A consultant needs to locate four departments-waiting room (W),checkup room (c),laboratory (L),and exercise room (E)-in four areas (I,II,III,IV)of a new facility.He wants to minimize interdepartmental transportation costs associated with the nurses escorting patients,which he expects to be $.10 per patient per metre.He has prepared the following distance and flow matrices: What are total weekly costs for the least costly process layout?

Question

A consultant needs to locate four departments-waiting room (W),checkup room (c),laboratory (L),and exercise room (E)-in four areas (I,II,III,IV)of a new facility.He wants to minimize interdepartmental transportation costs associated with the nurses escorting patients,which he expects to be $.10 per patient per metre.He has prepared the following distance and flow matrices:  What are total weekly costs for the least costly process layout?

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

We need to find the arrangement that minimizes the total cost. We can calculate the total cost for each arrangement by multiplying the distance matrix by the flow matrix, and then multiplying the result by the transportation cost per meter. The total cost for each arrangement is:

Arrangement I: $462
Arrangement II: $276
Arrangement III: $342
Arrangement IV: $217

Arrangement IV has the lowest total cost, so it is the best choice. Therefore, the answer is B.

A Consultant Needs to Locate Four Departments-Waiting Room (W),checkup Room