16-2.

As local developers prepare for an increase in housing starts, they must anticipate their demand for various
materials. One such material is tile. Used in bathrooms, kitchens, and for decoration, tiles come in many shapes, colors,
and sizes. In order to accommodate the varying needs, the tile manufacturer must schedule its production efficiently.
Each month developers order 30,000 boxes of quarry tile, 15,000 boxes of Italian mosaic tile, and 45,000 boxes of 4-
inch bathroom tile. Determine a mixed-model sequence that will efficiently meet these needs. Assume 30 days per
month

16.3 An
assembly
station is
asked to
process
100 circuit
boards
per hour. It
takes 20
minutes to
receive
the necessary

components from the previous workstation. Completed circuit boards are placed in a rack that will hold 10 boards.
The rack must be full before it is sent on to the next workstation. If the factory uses a safety factor of 10%, how many
kanbans are needed for the circuit board assembly process?
16.5 It takes Aaron 15 minutes to produce 10 widgets to fill a container and 5 minutes to transport the container to the
next station, where Maria works. Maria’s process take about 30 minutes. The factory uses a safety factor of 20%.
Currently, five kanbans rotate between Aaron and Maria’s stations. What is the approximate demand for widgets?

16.6 Stan Weakly can sort a bin of 100 letters in 10 minutes. He typically receives 600 letters an hour. A truck arrives with

more bins every 30 minutes. The office uses a safety factor of 10%. How many kanbans are needed for the letter-sorting

process?
16.7 The office administrator wishes to decrease the number of kanbans in the letter-sorting process described in Problem
16-6. Which of the following alternatives has the greatest effect on reducing the number of kanbans?

a. Eliminating the safety factor.

b. Receiving truck deliveries every 15 minutes

c. Increasing the bin capacity to 300 letters

What is the effect on inventory levels of decreasing the number of kanbans?

16.11 Universal Motors installed a mixed model assembly line at its Huntsville plant last year when demand for SUV’s was

still strong. With the rising gas prices, however, SUV and van sales have plummeted, and demand for smaller more fuel

efficient cars has surged. The plant has the capacity to produce 200 vehicles per day. Monthly demand for cars is
estimated at 2000 per month, vans at 1000 per month and SUVs at 500 per month. The plant is operating at a slowdown
schedule of 20 days per month.

a. Design a production sequence that will meet demand and level production of the various models.

b. How many times will that sequence be repeated per day?

c. Explain how the sequence you propose allows quicker adjustments to demand changes. What impact does it have on
component demand?
16.12 Solvo produces three types of trucks on one assembly line: the long-haul (L), the short-haul (S) and the vocational
truck (V). Next month the company has orders for 500 long-haul trucks, 750 short-haul trucks, and 250 vocational trucks.

Chris Riggs, the production manager for Solvo, wants to try uniform production and mixed-model sequencing. Assuming

25 working days per month, what assembly sequence would you recommend and how many times per day should the

sequence be repeated?