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In 1992, George Brown started the Old Oregon Wood Store to manufacture Old Oregon tables. Each table is carefully constructed by hand using the highest-quality oak. Old Oregon tables can support more than 500 pounds, and since the start of the Old Oregon Wood Store, not one table has been returned because of faulty workmanship or structural problems. In addition to being rugged, each table is beautifully finished using a urethane varnish that George developed over 20 years of working with wood-finishing materials. The manufacturing process consists of four steps: preparation, assembly, finishing, and packaging. Each step is performed by one person. In addition to overseeing the entire operation, George does all of the finishing. Tom Surowski performs the preparation step, which involves cutting and forming the basic components of the tables. Leon Davis is in charge of the assembly, and Cathy Stark performs the packaging.

1. What is the fastest way to manufacture Old Oregon tables using the original crew? How many could be made per day?
2. Would production rates and quantities change significantly if George would allow Randy to perform one of the four functions and make one of the original crew the backup person?
3. What is the fastest time to manufacture a table with the original crew if Cathy is moved to either preparation or finishing?
4. Whoever performs the packaging function is severely underutilized. Can you find a better way of utilizing the four-or five-person crew than either giving each a single job or allowing each to manufacture an entire table? How many tables could be manufactured per day with this scheme?

User Melitza
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Final answer:

The fastest way to manufacture Old Oregon tables using the original crew is by task specialization, with each person performing a specific step in the manufacturing process. Production rates and quantities would not change significantly if Randy joined the crew and one of the original members became the backup. Cathy's movement to a different step would not affect the fastest time to manufacture a table. Utilizing the crew through task specialization could increase the number of tables manufactured per day.

Step-by-step explanation:

1. The fastest way to manufacture Old Oregon tables using the original crew is by having each person perform a specific step in the manufacturing process. This means George does the finishing, Tom performs the preparation, Leon handles the assembly, and Cathy takes care of the packaging. Assuming each step takes the same amount of time, and all crew members work efficiently, they would be able to manufacture one table per day.

2. If Randy were to perform one of the four functions and one of the original crew members became the backup person, the production rates and quantities would not change significantly. The crew would still be able to manufacture one table per day.

3. If Cathy were moved to either the preparation or finishing step, the fastest time to manufacture a table with the original crew would not change. They would still be able to manufacture one table per day.

4. To better utilize the crew, they could adopt a task specialization approach. Instead of giving each person a single job or allowing each to manufacture an entire table, they could divide the manufacturing process into smaller tasks and assign each person to specialize in a specific task. For example, one person could cut and form the components, another could assemble the table, another could handle the finishing, and another could take care of the packaging. With this scheme, they could potentially manufacture more than one table per day, depending on the efficiency of the specialized tasks.

User Steve Wasiura
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1. The fastest way to produce the tables is to have the person in-charge of finishing and packaging help with the preparation. Then, the person in-charge of preparation and packaging can help with the assembly. The finishing can also be done by three people. Finally, the packaging step can be helped by assembly and finishing people. This would produce more tables per day.

2. No. It would be better if the backup person can help with the task.

3. Tom could do the packaging since he'd be free after doing his step.

4. The scheme in No. 1 can be used.
User Adavea
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