Final answer:
The throughput rate of the Pullman Mfg., Inc. work cell with machines that have a processing time of 15 minutes each and a cycle time of 30 minutes for the cell is 8 units per hour since each machine can produce 2 units per cycle and there are two machines working in parallel. None of the given options are correct.
Step-by-step explanation:
To calculate the throughput rate of the Pullman Mfg., Inc. three-station work cell, with station 1 having two machines operating in parallel, we observe that the entire work cell has a cycle time of 30 minutes.
Throughput rate is defined as the number of units produced over a set period of time.
Here, each machine at station 1 has a processing time of 15 minutes, but since the work cell cycle is 30 minutes, during each cycle, each machine at station 1 can process two units (because 30/15 = 2).
As there are two machines working in parallel, this effectively doubles the station's output to four units per cycle.
Hence, the throughput rate for the entire work cell is the rate at which station 1 can pass units to the subsequent station, which is 4 units per 30 minutes.
To express this rate per hour, we can multiply by 2 (because there are 2 thirty-minute intervals in an hour), resulting in a throughput rate of 4 units ÷ 30 min * 2 = 8 units per hour.
So, none of the given options are correct.
Question: "The Pullman Mfg., Inc. three-station work cell consists of three stations, and at station 1, there are two machines operating in parallel. The product only needs to go through one of the two machines at station 1 before proceeding to station 2. If the processing time for each machine at station 1 is 15 minutes, and the cycle time for the entire work cell is 30 minutes, what is the throughput rate of the work cell?
a.35
b.10
c.360
d.300