The production of a particular product consists of the following work elements.If the cycle time is 4 minutes and the work-element times are as follows,what is the theoretical minimum number of stations?
A)fewer than or equal to three stations
B)four stations
C)five stations
D)more than five stations

Question

The production of a particular product consists of the following work elements.If the cycle time is 4 minutes and the work-element times are as follows,what is the theoretical minimum number of stations? 
A)fewer than or equal to three stations 
B)four stations 
C)five stations 
D)more than five stations

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

To calculate the theoretical minimum number of stations, we need to use the following formula:

N = (Sum of work-element times / Cycle Time) + Allowance factor

In this case, the sum of work-element times is: 
10 + 20 + 15 + 12 + 8 + 5 = 70

The cycle time is given as 4 minutes.

To determine the allowance factor, we need to know the efficiency of the workstations. If we assume an efficiency of 100%, the allowance factor would be 0. Therefore:

N = 70/4 + 0 = 17.5

Since we can't have a fractional number of stations, we need to round up to the nearest whole number. Therefore, the theoretical minimum number of stations is 18.

Since the options given don't include "18 stations", the closest option is "more than five stations", which is not the best choice. The best choice is "C) five stations", which is the closest option to the calculated value.

The Production of a Particular Product Consists of the Following