Stamping The parts are fabricated by a single stamping machine; switching between the two part types, however, requires a setup time of 120 minutes. Once the machine is set up, the run time for each part A is one minute while the run time for each part B is only 30 seconds. Currently, the stamping machine rotates its production between one batch of 360 for part A and one batch of 720 for part B. Completed parts move from the stamping machine to the painting station. Painting At the painting station, a robot paints the parts in one of five colors. The robot takes 30 seconds to paint one part A and 10 seconds to paint one part B. The robot can easily switch between painting the two parts, but a switch in color does require 20 minutes for setup. Once a piece is painted, it must wait 120 minutes to dry before moving to assembly. The painting robot is currently programmed to change color every time it finishes 360 component sets (i.e., 360 of part A and 720 of part B). Assembly Workers then manually assemble parts of the same color to form the finished product. One base (part A) and two sides (two part Bs), and several small purchased components are required for each unit of a final product. It takes 27 minutes to assemble a single unit.

H R Anna 1. Identify the bottleneck for the current process and calculate the average weekly capacity in terms of the # of units of final product produced per week. NOTE: Setup time for stamping is for each time the activity changes between making A pieces and making B pieces.

Stamping Painting Assembly Entire Process Capacity

Bottleneck?

Stamping Painting Assembly

2. What is the average utilization of the workers and the machines?

Stamping Painting Assembly Utilization

3. What impact would doubling the batch sizes at the stamping operation have on average daily capacity? Give numerical answer. Explain qualitatively what other effects this change would have.

Stamping Painting Assembly Entire Process Capacity

Bottleneck?

Stamping Painting Assembly

4. If batch sizes at stamping are doubled (see question 3), what is the average utilization of the workers and machines?

Stamping Painting Assembly Utilization

5. Management is considering an innovation to reduce setup time to 20 minutes for the stamping machine. What would happen to average capacity if the batch size remained the same as in the initial case description (i.e., 360 for A and 720 for B)? Give a numerical answer. What would be the potential benefits of such a reduction in setup time if the batch sizes were allowed to change?

Explain. Stamping Painting Assembly. Entire Process Capacity

Bottleneck?

Stamping Painting Assembly Utilization