products are: $70 for Product W, $60 for Product X, $90 for Product Y and $100 for Product Z. Fixed
overhead is estimated at $5,500 per week. The manufacture of each fxture requires four machines,
Machines #1, 2, 3 and 4. Each of the machines is available for 40 hours a week and there is no setup time
required when shifting from the production of one product to any other. The processing requirements to
make one unit of each product are shown in the table. Weekly product demand for the next planning
period has been forecasted as follows: 70 Ws, 60 Xs, 50 Ys and 30 Zs.
In the questions that follow, the traditional method refers to maximizing the contribution margin per unit
for each product, and the bottleneck method refers to maximizing the contribution margin per minute at the
bottleneck for each product.
82) Use the information in Table 7.8. Which machine is the bottleneck operation?
A) Machine 1
B) Machine 2
C) Machine 3
D) Machine 4
Answer: A
Difculty: Moderate
frst?
A) Fixture W
B) Fixture X
C) Fixture Y
D) Fixture Z
Answer: D
Difculty: Hard
7-23
84) Use the information in Table 7.8. Using the traditional method, in what sequence should the fxtures
be scheduled for production?
A) Z, Y, X, W
B) X, W, Z, Y
C) Z, Y, W, X
D) W, X, Y, Z
Answer: C
Difculty: Hard
A) 70 W, 60 X, 90 Y, 100 Z
B) 70 W, 50 X, 50 Y, 30 Z
C) 70 W, 60 X, 47 Y, 30 Z
D) 70 W, 47 X, 50 Y, 30 Z
Answer: B
Difculty: Hard
86) Use the information in Table 7.8. Using the traditional method, what is the proft if King Supply
Answer: A
Difculty: Hard
frst?
A) Fixture W
B) Fixture X
C) Fixture Y
D) Fixture Z
Answer: B
Difculty: Hard
7-24
A) Z, Y, X, W
B) X, W, Z, Y
C) Z, Y, W, X
D) X, Y, Z, W
Answer: B
Difculty: Hard
A) 70 W, 60 X, 90 Y, 100 Z
B) 70 W, 50 X, 50 Y, 30 Z
C) 70 W, 60 X, 47 Y, 30 Z
D) 70 W, 47 X, 50 Y, 30 Z
Answer: C
Difculty: Hard
90) Use the information in Table 7.8. Using the bottleneck method, what is the proft if Burdell
Answer: B
Difculty: Hard
91) In a drum-bufer-rope system, the lot size that moves from one work center to another for additional
processing is a(n):
A) process batch.
B) operations batch.
C) transfer batch.
D) rope batch.
Answer: C
Difculty: Easy
Keywords: DBR, drum-bufer-rope, transfer batch
7-25
92) The process batch at the constraint in a drum-bufer-rope system should be:
A) the same size as that at any non-constraint.
B) the same size as the transfer batch.
C) of such a size as to maximize the number of setups for the constraint
D) of such a size as to improve utilization of the constraint.
Answer: D
Difculty: Easy
Keywords: DBR, drum-bufer-rope, process, batch, size
93) Which one of the following statements is best concerning line balancing?
A) The theoretical minimum number of stations must always be fewer than the actual number achieved in
a fnal solution. Increasing the output rate may increase the theoretical minimum number of stations.
B) The "largest number of followers" rule assigns as quickly as possible those work elements most difcult
to ft into a station.
C) Selecting the cycle time can never have an efect on line efciency.
Answer: B
Difculty: Moderate
Keywords: line balancing, output rate, theoretical minimum number of work stations
94) What is the defnition of "theoretical maximum efciency"?
A) It is the amount by which efciency falls short of 100 percent.
B) It is the efciency that could be obtained by a solution that achieves the theoretical minimum number
of stations.
C) It is the maximum time allowed for work on a unit at each station.
D) It is alternatively called the desired output rate.
Answer: B
Difculty: Moderate
Keywords: efciency, line process
95) Balance delay could be described as the:
A) amount by which efciency falls short of 100 percent.
B) efciency that could be obtained by a solution that achieves the theoretical minimum number of
stations.
C) maximum time allowed for work on a unit at each station.
D) desired output rate.
Answer: A
Difculty: Moderate
Keywords: balance delay, line process
7-26
96) A line balance that is 100% efcient must:
A) be using the minimum cycle time.
B) be using the theoretical minimum number of work stations.
C) also achieve 100% balance delay.
D) be producing the theoretical maximum output.
Answer: B
Difculty: Moderate
97) Instead of dividing by nc to determine the efciency of a line balance, you could divide by:
A) the number of workers times the number of stations.
B) the number of tasks plus the number of stations.
C) the sum of the task times plus the sum of the idle times.
D) (1-balance delay).
Answer: C
Difculty: Moderate
98) The most controversial aspect of line-fow layout is:
A) the heuristic decision rules in assigning the next work element.
B) the number of models produced.
C) the cycle time.
D) behavioral response.
Answer: D
Difculty: Moderate
Keywords: behavioral response, line process
99) A line that produces several items belonging to the same family is called a:
A) mixed-model line.
B) part family line.
C) group technology line.
D) cellular line.
Answer: A
Difculty: Moderate
Keywords: mixed-model, line process
7-27
100) Which one of the following statements about line balancing is best?
A) If a precedence relationship exists between A and B, they cannot be assigned to the same station.
B) If the desired output rate increases, the cycle time also tends to increase.
C) The theoretical minimum number of stations can never be achieved, hence the name "theoretical."
D) If a line's balance delay is minimized, its efciency is maximized.
Answer: D
Difculty: Moderate
Keywords: line balancing, fow, balance delay, efciency
Figure 7.1
101) Use the information in Figure 7.1. What are the required predecessors of activity H?
A) E & G
B) A through F, including E
C) Activity H has no required predecessors.
D) D
Answer: A
Difculty: Easy
Keywords: predecessor, line process, fow
102) Use the information in Figure 7.1. If each task has a work time of one minute, what is the theoretical
minimum cycle time?
A) There is no minimum cycle time.
B) 1 minute
C) 8 minutes
D) The cycle time cannot be determined with the information given.
Answer: B
Difculty: Moderate
Keywords: cycle time, line process, fow
7-28
103) Use the information in Figure 7.1. If each task has a work time of one minute and there are 480 work
minutes in a day, what is the task assignment at the fourth workstation if maximum output is desired?
A) A
B) B
C) C
D) D
Answer: D
Difculty: Moderate
Keywords: cycle, line process, fow, task
104) Use the information in Figure 7.1. If each task has a work time of one minute and there are 8 hours in
a day, what is the task assignment at the frst station if 160 units should be produced each day?
A) A, B, C, D
B) H, G, F, E
C) A, B, C
D) H, G, F
Answer: C
Difculty: Moderate
Keywords: line process, fow, task, station
105) Use the information in Figure 7.1. If each task has a work time of one minute and there are 8 hours in
a day, what is the minimum number of stations if 240 units should be produced each day?
A) one
B) two
C) three
D) four
Answer: D
Difculty: Moderate
Keywords: station, minimum number of stations
7-29
Table 7.9
Balance the following line for an output rate of 3 units per minute.
Work
Element
Time
(sec)
Immediate
Predecessor(s)
A 12 --
B 6 A
C 12 A
D 4 B
E 14 B, C
F 10 E
G 6 D, F
106) Use the information in Table 7.9. How many stations are required?
A) 3
B) 4
C) 5
D) 6
Answer: B
Difculty: Moderate
Keywords: stations, fow, line process
107) Use the information in Table 7.9. What is the balance delay for your solution?
A) less than or equal to 15%
B) more than 15% but less than or equal to 25%
C) more than 25% but less than or equal to 35%
D) more than 35%
Answer: B
Difculty: Moderate
Keywords: balance delay, line process, fow
7-30
Table 7.10
Balance the following line for an output rate of fve pieces per hour. The times are in minutes (not
seconds).
Work
Element
Time
(min)
Immediate
Predecessor(s)
A 7 --
B 5 --
C 3 --
D 4 --
E 2 A, B
F 5 C
G 6 D
H 7 E, F
I 11 F, G
J 4 H, I
108) Use the information from Table 7.10. The theoretical minimum number of stations is:
A) fewer than three stations.
B) three stations.
C) four stations.
D) more than four stations.
Answer: D
Difculty: Moderate
Keywords: line process, fow, stations
109) Use the information from Table 7.10. The highest efciency for a balanced line is:
A) less than 89%.
B) more than 89% and less than 91%.
C) more than 91% and less than 93%.
D) more than 93%.
Answer: B
Difculty: Moderate
Keywords: line process, fow, efciency
7-31
Table 7.11
The Pennsylvania Appliance Company is installing an assembly line to produce vacuum cleaners, and
you, as an operations manager, are responsible for balancing the line. The work elements to be performed
are listed, along with their times and immediate predecessors.
Work
Element
Time
(sec)
Immediate
Predecessor(s)
A 60 --
B 40 A
C 30 B
D 20 B
E 40 B
F 60 C
G 70 D
H 50 F, G
I 20 E
J 60 H, I
110) Use the information in Table 7.11. The company is planning to operate 2 shifts per day, 8 hours per
shift. If the desired output rate of the line is 480 units per day, what is the cycle time?
A) 60 seconds
B) 120 seconds
C) 180 seconds
D) 240 seconds
Answer: B
Difculty: Moderate
Keywords: cycle time, line process, fow
111) Use the information in Table 7.11. The company is planning to operate 2 shifts per day 8 hours per
shift. If the desired output rate of the line is 480 units per day, what is the theoretical minimum number of
stations (TM) for the line? How many workstations are needed for the most efcient balance possible
given these circumstances?
A) TM = 3; solution = 3 stations
B) TM = 3; solution = 4 stations
C) TM = 4; solution = 4 stations
D) TM = 4; solution = 5 stations
Answer: C
Difculty: Moderate
Keywords: stations, line process, fow
7-32
112) Use the information in Table 7.11. The company is planning to operate 2 shifts per day 8 hours per
shift. If the desired output rate of the line is 480 units per day, what is the highest efciency possible for a
balanced line?
A) less than 91%
B) more than 91% and less than 93%
C) more than 93% and less than 95%
D) more than 95%
Answer: C
Difculty: Moderate
Keywords: efciency, line process, fow
Table 7.12
A company desires to set up a line to produce 60 units per hour. The work elements and their precedence
relationships are as follows.
Work Element Time (sec)
Immediate
Predecessor(s)
1 40 -
2 30 1
3 50 1
4 40 2
5 6 2
6 25 3
7 15 3
8 20 4, 5
9 18 6, 7
10 30 8, 9
113) Use the information in Table 7.12. What is the theoretical minimum number of stations?
A) 3
B) 4
C) 5
D) 6
Answer: C
Difculty: Moderate
Keywords: minimum number of stations, line process, fow
7-33
114) Use the information in Table 7.12. What is the highest efciency line balance possible?
A) less than 93%
D) more than 97%
Answer: A
Difculty: Moderate
Table 7.13
The following information is given about an assembly line. The desired output rate is 90 units per hour.
Work
Element
Time
(sec)
Immediate
Predecessor(s)
A 10 --
B 6 A
C 15 A
D 20 B
E 12 B
F 14 C, E
G 8 D
H 20 F, G
115) Use the information in Table 7.13. What is the fewest number of workstations that you need?
A) two stations
B) three stations
C) four stations
D) more than four stations
Answer: B
Difculty: Moderate
Keywords: minimum number of stations, line process, fow
116) Use the information in Table 7.13. Suppose that the desired output rate is increased to 120 units per
hour and a solution has been found that has four workstations. What is the efciency of this new
assembly line?
A) less than 80%
B) between 80% and 85%
C) between 85% and 90%
D) more than 90%
Answer: C
Difculty: Moderate
7-34
117) A line-balancing solution has been developed for the assembly line for fertilizer spreaders at Green
Grass, Inc. The desired output rate of 30 spreaders per hour will be achieved. The sum of times for all
tasks performed on the line is 1200 seconds for each spreader assembled. This is the total productive time.
Which of the following statements must be true?
A) The cycle time is 30 seconds per spreader.
B) The theoretical minimum number of stations is 10.
C) If the solution calls for 11 stations, the efciency is 80%.
D) If the solution calls for 12 stations, the efciency is 80%.
Answer: B
Difculty: Moderate
Table 7.14
The production of a particular product consists of seven work elements. The desired output rate is 60
units per hour. The work element and their precedence relationships are given.
Work
Element
Time
(sec)
Immediate
Predecessor(s)
1 30 --
2 15 1
3 20 2
4 15 3
5 30 3
6 25 4
7 30 5, 6
118) Use the information in Table 7.14. How many stations are required for the most efcient balance you
can achieve?
A) two stations
B) three stations
C) four stations
D) fve stations
Answer: B
Difculty: Moderate
Keywords: line process, fow, minimum number of stations
119) Use the information in Table 7.14. What is the most efcient line balance you can achieve?
A) less than or equal to 70%
D) more than 80%
Answer: D
7-35
Difculty: Moderate
120) An assembly line has to perform 10 work elements, whose time requirements follow. An operations
analyst has found a solution using some heuristics, as shown in the table. If the cycle time of the line is 90
seconds, what is the efciency of the assembly line?
A) less than 85%
B) greater than 85% but less than 90%
C) greater than 90% but less than 95%
D) greater than 95%
Answer: C
Difculty: Moderate
7-36
121) Given the following data about an assembly line and the knowledge that we are trying to attain an
output rate of 40 units per hour, what is the theoretical minimum number of stations?
Work
Element Time (sec)
1 90
2 80
3 75
4 70
5 90
6 85
A) four or fewer stations
B) fve stations
C) six stations
D) seven or more stations
Answer: C
Difculty: Moderate
122) The production of a particular product consists of the following work elements. If the cycle time is 4
minutes and the work-element times are as follows, what is the theoretical minimum number of stations?
Work
Element Time (min)
1 2.4
2 0.5
3 2.1
4 2.0
5 2.7
6 1.1
7 2.0
8 2.7
9 1.6
10 1.4
A) fewer than or equal to three stations
B) four stations
C) fve stations
D) more than fve stations
Answer: C
Difculty: Moderate
7-37
123) Fun Vehicles, Inc. makes beach buggies on an assembly line. The total productive time to make one
buggy is 300 seconds. The current line has a 90-second cycle time and consists of four workstations. The
balance delay of this line must be:
A) 0%.
B) greater than 0% but less than 6%.
C) greater than 6% but less than 12%.
D) greater than 12% but less than 18%.
Answer: D
Difculty: Moderate
Keywords: balance delay, line process, fow
Table 7.15
The Terminal Company is attempting to balance its assembly line of high-voltage electrical connectors.
The desired output for the line is 50 connectors per hour, and the information on the work elements for
this assembly line is as follows.
Work
Elements Time (sec)
Immediate
Predecessor(s)
A 40 --
B 36 A
C 20 A
D 25 A
E 30 B, C
F 34 D
G 35 E
H 5 F
I 15 E, H
J 40 H
K 38 G, I, J
124) Use the information from Table 7.15 to balance this line. What is the most efcient solution?
A) more than 90%
B) 80 - 90%
C) 70 - 79%
D) less than 70%
Answer: C
Difculty: Hard
Keywords: efciency, line balance, fow
7-38
125) Use the information from Table 7.15 and the most efcient line balance possible. What work elements
are included in the frst station?
A) A only
B) A and B only
C) A and E only
D) A and D only
Answer: D
Difculty: Moderate
Keywords: tasks, station, line balance, fow
126) Use the information from Table 7.15, and assume that the most efcient line balance possible ha been
achieved. What is the total idle time for an eight hour work day?
A) less than an hour and a half
B) more than 1:30 but less than or equal to 1:45
C) more than 1:45 but less than or equal to 2 hours
D) more than 2 hours
Answer: D
Difculty: Moderate
Keywords: idle time, line balance, fow
127) Any factor that limits the performance of a system and restricts its output is a(n) ________.
Answer: constraint
Difculty: Easy
Keywords: constraint
128) ________ is the maximum rate of output of a process or a system.
Answer: Capacity
Difculty: Easy
Keywords: capacity
129) A(n) ________ is an operation that has the lowest efective capacity of any operation in the process,
and thus limits the system's output.
Answer: bottleneck
Difculty: Easy
Keywords: bottleneck, TOC, output
7-39
130) According to the Theory of Constraints, all the money invested in a system in purchasing things that
it intends to sell is ________.
Answer: inventory
Difculty: Easy
Keywords: inventory, TOC
131) According to the Theory of Constraints, brand new cars on the lot waiting to be sold are ________,
not ________.
Answer: inventory, throughput
Difculty: Easy
Keywords: inventory, TOC, throughput
132) The wages paid to workers on the line are categorized as ________ in the Theory of Constraints.
Answer: operational expense
Difculty: Easy
Keywords: operational expense
133) ________ is the total time taken from the start to the fnish of a process.
Answer: Throughput time
Difculty: Easy
Keywords: throughput time
134) Variability of a frm's workload may create ________.
Answer: foating bottlenecks
Difculty: Hard
Keywords: workload, variability, foating bottleneck
135) With TOC, ________ are scheduled to maximize their throughput of products while adhering to
promised completion dates.
Answer: bottlenecks
Difculty: Moderate
136) Instead of producing products with the highest proft margins, operations managers should focus on
the ________ generated at the ________ .
Answer: proft (margin), bottleneck
Difculty: Moderate
Keywords: TOC, bottleneck, proft, proft margin
7-40
137) ________ is a planning and control system that regulates the fow of work-in-process materials at the
bottleneck or the capacity constrained resource in a productive system.
Answer: Drum-bufer-rope (DBR)
Difculty: Easy
Keywords: drum-bufer-rope, DBR, CCR, capacity constrained resource, bottleneck
138) Every time a manufacturer uses one resource, they make a lot size of 300. Once a group of 30 units
are completed, they are taken to the next step in the process. The lot of 300 is the ________ and the group
of 30 is the ________.
Answer: production batch, transfer batch
Difculty: Moderate
Keywords: production batch, transfer batch
139) ________ is the maximum time allowed for work on a unit at each station.
Answer: Cycle time
Difculty: Moderate
Keywords: cycle time, work, line process, fow
140) ________ is the amount by which efciency falls short of 100 percent.
Answer: Balance delay
Difculty: Moderate
Keywords: balance delay, efciency, line process, fow
141) Regardless of the number of tasks or their lengths, a line balance efciency of 100% is possible if the
number of stations is ________.
Answer: one
Difculty: Moderate
Keywords: line balance, efciency
142) A(n) ________ line is a product line that produces several items belonging to the same family.
Answer: mixed-model
Difculty: Moderate
Keywords: mixed-model line, family
143) The movement of product from one station to the next as soon as the cycle time has elapsed is called
________.
Answer: pacing
7-41
Difculty: Moderate
Keywords: pacing, line process, fow, cycle time
144) Explain why a bottleneck limits system output.
Answer: A bottleneck, by defnition, is a process that has less capacity than all other processes in the
system. Just as a chain is as strong as its weakest link, the rest of a production system can produce only as
much as the slowest process. The bottleneck limits capacity by serving to slow the rest of the system
down. Running all other processes at their maximum capacity will result in inventory buildup in front of
the bottleneck.
Difculty: Moderate
Keywords: bottleneck, output, TOC
145) What are fve of the seven key principles of the Theory of Constraints?
Answer: The principles of TOC are
The focus should be on balancing fow, not on balancing capacity.
Maximizing the output and efciency of every resource may not maximize the throughput of the entire
system.
An hour lost at a bottleneck or a constrained resource is an hour lost for the whole system. In contrast, an
hour saved at a nonbottleneck resource is a mirage because it does not make the whole system more
productive.
Inventory is needed only in front of the bottlenecks in order to prevent them from sitting idle, and in front
of assembly and shipping points in order to protect customer schedules. Building inventories elsewhere
should be avoided.
Work, which can be materials, information to be processed, documents, or customers, should be released
into the system only as frequently as the bottlenecks need it. Bottleneck fows should be equal to the
market demand. Pacing everything to the slowest resource minimizes inventory and operating expenses.
Activating a nonbottleneck resource (using it for improved efciency that does not increase throughput) is
not the same as utilizing a bottleneck resource (that does lead to increased throughput). Activation of
nonbottleneck resources cannot increase throughput, nor promote better performance on fnancial
measures outlined in Table 7.1.
Every capital investment must be viewed from the perspective of its global impact on overall throughput
(T), inventory (I), and operating expense (OE).
Difculty: Moderate
Keywords: TOC, steps
7-42
146) Describe a process from your own personal experience at home or work that sufers from a lack of
sufcient throughput. Apply the frst four TOC steps to address the situation, assuming you have
complete authority to do so.
Answer: Examples will vary. The steps of TOC are (1) identify the system bottleneck(s); (2) exploit the
bottlenecks; (3) subordinate all other decisions to step 2; (4) elevate the bottleneck(s); and (5) do not let
inertia set in.
Difculty: Moderate
Keywords: TOC, steps
147) What are two ways a process manager can identify a bottleneck in a service or manufacturing
process? If you were in a manufacturing frm, what physical cues would signal a bottleneck?
Answer: A workstation in a process is a bottleneck if 1) it has the highest total time per unit processed, or
2) it has the highest average utilization and total workload. Generally, the bottleneck has a pile of
materials in front of it waiting to be processed.
Difculty: Moderate
Keywords: bottleneck
148) What is contribution margin for a product? How might it be used to manage the productive
resources on a shop foor?
Answer: Contribution margin is the amount each product contributes to profts and overhead.
Determining which product has the highest contribution margin and producing it at the expense of other
products is the traditional method of shop foor management. The Theory of Constraints instead studies
product's contribution margin based on bottleneck usage, which may be entirely diferent.
Difculty: Moderate
7-43
149) What is a Drum-Bufer-Rope system for planning and control?
Answer: Drum-Bufer-Rope (DBR) is a planning and control system based on the theory of constraints
that is often used in manufacturing frms to plan and schedule production. It works by regulating the
fow of work-in-process materials at the bottleneck or the capacity constrained resource (CCR). The
bottleneck schedule is the drum because it sets the beat or the production rate for the entire plant and is
linked to the market demand. The bufer is a time bufer that plans early fows to the bottleneck and thus
protects it from disruption. It also ensures that the bottleneck is never starved for work. A fnished-goods
inventory bufer can also be placed in front of the shipping point in order to protect customer shipping
schedules. Finally, the rope represents the tying of material release to the drum beat, which is the rate at
which the bottleneck controls the throughput of the entire plant. It is thus a communication device to
ensure that raw material is not introduced into the system at a rate faster than what the bottleneck can
handle. Completing the loop, bufer management constantly monitors the execution of incoming
bottleneck work. Working together, the drum, the bufer, and the rope can help managers create a
production schedule that reduces lead times and inventories while simultaneously increasing throughput
and on-time delivery.
Difculty: Moderate
150) Describe three ways that line balancing and line fow layouts are similar to project management and
three ways they are diferent.
Answer: Answers may vary. Line balancing and project management both rely on the completion of
predefned activities in the proper sequence. A line fow may have multiple feeder lines that supply
subassemblies to the main line, similar to subcontractors working on the project in state of partial
completion. Both have anticipated completion times that may not be reached if things don't go smoothly.
The time scale is radically diferent between line balancing and project management; projects tend to take
much longer. Projects also tend to be one of a kind endeavors; line balancing is performed with the
anticipation of high volumes of fairly standardized output. Line fows are created for more routine,
process-oriented work that can be composed of standardized tasks. Projects are typically anything but
routine and far from process-focused.
Difculty: Moderate
Keywords: line balancing, fow layout
7-44
151) You have been assigned a line balancing task and given a list of tasks, their precedence requirements,
and the time needed to accomplish them. As you begin to balance the line, you realize that you must
make some assumptions. What are these assumptions and which of them has the greatest impact on the
success of your balance?
Answer: One assumption that is being made is that the task times are invariant, unless a mean and
standard deviation have both been provided. You must also assume that the task durations will stay
roughly the same, i.e., that learning efects are not signifcantly diferent amongst the tasks. You are also
assuming that the tasks will stay somewhat static, or the line would require rearrangement and possibly
rebalancing with some frequency. You also assume that the precedence is static. Among these, the last
assumption is probably the least tenuous.
Difculty: Moderate
Keywords: line balancing, fow layout
152) How can Theory of Constraints principles be reconciled with line balancing?
Answer: Line balancing strives to assign work to stations such that the amount of work at each station is
equal. Work fows from station to station based on a cycle time that is determined based on the number of
units to be produced per unit time. Theory of Constraints stresses the need to balance fow with demand
and is concerned with preserving fow through the bottleneck, or lowest capacity station. Flow can be
preserved by protecting the bottleneck with protective WIP and making sure that market demand is
sufcient to support continuous bottleneck operation. Line balancing, as explained in the text, assumes
that all task times are constant. So the person performing the balance can try to allocate capacity as evenly
as possible. If task times were stochastic, then fow would not be preserved with classic line balancing
techniques because the lowest capacity work station would occasionally fall idle.
Difculty: Moderate
Keywords: line balancing, TOC, theory of constraints
7-45
153) Schmidt Industries makes four diferent snake traps; the Harlan, the Gaylen, the Leah and the
Matthew. The Harlan sells for $200 and has $40 in parts and $40 in labor; the Gaylen sells for $150 and
requires $30 in parts and $30 in labor; the Leah sells for $100 and has $20 in parts and $20 in labor; and the
Matthew sells for $75 but requires only $10 of parts and $10 of labor. Schmidt Industries has four
machines (we'll call them A, B, C, and D for convenience) that are used in the production of each of these
products. Each of these machines is available for 40 hours a week and there is no setup time required
when shifting from the production of one product to any other. The processing requirements to make one
unit of each product are shown in the table.
Schmidt Industries has monthly fxed costs of $5000 and has a demand forecast of 80 Harlans, 60 Gaylens,
40 Leahs and 20 Matthews for the coming month. How many of each of the four models should Susan,
the operations manager, schedule for production this month?
Answer: The processing requirements for the demand forecast result in a need for:
Machine A: 80 10 + 60 10 + 40 5 + 20 5 = 1700 2400
Machine B: 80 15 + 60 10 + 40 10 + 20 10 = 2300 2400
Machine C: 80 15 + 60 10 + 40 15 + 20 10 = 2500 2400 Bottleneck
Machine D: 80 5 + 60 10 + 40 10 + 20 10 = 1600 2400
The contribution margin per bottleneck minute is:
Harlan: (200 - 40 - 40)/15 = $8/min
Gaylen: (150 - 30 - 30)/10 = $9/min
Leah: (100 - 20 - 20)/15 = $4/min
Matthew: (75 - 10 - 10)/5 = $11/min
Products should be produced in Matthew, Gaylen, Harlan, and Leah order. The product mix is 20
Matthews (using 100 minutes of Machine C); 60 Gaylens (using 600 minutes of Machine C); 80 Harlans
(using 1200 minutes of Machine C); and 33 Leahs (using up the remaining 500 minutes of Machine C
time).
Difculty: Hard
Keywords: capacity, bottleneck
7-46
154) Consider the process shown that is trying to produce to meet a market demand of 500 units per
week.
Step 1: Material release schedule
Step 2: Drilling (capacity is 500 units/week)
Step 3: Tapping (capacity is 450 units/week)
Step 4: Grinding (capacity is 600 units/week)
Step 5: Coating (capacity is 400 units/week)
Step 6: Inspection (capacity is 1000 units/week)
a. Where should bufers be placed?
b. Which resource is the drum?
c. Where should the rope be placed?
d. Which resource is the bottleneck?
e. Which resource is the CCR?
Answer:
a. A constraint bufer should be placed between steps 4 and 5 to protect the bottleneck which is Step 5
(Coating). A shipping bufer should be placed at the end of the line, after Step 6, (Inspection).
b. The resource functioning as the drum is the bottleneck, Step 5.
c. The rope should connect Step 1 and Step 5.
d. The bottleneck is Step 5.
e. A CCR exists if the process with the least capacity can still meet market demand, which is not the case
in this scenario.
Difculty: Moderate
Keywords: drum-bufer-rope, DBR, CCR, capacity constraint resource, bottleneck
7-47
155) Consider the process shown that is trying to produce to meet a market demand of 250 units per
week.
Step 1: Material release schedule
Step 2: Drilling (capacity is 300 units/week)
Step 3: Tapping (capacity is 150 units/week)
Step 4: Grinding (capacity is 300 units/week)
Step 5: Coating (capacity is 200 units/week)
Step 6: Inspection (capacity is 500 units/week)
a. Where should bufers be placed?
b. Which resource is the drum?
c. Where should the rope be placed?
d. Which resource is the bottleneck?
e. Which resource is the CCR?
Answer:
a. A constraint bufer should be placed between steps 2 and 3 to protect the bottleneck which is Step 3
(Tapping). A shipping bufer should be placed at the end of the line, after Step 6, (Inspection).
b. The resource functioning as the drum is the bottleneck, Step 3.
c. The rope should connect Step 1 and Step 3.
d. The bottleneck is Step 3.
e. A CCR exists if the process with the least capacity can still meet market demand, which is not the case
in this scenario.
Difculty: Moderate
Keywords: drum-bufer-rope, DBR, CCR, capacity constraint resource, bottleneck
7-48
156) Balance the assembly line for the tasks contained in the table. The desired output is 240 units per day.
Available production time per day is 480 minutes. What is the efciency for the balanced assembly line?
Work Element Time (Sec.)
Immediate
Predecessor(s)
A 40 ---
B 45 ---
C 55 A
D 55 B
E 65 B
F 40 C, D
G 25 D, E
Answer: For 240 units/day with available time of 480 minutes per day, the cycle time is 2.00 minutes or
120 seconds.
One line balance is:
Station 1 2 3 Totals
Task(s) B, E D, A C, F, G
Work Time 45, 65 55, 40 55, 40, 25 325
Idle Time 10 25 0 35
Efciency =
Idle Time Work Time
Time Work
+

=
35 325
325
+
= 90.28%
There are four other legal assignments possible at the frst work station, AB, BA, AC, and BD. There are a
large number of possible legal balances since the longest two task times sum to 120, which is within the
desired cycle time. A number of possible balances will achieve the three station balance that yields 90.28%
efciency.
Difculty: Moderate
7-49
157) Balance the assembly line for the tasks contained in the table. The desired output is three units per
hour. Available production time per day is eight hours. What is the theoretical minimum number of
stations? What is the efciency for the balanced assembly line?
Work Element Time (Min.)
Immediate
Predecessor(s)
A 5 ---
B 8 A
C 12 A
D 11 B
E 5 C
F 6 D
G 4 D
H 12 E
I 14 G, H
J 9 F
K 8 I
L 3 K, J
Answer: For 3 units/hour the cycle time is 20 minutes.
The theoretical minimum number of stations is 97/20=4.855
One line balance is:
Station 1 2 3 4 5 6 Totals
Task(s) A, C B, D F, J, E H, G I K, L
Work Time 5, 12 8, 11 6, 9, 5 12, 4 14 8, 3 97
Idle Time 3 1 0 4 6 9 23
Efciency =
Idle Time Work Time
Time Work
+

=
23 97
97
+
= 80.8%
Difculty: Moderate
7-50
158) Balance the assembly line using the following task information contained in the table. The desired
output is 360 units per day. Available production time per day is 480 minutes. What is the efciency for
the balanced assembly line?
Work Element Time (Sec.)
Immediate
Predecessor(s)
A 30 ---
B 20 A
C 50 A
D 45 B
E 30 B
F 55 C, D
G 35 D, E
H 40 F
Answer: Cycle time for 360 units in a 480 minute day is 480/360 = 1.33 minutes = 80 seconds
The theoretical minimum number of stations is 4; this balance is one of the 5-station solutions.
Station 1 2 3 4 5 Totals
Task(s) A, C B, D F H, E G
Work Time 30, 50 20, 45 55 40, 30 35 305
Idle Time 0 15 25 10 45 95
Efciency =
Idle Time Work Time
Time Work
+

=
95 305
305
+
= 76.25%
Difculty: Moderate
7-51
159) Balance the line in order to achieve maximum output for this ten activity product. Determine the
number of units produced in a seven hour work day and the total idle time in hours.
Task Time (sec) Predecessor
Z 40 ---
Y 30 Z
X 80 Z
W 75 X, Y
V 15 W
T 55 W
S 35 V
R 40 T
Q 10 R
M 40 S, R
Answer: Cycle time for maximum output is 80 seconds and the theoretical minimum number of stations
is
Station 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Totals
Task(s) Z, Y X W V, T S R, M Q
Work Time 40, 30 80 75 15, 55 70 40, 40 60 420
Idle Time 10 0 5 10 10 0 20 55
Efciency =
Idle Time Work Time
Time Work
+

=
55 420
420
+
= 88.42%
There are 315 units produced in a day.
/unit 80 seconds
s 60 second s 60 minute y 7 hours/da
The total idle time per day at this level of production is 4.8125 hours. (4:48:45 to be precise)
300 units/day 55 seconds idle/unit = 17,325 seconds
ds/hour 3600 secon
onds 17,325 sec
= 4.8125 hours
Difculty: Moderate
7-52
160) Balance the line in order to achieve maximum output for this eight-activity product. Then balance
the line to maximize the efciency of the operation. How do the levels of output (assume an eight hour
day) and line efciencies compare?
Task Time (min) Predecessor
1 10 ---
2 8 Task 1
3 9 Task 1
4 2 Task 2
5 6 Task 3
6 12 Task 4, Task 5
7 7 Task 5
8 5 Task 6, Task 7
Answer: The cycle time for maximum output is 12 minutes. One balance is show below; it has 6 stations,
an increase of one from the theoretical minimum of fve stations. It produces at 81.9% efciency. It
produces a unit every twelve minutes, so over the course of a day it can produce 40 units using six people.
Station 1 2 3 4 5 6 Totals
Task(s) 1 3 2, 4 5 6 7, 8
Work Time 10 9 8, 2 6 12 7, 5 59
Idle Time 2 3 2 6 0 0 13
Efciency =
Idle Time Work Time
Time Work
+

=
13 59
59
+
= 81.94%
The cycle time for maximum efciency is 59 minutes. One balance is show below; it has one station and
produces at 100% efciency. It produces a unit every 59 minutes, so over the course of an eight-hour day it
can produce eight complete units plus get started on a ninth unit using just one person. If the line was
replicated and six workers perfectly cross trained, they could produce 54 units and start on the frst task
for units 55-60.
Station 1 Totals
Task(s) 1, 3, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Work Time 10, 9, 8, 2, 6, 12, 7, 5 59
Idle Time 0 0
Efciency =
Idle Time Work Time
Time Work
+

=
0 59
59
+
= 100%
Difculty: Moderate
7-53

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Operations Management: Processes and Supply Chains, 10e (Krajewski et al.

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