Zodiac Sound Co. manufactures audio systems, both made-to-order and more mass-produced systems that are typically sold to large-scale manufacturers of electronics equipment. For competitive reasons, the company is trying to increase its processing cycle efficiency (PCE) measure. As a strategy for improving its PCE performance, the company is considering a switch to JIT manufacturing. While the company managers have a fairly good feel for the cost of implementing JIT, they are unsure about the benefits of such a move, both in financial and nonfinancial terms. To help inform the ultimate decision regarding a move to a JIT system, youve been asked to provide some input. Fortunately, youve recently attended a continuing professional education (CPE) workshop on the costs and benefits of moving to JIT and therefore feel comfortable responding to managements request.

Required:

3.	Given the estimated data below, calculate and interpret the PCE for both the current manufacturing process and the proposed process after implementing JIT: (Do not round intermediate calculations and round your final answers to 2 decimal places. (i.e., .1234 = 12.34%))

Activity	Current System		After JIT Implementation
Storage	76	minutes	36	minutes
Inspection	46	minutes	31	minutes
Moving	61	minutes	31	minutes
Processing	76	minutes	46	minutes

4.	What is the percentage change in average PCE anticipated under JIT? (Do not round intermediate calculations and round your answer to the nearest whole number.)