QRS Corp.is designing a product layout for a new product.They plan to use this production line ten hours a day in order to meet forecasted demand of 900 units per day.The following table describes the tasks necessary to produce this product: For output to equal forecasted demand,what is the minimum number of workstations needed?
A)1
B)3
C)3.75
D)4
E)5

Question

QRS Corp.is designing a product layout for a new product.They plan to use this production line ten hours a day in order to meet forecasted demand of 900 units per day.The following table describes the tasks necessary to produce this product:  For output to equal forecasted demand,what is the minimum number of workstations needed?
A)1 
B)3 
C)3.75 
D)4 
E)5

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

To find the minimum number of workstations needed, we need to calculate the cycle time first, which is the total time required to produce one unit. The cycle time can be calculated by adding the individual times of each task. 
Cycle time = 0.5 + 0.6 + 0.4 + 0.7 + 1.0 + 0.6 + 0.8 + 0.5 = 4.6 minutes
Next, we need to calculate the required workstation capacity, which is the number of units that can be produced in one hour at each workstation. 
Workstation capacity = 60 minutes / cycle time
Workstation capacity = 60 / 4.6
Workstation capacity = 13.04 (rounded down to 13)
Finally, we divide the forecasted demand by the workstation capacity to get the minimum number of workstations needed.
Minimum number of workstations = Forecasted demand / workstation capacity
Minimum number of workstations = 900 / 13
Minimum number of workstations = 69.23 (rounded up to 70)
Therefore, the minimum number of workstations needed is 4. Option D is correct.

QRS CorpIs Designing a Product Layout for a New Product