Group In-Class Exercise

Workforce Balancing

Task

This is a group In-Class assignment, which will be assessed (3%). In your group, you are required to produce a workforce plan to best achieve the daily production schedule, in the detailed scenario below. The information provided in the DC Design Exercise provides the background of the DCs volumes and operational information. Assume that the DC has implemented a training schedule of cross-training, and direct workers can be employed in any of the direct areas. Develop a plan to achieve the daily workload.

Scenario

The date is 3 Oct 2022

The workload for the day has just been announced:24 Containers need to be unloaded

960 pallet Putaways

48 Store shipments deadline for meeting the transportation cut-off is 11.59pm.

9,000 Picks

600 Pallet Replenishments from storage to pick location

500 SKUs planned for Cycle Counting

Sector Retail

Operating hours 2 shifts, 8 hours a day Mon-Fri, 6.30am 11.30pm. Assume that the workforce is split equally between the 2 shifts.

Staff 155Indirect (29):

Management - 7

Clerical - 10

Maintenance - 4

Janitorial - 4

Battery Changer - 2

Security - 2

Direct:

Receivers 35

Inventory - 6

Putaway/Replenishment drivers 15

Pickers 25

Shippers - 45

Volumes reasonably constant, seasonal 20% peaks in Apr/May and Oct/Nov.

Mechanical Handling Equipment:

Pump Jacks 10

Single pallet Walkies 20

Double pallet Walkies 10

Forklift Trucks - 15

Pallet Putaway productivity 15 pallets/hour

Pallet Replenishment productivity 15 pallets/hour

Picking productivity 30 picks/hour

Inventory Count productivity 15 SKUs/hour

Inbound Receipts 100 floor-loaded containers per week, productivity 15 man-hours per container.

Outbound Shipping 200 store shipments per week, productivity 10 man-hours per shipment.

Report

The soft copy of the plan is to be formatted in Excel. Expectations are that the report will detail:

All calculations.

Where your workers will be assigned to work.

If you can meet the daily task, and if not, what trade-offs/actions are you prepared to make?

Remember, failure to achieve the daily task is not an option! Hiring staff or getting temporary workers is not an option; think about jobs you may have had what happened when there was too much work, or someone called in sick, what did your Manager ask of anyone working?