Table 5.4
The Superior Management Company assembles muffalettas in The Big Easy. The steps to making a world class sandwich and the time required (in seconds) for each step are shown in the table.

-Customers demand muffalettas at the rate of 20 sandwiches per hour. Use the information in Table 5.4 to determine how many workstations are needed to balance this line to maximum efficiency.
A) 4
B) 5
C) 6
D) 7

Question

Table 5.4
The Superior Management Company assembles muffalettas in The Big Easy. The steps to making a world class sandwich and the time required (in seconds) for each step are shown in the table.
 
-Customers demand muffalettas at the rate of 20 sandwiches per hour. Use the information in Table 5.4 to determine how many workstations are needed to balance this line to maximum efficiency.
A) 4 
B) 5 
C) 6 
D) 7

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

To balance the assembly line, we need to calculate the cycle time, which is the maximum amount of time a workstation can take to complete its tasks. The total time required to make one sandwich is:

15 + 2 + 5 + 7 + 3 + 2 + 3 = 37 seconds

To meet the demand of 20 sandwiches per hour, we need a production rate of:

20 sandwiches/hour ÷ 60 minutes/hour = 0.333 sandwiches/minute

The cycle time is therefore:

Cycle time = 1 ÷ 0.333 = 3 minutes = 180 seconds

To balance the line, we need to assign tasks to workstations in such a way that the cycle time is not exceeded. Starting with the workstation with the longest task time, we assign tasks until we reach the cycle time. Then we move on to the next workstation and continue until all tasks are assigned.

Using this method, we can see that we need five workstations:

Workstation 1: 15 seconds (make bread)
Workstation 2: 2 seconds (add olive salad)
Workstation 3: 5 seconds (add cheese)
Workstation 4: 7 seconds (add meat)
Workstation 5: 3 seconds (cut sandwich)

The total task time is 15 + 2 + 5 + 7 + 3 = 32 seconds, which is less than the cycle time of 180 seconds. Therefore, we do not need any more workstations. Thus, the answer is B) 5.

Table 5.4 The Superior Management Company Assembles Muffalettas in the Big Easy