Exercise 1

A manufacturing process consists of three operations. Operation 1 is processed on the machine by

processing one unit at a time. The processing time of a unit is 4 minutes. There are three identical
machines available for this purpose and a part can be processed on any of the available machine.
Operation 2 consists of a heat treatment operation which is done using a furnace. In this furnace,
100 units can be loaded at a time. The time required to process these parts is 2 hours and 30
minutes, regardless of the number of parts loaded in a batch. Also after every batch is completed
there is a setup time of 10 minutes for the next batch. Operation 3 consists of finishing operation.
There is only one machine available for this purpose, but the machine has twin workstations. While
the operator is setting up (unloading, cleaning, and reloading) a part on one workstation, the
processing can happen to the earlier loaded part on the other work station. The actual machining
time for a part is only 2 minutes. Unloading a finished part takes 30 seconds and reloading a part
for machining (including intermediate cleaning) takes another 30 seconds. Assume that after
finishing the part on one workstation, the machine immediately processes the part on other
workstation if is loaded. A part has to be processed on all operations in the sequence of Operation
1, Operation 2, and Operation 3. Which is the bottleneck operation? What is the maximum
production rate that can be using this setup? Assuming that at any given time, there are 300 parts
in the shop floor, what is the throughput time? What should be the ideal batch size (load) for the
batch processor so as to minimize the work in process inventory?
Exercise 2
Consider a three operation flowshop. Operation 1 requires 3.5 minutes to produce one part. There are two
identical machines for that operation and any machine can process one part at a time in 3.5 minutes. Each
machine is manned by 1 person. Operation 2 is a batch processor. The batch processor does not require
any set up. The capacity of a batch is maximum 90 parts at a time. One batch takes 3 hours to complete
irrespective of the size of the batch. The batch processor requires two people to operate and monitor it.
Operation 3 is an inspection bench manned by 4 inspectors. All inspectors are equally skilled. A part can be
inspected by 1 person at a time and take 4 minutes to complete the inspection. The direct labour cost is
Rs. 25000 per worker per month. Assume 26 working days in a month and 2 shifts per day. Each shift has
an actual 9 hour working time. Answer the following:
• Identify the bottleneck operation.
• Calculate the average monthly capacity of the system.
• If the average work in process inventory is 300 parts, calculate the average throughput time.
• Calculate the direct labour cost per unit.
• If some process changes are carried out at the batch processor which will limit the maximum capacity of
the batch processor to 80 parts, but will take only 2 hours to process a batch, will it increase the
average output of the system. If yes, what will be the new average monthly capacity?
Exercise 3
A process consists of two operations – Heat Treatment and Grinding. Heat Treatment is
carried out on one batch processor. There are three identical machines dedicated for Grinding
operation. The Batch Processor for Heat Treatment can process maximum 150 parts at a time
and 3 hours are required for the actual operation, irrespective of the number of parts loaded.
Time to prepare a batch for the Batch Processor consists of two parts - Fixed time
(irrespective of the number of parts) is 30 minutes, and Loading time - 10 seconds per part.
Preparation of a batch is done off-line, meaning that it is possible to prepare the next batch
even when the earlier batch is being processed in the Batch Processor. The Grinding
operation requires 4 minutes per part. Additionally, after every 10 parts, a ‘dressing’ of
grinding wheel is required which requires 3 minutes (Hint: this is some kind of set-up time).
Identify the bottleneck operation. What is the production rate of the system? What is the
work-in-process that should be allowed for most efficient operating?
The company plans to buy one more batch processor of capacity maximum 50
parts and one more grinding machine exactly similar to the existing grinding
machine. The smaller capacity batch processor will have a processing time of 90
minutes irrespective of the number of parts loaded. Batch preparation time is
similar to the existing batch processor. With these additional investments, what
will be the production rate of the system achievable?