Berlin Industries uses a kanban system to manage production of the R-15 subassembly. They have an hourly demand for 250 units and use containers that can hold 50 parts each. It takes 90 minutes to fill and move a container of parts to the right place on the R-15 line that is currently rated at a 20% safety factor.
-If demand is expected to be double the rate planned earlier, how many containers should the kanban system be using?
A)18
B)540
C)100
D)9
E)50

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The correct answer is A.The number of containers needed is equal to the demand rate multiplied by the lead time plus the safety factor. The demand rate is 250 units per hour, the lead time is 90 minutes, and the safety factor is 20%. Therefore, the number of containers needed is 250 * 90 * 1.2 = 27,000. Since the containers can hold 50 parts each, the number of containers needed is 27,000 / 50 = 540. However, since the demand is expected to be double the rate planned earlier, the number of containers needed is 540 * 2 = 1080. Since the containers can hold 50 parts each, the number of containers needed is 1080 / 50 = 18.

Berlin Industries Uses a Kanban System to Manage Production of the R-15