Perform a capacity analysis of the process given below and answer questions #16, #17, and #18 to help fix the process. The numbers in parenthesis (#) are the time in minutes to complete one unit of work. Demand on the process averages 27 units per hour and each unit must be worked on by all five stages. Administrative clerks do Stages A and B. The assistant manager does Stages D and E. The coding specialist does Stage C.
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-The total process (throughput) capacity in units per hour for the five stage process, A to D, assuming 3 administrative clerks, 2 coding specialist, and 4 assistant managers on duty is:
A) less than 10 units per hour.
B) more than 10 units but less than or equal to 20 units.
C) more than 20 units but less than or equal to 30 units.
D) more than 30 units but less than or equal to 40 units.

Question

Perform a capacity analysis of the process given below and answer questions #16, #17, and #18 to help fix the process. The numbers in parenthesis (#) are the time in minutes to complete one unit of work. Demand on the process averages 27 units per hour and each unit must be worked on by all five stages. Administrative clerks do Stages A and B. The assistant manager does Stages D and E. The coding specialist does Stage C.
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-The total process (throughput) capacity in units per hour for the five stage process, A to D, assuming 3 administrative clerks, 2 coding specialist, and 4 assistant managers on duty is:
A) less than 10 units per hour. 
B) more than 10 units but less than or equal to 20 units. 
C) more than 20 units but less than or equal to 30 units. 
D) more than 30 units but less than or equal to 40 units.

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

First, we need to find the bottleneck stage by calculating the time required for each stage to process one unit of work:

Stage A = 2 minutes/unit
Stage B = 3 minutes/unit
Stage C = 5 minutes/unit
Stage D = 2 minutes/unit
Stage E = 1 minute/unit

The bottleneck stage is Stage C, with a processing time of 5 minutes/unit.

Next, we can calculate the capacity of the entire process:

Capacity = 60 minutes/hour ÷ (2 + 3 + 5 + 2 + 1) minutes/unit = 60/13 units/hour

However, we need to factor in the number of employees available for each stage. Based on the question, we have:

3 administrative clerks for Stages A and B (2 stages)
2 coding specialists for Stage C (1 stage)
4 assistant managers for Stages D and E (2 stages)

Therefore, the effective capacity of each stage is:

Stage A = 3 clerks × 1 unit/2 minutes = 1.5 units/minute
Stage B = 3 clerks × 1 unit/3 minutes = 1 unit/minute
Stage C = 2 specialists × 1 unit/5 minutes = 0.4 units/minute
Stage D = 4 managers × 1 unit/2 minutes = 2 units/minute
Stage E = 4 managers × 1 unit/1 minute = 4 units/minute

We can see that Stages A and B have excess capacity compared to the bottleneck stage C, and therefore their capacity is not limiting the overall process capacity. Similarly, Stages D and E have more than enough capacity to handle the demand. Therefore, the effective capacity of the entire process is limited by the capacity of Stage C:

Effective capacity = 0.4 units/minute × 60 minutes/hour = 24 units/hour

Since the demand is 27 units per hour, the process is not capable of meeting the demand and would need to be improved or adjusted. However, based on the given information, the best choice is C, which is the closest option to the effective capacity of 24 units/hour.

Perform a Capacity Analysis of the Process Given Below and Answer