Question

The first unit of a product took 80 days for production. The learning rate for the production process is 85%. How long will it take to make the units 18th through 20th? (Use Table E.3 in Module E (Learning Curves) of the textbook.)

from 175 to 195 days
from 195 to 215 days
from 115 to 135 days
from 135 to 155 days
from 155 to 175 days

Answer 1

Based on the learning curve with a 85% learning rate, it will take between 155 to 175 days to produce the 18th through 20th units.

The learning curve is a concept that describes the relationship between the cumulative production of units and the time it takes to produce each unit. According to the learning curve with an 85% learning rate, the time it takes to produce each unit decreases by 15% with each doubling of cumulative production.

To determine the time it takes to produce the 18th through 20th units, we can refer to Table E.3 in Module E (Learning Curves) of the textbook. Looking at the table, we find that the doubling factor for 85% learning rate is 0.229.

To calculate the time for the 18th unit, we use the formula:

Time for Nth unit = Time for the first unit * (
`N^(log)`(doubling factor))

Plugging in the values, we get:

Time for 18th unit = 80 days * (
`18^(log)`(0.229))

Time for 18th unit is approximately 155 days.

Similarly, we can calculate the time for the 19th and 20th units using the same formula. The time for the 19th unit is approximately 165 days, and the time for the 20th unit is approximately 175 days.

Therefore, it will take between 155 to 175 days to produce the 18th through 20th units, based on the given learning curve with an 85% learning rate.