Question

Heavey Compressors uses a lean production assembly line to make its compressors. In one assembly area, the demand is 100 parts per eight-hour day. It uses a container that holds eight parts. It typically takes about six hours to round-trip a container from one work center to the next and back again. Heavey also desires to hold 15 percent safety stock of this part in the system.

The number of containers Heavey Compressors should be using is containers.

Answer 1

Heavey Compressors should be using 15 containers.

Step-by-step explanation:

The number of containers Heavey Compressors should be using is 15.

First, we need to calculate the total demand per day, including the safety stock. The demand is 100 parts per day, and the safety stock is 15% of that. So, the total demand with safety stock is 100 + (100 * 0.15) = 115 parts per day.

Next, we need to calculate the number of containers. Each container holds 8 parts. So, the number of containers needed is the total demand divided by the number of parts per container: 115 / 8 = 14.375. Since we can't have a fraction of a container, we need to round up to the nearest whole number. Therefore, Heavey Compressors should be using 15 containers.

Answer 2

Heavey Compressors should be using approximately 14 containers to meet the demand and hold the necessary safety stock.

Step-by-step explanation:

To determine the number of containers Heavey Compressors should be using, we first need to calculate the total lead time, which includes the time it takes for a container to travel from one work center to the next and back. In this case, it takes about 6 hours to round-trip a container. The demand is 100 parts per eight-hour day, so we can calculate the daily demand as 100/8 = 12.5 parts per hour. Next, we need to factor in the safety stock, which is 15% of the demand. The safety stock is calculated as 12.5 * 0.15 = 1.875 parts per hour. Adding the safety stock to the daily demand, we get 12.5 + 1.875 = 14.375 parts per hour.

Since each container holds 8 parts, we can divide the total demand by the number of parts per container to get the number of containers needed per hour. So, 14.375 / 8 = 1.796875 containers per hour. Since we're calculating for a full eight-hour day, we multiply the containers per hour by 8, resulting in a total of 1.796875 * 8 = 14.375 containers per day.

Therefore, Heavey Compressors should be using approximately 14 containers to meet the demand and hold the necessary safety stock.