An assembly line consists of 21 tasks grouped into 5 workstations. The sum of the 21 task times is 85 minutes. The largest assigned cycle time is 20 minutes. The efficiency of this line is
A) 4.2%.
B) 17%.
C) 85%.
D) 100%.
E) 126%.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

To calculate the efficiency of an assembly line, we first need to calculate the total cycle time. The cycle time is the time it takes for a unit to go through the entire assembly line. In this case, the largest assigned cycle time is 20 minutes, so we can use that as our total cycle time.

Next, we need to calculate the theoretical maximum production rate, which is the number of units that can be produced in one cycle time. To do this, we divide the total cycle time by the sum of the task times:

20 / 85 = 0.235 (rounded to three decimal places)

This means that theoretically, the assembly line can produce 0.235 units in 20 minutes.

Finally, we need to calculate the actual production rate, which is the number of units produced in one cycle time. Since the largest assigned cycle time is 20 minutes, we can assume that the assembly line is producing one unit every 20 minutes. Therefore, the actual production rate is:

1 / 20 = 0.05

To calculate the efficiency, we divide the actual production rate by the theoretical maximum production rate:

0.05 / 0.235 = 0.2128 (rounded to four decimal places)

So the efficiency of this line is approximately 21.28%, which is closest to choice C, 85%.

An Assembly Line Consists of 21 Tasks Grouped into 5