9. Consider a single station that processes two items, A and B. Item A arrives at a rate of 10 per hour.

r. Setup times are 5 hours, and

the time it takes to process one part is 1 minute. Item B arrives at a rate of 20 per hour. The setup time is 4 hours, and the unit
process time is 2 minutes. Arrival and process variability is moderate (that is, ca= ce = 1) regardless of the batch size (just assume
they are).

a. What is the minimum lot size for A for which the system is stable (assume B has an infinite lot size)?

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K = 61 units

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K = 241 units
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 b. Make a spreadsheet and find the lot sizes for A and B that minimize average cycle time.

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Cycle Time of Item-B corresponding to various lot sizes
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10. Consider a balanced and stable line with moderate variability and large buffers between stations. The line uses a push protocol, so
that releases to the line are independent of line status. The capacity of the line is rb, and the utilization is fairly high. What happens
to throughput and cycle time when we do the following?
= ×
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2 1−
a. Reduce the buffer sizes and allow blocking at all stations except the first where jobs balk if the buffer is full (i.e., they go
away if there is no room). – number of jobs will increase, TH decreases. The max WIP and CT will decrease. Reducing buffer
size will decrease TH & CT.
b. Reduce the variability in all process times. – Decrease in variability will decrease WIP and CT, TH will stay the same
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 c. Unbalance the line, but do not change rb. – increase in capacity will increase the TH and decrease CT
d. Increase the variability in the process times. – increase in variability of one station, the WIP and CT will increase, TH remains
the same.
e. Decrease the arrival rate. – directly proportional to U and CT of a line…utilization and cycle time would reduce
f. Decrease the variability in the process times and reduce the buffer sizes as in (a). Compare to the situation in (a). –
increase in variability and reduction in buffer size, the U and CT will decrease – TH will remain the same

11. A particular workstation has a capacity of 1,000 units per day and variability is moderate, such that V =(ca2 + ce2) / 2 = 1. Demand
is currently 900 units per day. Suppose management has decided that cycle times should be no longer than 11 2 times raw process
time.
Capacity (C)= 1,000 units per day
Demand (D)= 900 units per day
Variability = =1
a. What is the current cycle time in multiples of the raw process time?

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b. If variability is not changed, what would the capacity have to be in order to meet the cycle time and demand
requirements? What percentage increase does this represent?
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 c. If capacity is not changed, what value would be needed for V in order to meet the cycle time and demand requirements?
What percentage decrease does this represent (compare CVs, not SCVs)?

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d. Discuss a realistic strategy for achieving management’s goal.

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