Answer: We can identify the bottleneck in the process by calculating the processing times for each product at each resource. Assuming that each resource can process one unit of a product per hour, we can use the following table to calculate the processing times
Explanation: Using the table, we can calculate the processing times for each product at each resource by adding up the time required for each resource to process one unit of the product. For example, the processing time for product A at resource 1 is 1 hour, resource 2 is 2 hours, and so on.
Based on the table, we can see that the bottleneck resource is resource 4, which has the longest processing time for all three products. The maximum capacity of the process is therefore limited by the capacity of resource 4, which operates for 8 hours per day.
We also need to determine the maximum flow rate for each flow unit, taking into account the demand mix specified in the problem. For every four units of product A, we need to produce five units of product B and six units of product C.
Given the demand mix and the maximum capacity of the bottleneck resource, we can calculate the maximum flow rates for each product as follows:
For product A, the flow rate is 40 units per day, or 5 units per hour (40/8). Since the processing time for product A at the bottleneck resource is 3 hours, the maximum flow rate for product A is 5/3 = 1.67 units per hour.
For product B, the flow rate is 50 units per day, or 6.25 units per hour (50/8). Since the processing time for product B at the bottleneck resource is 3 hours, the maximum flow rate for product B is 6.25/3 = 2.08 units per hour.
For product C, the flow rate is 60 units per day, or 7.5 units per hour (60/8). Since the processing time for product C at the bottleneck resource is 3 hours, the maximum flow rate for product C is 7.5/3 = 2.5 units per hour.