The Dynaco Manufacturing Company produces a product in a process consisting of operations of five machines. The probability distribution of the number of machines that will break down in a week is as follows:
Machine Breakdowns per Week Probability
0 .................0.10
1 .................0.10
2 .................0.20
3 ....................0.25
4 .................0.30
5 .................0.05
1.00
Every time a machine breaks down at the Dynaco Manufacturing Company, either one, two, or three hours are required to fix it, according to the following probability distribution:
Repair Time (hours) Probability
1 ...............0.30
2 ...............0.50
3 ...............0.20
1.00
a. Simulate the repair time for 20 weeks and compute the average weekly repair time.
b. If the random numbers that are used to simulate breakdowns per week are also used to simulate repair time per breakdown, will the results be affected in any way? Explain.
c. If it costs $50 per hour to repair a machine when it breaks down (including lost productivity), determine the average weekly breakdown cost.
d. The Dynaco Company is considering a preventive maintenance program that would alter probabilities of machine breakdowns per week as follows:
Machine Breakdowns per Week Probability
0 ...............0.20
1 .....................0.30
2 ..................0.20
3 ..................0.15
4 ...............0.10
5 ...............0.05
1.00
The weekly cost of the preventive maintenance program is $150. Using simulation, determine whether the company should institute the preventive maintenance program.