Math Problem Statement

Consider a process consisting of three resources. Assume there exists unlimited demand for the product, and that all activities are always performed in the following sequence.

Resource 1 has a processing time of 6 minutes per unit.

Resource 2 has a processing time of 3 minutes per unit.

Resource 3 has a processing time of 5 minutes per unit.

All three resources are staffed by one worker and each worker gets paid $10 per hour.

1.Assume the demand rate is 16 units per hour. What is the target manpower?

Note: Do not round your intermediate calculations. Round your answer to 2 decimal places.

Solution

To determine the target manpower, we need to first calculate the total processing time per unit for each resource and then calculate how many workers are required to meet the demand rate of 16 units per hour.

Steps to calculate the target manpower:

  1. Processing time per unit for each resource is given:

    • Resource 1: 6 minutes per unit
    • Resource 2: 3 minutes per unit
    • Resource 3: 5 minutes per unit
  2. Convert processing times to hours since the demand rate is given in units per hour.

    • Resource 1: 6 minutes60 minutes per hour=0.1 hours per unit\frac{6 \text{ minutes}}{60 \text{ minutes per hour}} = 0.1 \text{ hours per unit}
    • Resource 2: 3 minutes60 minutes per hour=0.05 hours per unit\frac{3 \text{ minutes}}{60 \text{ minutes per hour}} = 0.05 \text{ hours per unit}
    • Resource 3: 5 minutes60 minutes per hour=0.08333 hours per unit\frac{5 \text{ minutes}}{60 \text{ minutes per hour}} = 0.08333 \text{ hours per unit}
  3. Calculate the capacity of each resource in units per hour, which is the inverse of the processing time:

    • Resource 1 capacity: 10.1=10 units per hour\frac{1}{0.1} = 10 \text{ units per hour}
    • Resource 2 capacity: 10.05=20 units per hour\frac{1}{0.05} = 20 \text{ units per hour}
    • Resource 3 capacity: 10.0833312 units per hour\frac{1}{0.08333} \approx 12 \text{ units per hour}
  4. Determine the bottleneck: The resource with the lowest capacity will limit the overall production rate. In this case:

    • Resource 1 has the lowest capacity, 10 units per hour.
  5. Calculate required manpower: To meet the demand rate of 16 units per hour, we need enough manpower to match the bottleneck rate. Since the capacity of Resource 1 is 10 units per hour, and we need to produce 16 units per hour, we can find the target manpower by determining how many workers are needed for the bottleneck resource.

    For Resource 1: Required workers for Resource 1=Demand rateCapacity of Resource 1=1610=1.6 workers\text{Required workers for Resource 1} = \frac{\text{Demand rate}}{\text{Capacity of Resource 1}} = \frac{16}{10} = 1.6 \text{ workers}

    Since we are dealing with a bottleneck, the target manpower is determined by this value. Therefore, the target manpower is 1.6 workers.

Final Answer:

The target manpower required is 1.60 workers.


Would you like a further explanation on any part of the solution? Here are some related questions you may find useful:

  1. How do you calculate the bottleneck in a production process?
  2. What does it mean for a resource to have a "bottleneck" in a production system?
  3. How can the target manpower change if the demand rate increases or decreases?
  4. How can you balance the workload across multiple resources in a production system?
  5. What is the impact of reducing processing time on the required manpower?

Tip: Always start by identifying the bottleneck in a process. It’s the key to understanding where to focus your resources to improve production efficiency.

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Math Problem Analysis

Mathematical Concepts

Operations Management
Production Capacity
Bottleneck Analysis
Workforce Calculation

Formulas

Processing Time per Unit = Minutes per Unit / 60
Capacity per Resource = 1 / Processing Time per Unit
Required Workers = Demand Rate / Bottleneck Capacity

Theorems

Theory of Constraints (Bottleneck Analysis)

Suitable Grade Level

College Level (Operations Management, Business Analytics)