Kicks designs sneakers in crazy colors and patterns for kids of all ages. In the past, the company has outsourced production, but due to new tariffs on imported shoes, they have decided to set up their own production line in-house. As they have learned, the production process consists of seven steps as detailed in the table that follows. Kicks would like your help in setting up their production line. The in-house factory would operate 50 weeks a year, 4 days a week, and 10 hours a day to produce 10,000 pairs of shoes annually. Assuming that one worker would be assigned to each work station on the assembly line, Kicks needs to know how to allocate work elements to workstations so that the production goal of 10,000 pairs of shoes can be met. Specifically, you are asked to: 

a. Draw and label a precedence diagram for the shoe-making process.

b. Calculate the desired cycle time (in minutes) to produce 10,000 pairs of shoes per year.

c. Calculate the theoretical minimum number of workstations.

d. Balance the line and sketch out the resulting workstations. If the number of workstations in your line exceeds the theoretical minimum number, explain why.

e. Determine how many pairs of shoes can actually be produced on your line, and calculate the efficiency of the line.

f. Determine the maximum attainable output of the production line if all shoes made could be sold and the number of workers were not an issue.

Transcribed Image Text:

Label A B с D E F G Elements Cutting uppers Cutting lining socks Closing prep Closing Presswork Lasting Finishing Precedence Time (Min) T A, B с D, E F 6.0 3.2 7.1 10.0 4.7 7.4 6.4