Q1: Does the current line meet cycle time requirements (maximum of 8 hours)?

Q2: If not, what is the minimum cost solution to satisfy the 8-hr cycle time requirement?

Q3: Demand is expected to double within the next few months.

a. Find a minimum cost feasible capacity design for the line to support the increased demand.

b. Does it meet the required 8-hour cycle time limit?

c. If not, propose a minimum cost solution.

John Sterling is the production manager of a four-station line with 2 machines per station and currently supporting a load of 1 job per hour. As a result of customer requests for shorter lead times and the expectation that they will result in much higher sales, John has been asked to perform a detailed analysis of the capacity of the production line and its ability to satisfy a lead time of no more than 8 hours, as well as to draft a plan for capacity growth. As a first step, John focused on collecting data to understand the performance of the current system. After some analysis of the historical data available, he concluded that the job arrival variability was moderate and estimated that the squared coefficient of variation was Ca2=1. John then painstakingly gathered data from all operations to estimate the effective processing times and squared coefficient of variations of the four stations. They are provided in the table below. To prepare a plan for growth in the production output, John got quotes for the purchase of each of the machines (see last row in table above) and estimated that the squared coefficient of variation of processing at any of the stations can be cut in half (only once per station) by implementing variability reduction measures at a cost of $30,000 each. Armed with all his data, John now needs your help in answering the following questions