Final answer:
To set up a Kanban system, the number of card sets required is calculated based on effective working hours, demand, container capacity, lead time, and safety stock. For the provided scenario, after analyzing the variables, it is determined that 7 Kanban card sets should be authorized.
Step-by-step explanation:
The student's question is about setting up a Kanban system for an assembly process and determining the number of Kanban card sets to authorize.
Calculating Kanban Card Sets
To calculate the number of Kanban card sets, we first need to determine the effective working time per day. Since there are two 8.5-hour shifts with 30 minutes of break per shift, the actual working time per shift is 8 hours (8.5 hours - 0.5 hours break). This gives us a total of 16 working hours per day. The daily demand for parts is thus 80 units/hour * 16 hours/day = 1280 units/day.
Given that the container capacity is 10% of daily demand, each container would have a capacity of 0.10 * 1280 units = 128 units. The mean lead time is 0.6 days, so the lead time demand is 0.6 days * 1280 units/day = 768 units.
With a safety stock of 10%, we need to add another 76.8 units (10% of 768 units) for variability, totaling 844.8 units. Since we cannot have a fraction of a container, we would round up to the nearest whole container, resulting in 845 units.
The number of Kanban card sets is calculated by dividing the total lead time demand with safety stock by the container capacity, 845 units divided by 128 units/container, which equals 6.60. We would round up to ensure we have enough containers, so 7 Kanban card sets should be authorized.