QRS Corp. is designing a product layout for a new product. They plan to use this production line 10 hours a day in order to meet forecasted demand of 900 units per day. The following table describes the tasks necessary to produce this product:
For output to equal forecasted demand, what should be the actual cycle time for this production?
A) 32 seconds
B) 38 seconds
C) 40 seconds
D) 76 seconds
E) 152 seconds

Question

QRS Corp. is designing a product layout for a new product. They plan to use this production line 10 hours a day in order to meet forecasted demand of 900 units per day. The following table describes the tasks necessary to produce this product: 
For output to equal forecasted demand, what should be the actual cycle time for this production?
A) 32 seconds 
B) 38 seconds 
C) 40 seconds 
D) 76 seconds 
E) 152 seconds

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

To calculate the actual cycle time, we need to first find the bottleneck, which is the task with the maximum time per unit (TPU). In this case, it is Task C with a TPU of 60 seconds.

Next, we use the formula: 
Actual Cycle Time = Total Task Time / Number of Workstations

Total Task Time = (45+60+24+30+18) seconds = 177 seconds

Number of Workstations = 10 hours x 3600 seconds/hour / actual production time per unit = 10 x 3600 / 900 = 40 workstations

Actual Cycle Time = 177 seconds / 40 workstations = 4.425 seconds or approximately 40 seconds (rounded up to the nearest second).

QRS Corp Is Designing a Product Layout for a New Product