Manufacturing Engineering: Modeling Manufacturing Processes and Systems

🤔 Manufacturing Process Brain Teaser: The Bottleneck Bandit

Here's a brain teaser focused on modeling manufacturing processes, specifically dealing with bottlenecks and system optimization:

The Challenge:

Imagine a small manufacturing plant producing widgets. The plant has three main workstations in series:

1. Station A: Receives raw materials and preps them. It can process 10 units per hour.
2. Station B: Assembles the prepped materials. It can process 8 units per hour.
3. Station C: Finishes and packages the widgets. It can process 12 units per hour.

Currently, the plant operates for 8 hours a day. Management wants to increase the daily output by 25%. They've identified that Station B is the bottleneck. They are considering two options:

1. Option 1: Invest in new equipment for Station B that increases its processing rate by 50%.
2. Option 2: Add an additional worker to Station A, increasing its processing rate by 20%, and re-engineer the process at Station C to boost its processing rate by 15%.

The Question: Which option is the most effective in achieving the 25% increase in daily output, and what is the new daily output for that option? Justify your answer with calculations.

💡 Hints:

• Focus on the bottleneck. Improving other stations beyond the bottleneck's capacity won't necessarily increase overall output.
• Calculate the current daily output.
• Calculate the new processing rates for each station under both options.
• Determine the new bottleneck station after implementing each option.
• Calculate the new daily output for each option based on the new bottleneck.
• Compare the percentage increase in daily output for each option to the target of 25%.

✅ Solution:

Let's break down the solution:

1. Current Daily Output: Station B is the bottleneck at 8 units/hour. Therefore, the current daily output is 8 units/hour * 8 hours/day = 64 units/day.
2. Target Daily Output: A 25% increase means a target output of 64 units/day * 1.25 = 80 units/day.
3. Option 1 Analysis:
   • Station B's new processing rate: 8 units/hour * 1.50 = 12 units/hour.
   • Now, Station A becomes the bottleneck at 10 units/hour.
   • New daily output: 10 units/hour * 8 hours/day = 80 units/day.
4. Option 2 Analysis:
   • Station A's new processing rate: 10 units/hour * 1.20 = 12 units/hour.
   • Station C's new processing rate: 12 units/hour * 1.15 = 13.8 units/hour.
   • Station B remains the bottleneck at 8 units/hour.
   • New daily output: 8 units/hour * 8 hours/day = 64 units/day.

🏆 Conclusion:

Option 1 is the most effective. It increases the daily output to 80 units, achieving the 25% target. Option 2 does not improve the bottleneck and therefore does not increase the overall daily output.