A manufacturer wishes to create a flow line which will produce 555 pumps/day (8 hrs/day). The assembly information for the pump is outlined in the table Q1 below.
i) Calculate the maximum cycle time. (2 marks)
ii) Calculate the minimum number of workstations. (2 marks)
iii) Produce the precedence diagram. (6 marks)
iv) Produce the line design which achieves the required cycle time. (6 marks)
v) Calculate the balance loss based on the longest station time and comment upon the result. (2 marks)
vi) What approaches can be used in practice to reduce the individual cycle time of tasks, so that the overall efficiency of the process can be improved? (3 marks)
TASK TIME (SEC) PREDECESSOR
A 10
B 28 A
C 13 A
D 12 A
E 30 F
F 40 B
G 30 B,C
H 21 D,E
I 21 E
J 12 0
K 16 0
L 18 J,K
M 20 L
N 30 M
F,G,H,I Table Q1