Fun Vehicles,Inc.,makes "beach buggies" on an assembly line with 11 work elements.Information on these work elements is as follows:
$$\begin{array} { | c | c | c | }
\hline \begin{array} { c }
\text { Work } \
\text { Element }
\end{array} & \text { Time (sec) } & \begin{array} { c }
\text { Immediate } \
\text { Predecessor(s) }
\end{array} \
\hline 1 & 40 & \text { None } \
2 & 35 & 1 \
3 & 20 & 1 \
4 & 25 & 1 \
5 & 30 & 2,3 \
6 & 35 & 4 \
7 & 35 & 5 \
8 & 15 & 5,9 \
9 & 5 & 6 \
10 & 40 & 4,9 \
11 & 38 & 7,8,10 \
\hline
\end{array}$$
The company wants to re-balance its line to increase the output to two buggies every three minutes.Use the longest work-element time rule to assign tasks to the workstations.Which of the following is the assignment for the first two stations (S1 and S2)produced by this rule?
Station Station
1 Tasks 2 Tasks
A) 1, 2 3, 4, 5
B) 1, 2 4, 6, 3, 9
C) 1, 4 3, 2, 5
D) 1, 3, 4 2, 5, 8

Question

Fun Vehicles,Inc.,makes "beach buggies" on an assembly line with 11 work elements.Information on these work elements is as follows:
$$\begin{array} { | c | c | c | } 
\hline \begin{array} { c } 
\text { Work } \
\text { Element }
\end{array} & \text { Time (sec) } & \begin{array} { c } 
\text { Immediate } \
\text { Predecessor(s) }
\end{array} \
\hline 1 & 40 & \text { None } \
2 & 35 & 1 \
3 & 20 & 1 \
4 & 25 & 1 \
5 & 30 & 2,3 \
6 & 35 & 4 \
7 & 35 & 5 \
8 & 15 & 5,9 \
9 & 5 & 6 \
10 & 40 & 4,9 \
11 & 38 & 7,8,10 \
\hline
\end{array}$$
The company wants to re-balance its line to increase the output to two buggies every three minutes.Use the longest work-element time rule to assign tasks to the workstations.Which of the following is the assignment for the first two stations (S1 and S2)produced by this rule?
Station Station
1 Tasks 2 Tasks
A) 1, 2 	3, 4, 5
B) 1, 2	4, 6, 3, 9
C) 1, 4	3, 2, 5
D) 1, 3, 4 	2, 5, 8

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Using the longest work-element time rule, we assign tasks to the stations in descending order of their time requirements:
Station 1: Tasks 1 and 2 have a total time requirement of 75 seconds, which is the longest of any combination of two tasks. 
Station 2: Tasks 4, 6, 3, and 9 have a combined time requirement of 125 seconds, which is the longest of any combination of four tasks. 
Therefore, the assignment for the first two stations is 1, 2 and 4, 6, 3, 9. This option matches choice B.

Fun Vehicles,Inc The Company Wants to Re-Balance Its Line to Increase the Work