Question

A manufacturing process consists of three sequential stations: |Station A| ---> |Station B| ---> |Station C|. Determine the flow time (lead time) for the first unit to make it through this process. Enter your result in minutes rounded to 2 decimal places. The station capacities are given below:

Station A: 24.5 units/hour
Station B: 9.0 units/hour
Station C: 14.9 units/hour

a) 0.95 minutes
b) 1.69 minutes
c) 2.42 minutes
d) 3.18 minutes

Answer 1

The flow time for the first unit to make it through a manufacturing process with three sequential stations is determined by the sum of individual station processing times, yielding a total of 13.14 minutes after rounding to two decimal places.

Step-by-step explanation:

To calculate the flow time (or lead time) for the first unit to make it through the manufacturing process from Station A to Station C, we need to consider the capacities of each station. The flow time is the time it takes for one unit to complete the entire process starting from Station A and ending at Station C.

To determine the flow time (lead time) for the first unit to make it through the process, we need to calculate the total time it takes for the unit to pass through each station. First, we calculate the time it takes for the unit to pass through Station A, which is 1 hour / 24.5 units/hour = 0.04082 hours per unit. Next, we calculate the time it takes for the unit to pass through Station B, which is 1 hour / 9.0 units/hour = 0.11111 hours per unit. Finally, we calculate the time it takes for the unit to pass through Station C, which is 1 hour / 14.9 units/hour = 0.06711 hours per unit. Adding the times for each station, we get 0.04082 + 0.11111 + 0.06711 = 0.21804 hours, or approximately 13.08 minutes. Therefore, the flow time for the first unit to make it through this process is approximately 13.08 minutes.

The capacity of Station A is 24.5 units/hour, which means it can handle 1 unit in (60 / 24.5) minutes. Similarly, Station B's capacity is 9.0 units/hour, and the time for one unit is (60 / 9.0) minutes. For Station C, with a capacity of 14.9 units/hour, the time for one unit is calculated as (60 / 14.9) minutes.

Let's now calculate the time taken by each station:

• Station A: (60 / 24.5) = 2.4490 minutes
• Station B: (60 / 9.0) = 6.6667 minutes
• Station C: (60 / 14.9) = 4.0268 minutes

The total flow time is the sum of times for each station:

Total flow time = 2.4490 + 6.6667 + 4.0268 = 13.1425 minutes

Rounded to two decimal places, the flow time is 13.14 minutes.