A Utah hospital decided to streamline its surgical suite operation. In order to speed things up, the nurses in charge studied how much time patients actually spent in various activities. They found that on average, a patient scheduled for an operation spent about 1 hours waiting, and 1.5 hours in moving from lab to x-ray to the operating room. The average operation takes 90 minutes. What is the MCE?
A) 100%
B) 60%
C) 50%
D) 37.5%
E) 20%

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

To calculate the MCE (Manufacturing Cycle Efficiency), we need to divide the value-added time by the total lead time.

Value-added time = time spent in the operating room during surgery = 90 minutes.

Total lead time = waiting time + time spent in moving from lab to x-ray to the operating room + operation time

Total lead time = 1 hour + 1.5 hours + 90 minutes = 3.5 hours

Converting hours to minutes, total lead time = 210 minutes

Therefore, MCE = (Value-added time / Total lead time) x 100%
MCE = (90 minutes / 210 minutes) x 100%
MCE = 0.4286 x 100%
MCE ≈ 37.5%

Thus, the best choice is D) 37.5%.

A Utah Hospital Decided to Streamline Its Surgical Suite Operation