Question

If there is a setup time only at station 1 (and not at stations 2 and 3), what will happen when you change from 1 lot of 60 to 2 lots of 30?

Answer 1

Splitting one lot of 60 into two lots of 30 doubles the setup time at station 1, increasing total production time and potentially reducing throughput.

Step-by-step explanation:

When changing from 1 lot of 60 to 2 lots of 30, the setup time at station 1 affects production. Assuming there is setup time only at station 1, having two lots means double the setup time since the setup is repeated for each lot. As a result, total production time increases and may reduce the overall throughput or output rate of the system. If the setup time is significant compared to the processing time of each lot, splitting 60 into two lots of 30 could lead to a notable increase in the total time required to process the same number of items.

Let's consider an example where the setup time is 10 minutes. For one lot of 60, the total time spent on setup is 10 minutes. If we split into two lots of 30, the setup time becomes 10 minutes per lot, totaling 20 minutes. This extra setup time increases the non-value adding activities within the process, decreasing efficiency.