The following information relates to Lancashire Manufacturing: To produce a unit of product: $\begin{array}{ll}
\text { Mixing dep artment } & 3 \text { minutes per unit } \
\text { Colding department } & 5 \text { minutes per unit } \
\text { Casting department } & 7 \text { minutes per unit } \
\text { Finishing department } & 4 \text { minutes per unit }
\end{array}$ There is a wait time of 8 minutes before the mixing department begins a batch, 5 minutes between the mixing and molding departments, a move and pre-wait between molding and casting of 10 minutes, and a move and pre-wait between the casting and finishing departments of 12 minutes.
Which area represents the bottleneck operation?
A)finishing
B)casting
C)molding
D)mixing

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The bottleneck operation is determined by identifying the department with the longest total processing time (including the operation time and any wait/move/pre-wait times directly before it). The casting department has the longest operation time of 7 minutes, and when adding the move and pre-wait time of 10 minutes before it, it totals 17 minutes, making it the longest and thus the bottleneck.

The Following Information Relates to Lancashire Manufacturing: to Produce a Unit