Use this scenario for the following question(s).
The process design team at a manufacturer has broken an assembly process into eight basic steps, each with a required time, and predecessor as shown in the table. There are 7.5 productive hours available in a day and the manufacturer wishes to produce 400 units. Balance the line by assigning tasks to workstations to fill up as much takt time as possible. Break ties by assigning the longest task first.
$$\begin{array} { | c | c | c | }
\hline \text { Task } & \text { Time } ( \mathrm { sec } ) & \text { Predecessor } \
\hline \text { A } & 45 & \cdots \
\hline \text { B } & 50 & \text { A } \
\hline \text { C } & 20 & \text { A } \
\hline \text { D } & 55 & \text { A } \
\hline \text { E } & 15 & \text { D } \
\hline \text { F } & 65 & \text { D } \
\hline \text { G } & 25 & \text { E } \
\hline \text { H } & 35 & \text { B, C, F, G } \
\hline
\end{array}$$
-Refer to the scenario above. The process engineer calculates the takt time and examines the task times indicated in the table. He decides to use the minimum cycle time instead and have the workers leave early each day once they have built 400 units. How much earlier would the workers leave?
A)12 minutes and 53.3 seconds
B)14 minutes and 20 seconds
C)16 minutes and 40 seconds
D)18 minutes and 15 seconds

Question

Use this scenario for the following question(s).
The process design team at a manufacturer has broken an assembly process into eight basic steps, each with a required time, and predecessor as shown in the table. There are 7.5 productive hours available in a day and the manufacturer wishes to produce 400 units. Balance the line by assigning tasks to workstations to fill up as much takt time as possible. Break ties by assigning the longest task first.
 $$\begin{array} { | c | c | c | } 
\hline \text { Task } & \text { Time } ( \mathrm { sec } ) & \text { Predecessor } \
\hline \text { A } & 45 & \cdots \
\hline \text { B } & 50 & \text { A } \
\hline \text { C } & 20 & \text { A } \
\hline \text { D } & 55 & \text { A } \
\hline \text { E } & 15 & \text { D } \
\hline \text { F } & 65 & \text { D } \
\hline \text { G } & 25 & \text { E } \
\hline \text { H } & 35 & \text { B, C, F, G } \
\hline
\end{array}$$
-Refer to the scenario above. The process engineer calculates the takt time and examines the task times indicated in the table. He decides to use the minimum cycle time instead and have the workers leave early each day once they have built 400 units. How much earlier would the workers leave?
A)12 minutes and 53.3 seconds
B)14 minutes and 20 seconds
C)16 minutes and 40 seconds
D)18 minutes and 15 seconds

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

First, calculate the takt time: $ \text{Takt time} = \frac{\text{Available time per day}}{\text{Demand per day}} $. With 7.5 hours available (450 minutes or 27,000 seconds) and a demand of 400 units, the takt time is $ \frac{27000}{400} = 67.5 $ seconds per unit. The minimum cycle time is determined by the longest task, which is task F at 65 seconds. Since the takt time is 67.5 seconds and the longest task dictates a cycle time of 65 seconds, the line operates at the cycle time of 65 seconds, not the takt time. The difference in time saved per unit is $ 67.5 - 65 = 2.5 $ seconds. Over 400 units, this amounts to $ 400 \times 2.5 = 1000 $ seconds saved, or $ 16 $ minutes and $ 40 $ seconds.

Use This Scenario for the Following Question(s) -Refer to the Scenario Above