A former construction company executive just started a new company called Cookie-Cutter Homes. The company only makes one home type, so as to maximize the learning curve effect. The entrepreneur assumes that his company will realize a 90 per cent learning curve effect (Table 3). The first home took 200 days to complete. Table 3: 90% Learning Rate (n cumulative production) n 1 2 3 4 6 7 8 9 10 Blank 1.00000 0.95000 0.91540 0.88905 0.86784 0.85013 0.83496 0.82172 0.80998 0.79945 n 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 (a) How long will it take to produce the 10th home? January February March April May June Blank 0.78991 0.78120 0.77320 0.76580 0.75891 0.75249 0.74646 0.74080 0.73545 0.73039 n 20 30 20 40 30 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 Each employee averages 250 hours per month. The production rate forecast (Table 4) is as follows: Table 4: Production rate for the year Month Production Rate (units) Month Production Rate (units) July August September October November December Blank 0.72559 0.72102 0.71666 0.71251 0.70853 0.70472 0.70106 0.69754 0.69416 0.69090 (b) What is the maximum number of employees required next year? 20 40 30 30 10 10 N35 9036