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 24 sandwiches per hour. Use the information in Table 5.4 to determine the minimum number of work stations needed to achieve exactly the output rate of customer demand.
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 24 sandwiches per hour. Use the information in Table 5.4 to determine the minimum number of work stations needed to achieve exactly the output rate of customer demand.
A) 4 
B) 5 
C) 6 
D) 7

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The minimum number of work stations needed is determined by dividing the total task time by the cycle time (which is the inverse of the demand rate). If the total task time is not provided, it's assumed from the context that it's a calculation based on given or implied task times for each station. Since the demand rate is 24 sandwiches per hour, the cycle time is 60 minutes / 24 sandwiches = 2.5 minutes per sandwich. Without the specific task times from Table 5.4, we can't calculate the exact number of stations, but the question seems to expect knowledge of that table or an understanding of the principles of line balancing and work station allocation. Given the options and the typical process for making sandwiches efficiently, a minimum of 6 stations would be a reasonable requirement to meet the exact output rate, assuming each station's task is appropriately balanced to fit within the cycle time.

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