The SCM leader approved the leasing of the vans. The transportation manager expects that it will take his team of drivers some time (days/number of trips) to be as productive with vans as they were with the box trucks. There are 20 drivers. There are 5000 trips per year. Each driver can do one trip per day. There are 21 days per month and 12 months per year; therefore, each driver does 250 trips per year (assumes that each driver takes 2 personal days per year). The transportation manager knows from past experiences that the driver learning is 85%, i.e. the time to accomplish the delivery of all the packages for each assigned route generally declines as more experience (learning) is obtained (at learning rate 85%). The concept (method) suggests that the required time decreases at a given rate (15%) as cumulative experience doubles. The transportation manager knows that the calculations include the following (the learning curve equations):

Y = axⁿ

x = the unit number

Y = number of hours to achieve the xth unit

a = number of hours to achieve the first unit

n= log b/log 2, b = the learning rate (based on doubling)

If all the drivers can complete their routes within 7 hours using the box trucks and the initial trip with the new vans took 12 hours, how long will it take for the drivers to achieve the goal of 8 hours to complete the delivery requirements so that the company does not have to pay overtime at 1.5 times base pay. Based pay is $40 per hour, inclusive of benefits and associated administrative costs. Assume that all drivers have the same rate and capabilities. How much extra will it costs the company in overtime pay during the training period?