Question

Compute the capacity (bottleneck rate) in jobs per hour (jph) of the following configurations and record your numerical answers (in order) to the nearest tenth of jph. (Enter numbers only):

a. A station with two (2) machines operating in parallel with 5-minute process times (te) at each machine.

b. A balanced line with two (2) series single-machine stations, both with average processing times (te) of 10 minutes.

c. A line with four (4) single machine stations in series, where the average processing times are:

15, 18, 10, & 12 minutes respectively.

d. A four (4) station line with multi-machine stations A, B, C, & D, where the number of parallel machines are 2, 6 10, & 4 respectively. The average processing times (te) at each station are 10, 24, 40, & 18 minutes respectively (see table below).

Process Line with series stations & parallel machines per station Question (d)

Station	te(minutes)	te(hours)		Machine jph(1/te)	Machines/ station	Station jph
A	10				2
B	24				6
C	40				10
D	18				4
					Minimum rate (rb) =

Answer 1

a. A station with two (2) machines operating in parallel with 5-minute process times (te) at each machine.
no of machines	2
cycle time/machine	5	min
capacity per machine	12	parts/hour
since we have 2 machines processing 12 parts/hour.
total station capacity = 2*12	24	parts/hour
b. A balanced line with two (2) series single-machine stations, both with average processing times (te) of 10 minutes.
te	10	min/part
capacity of one machine	6	parts/hour
since, the machines are in series,
total station capacity	6	parts/hour
c. A line with four (4) single machine stations in series, where the average processing times are:
15, 18, 10, & 12 minutes respectively.
station	te (min)	capacity (parts/hour)
1	15	4.0
2	18	3.3
3	10	6.0
4	12	5.0
Line capacity (bottleneck capacity)		3.3	parts/hour
d. A four (4) station line with multi-machine stations A, B, C, & D, where the number of parallel machines are 2, 6 10, & 4 respectively. The average processing times (te) at each station are 10, 24, 40, & 18 minutes respectively (see table below).
Process Line with series stations & parallel machines per station Question (d)
Station	te(minutes)	te(hours)	Machine jph(1/te)	Machines/ station	Station jph
A	10	0.17	6.0	2	12
B	24	0.40	2.5	6	15
C	40	0.67	1.5	10	15
D	18	0.30	3.3	4	13.33333
				Minimum rate (rb) =	12

formulae used: