The Florida Appliance Company Is Installing an Assembly Line to Produce

question 24

Essay

The Florida Appliance Company is installing an assembly line to produce vacuum cleaners, and you, as an operations manager, are responsible for balancing the line. The tasks to be performed are listed, along with their times and immediate predecessors.
$\begin{array}{lcc}&&\text { Immediate }\\ \underline{\text { Task } }& \underline{\text { Time in seconds) }} & \underline{\text { Predecessors) }}\\\text { A } & 60 & \text { none } \\\text { B } & 40 & \text { A } \\\text { C } & 30 & \text { B } \\\text { D } & 20 & \text { B } \\\text { E } & 40 & \text { B } \\\text { F } & 60 & \text { C } \\\text { G } & 70 & \text { D } \\\text { H } & 50 & \text { F, G } \\\text { I } & 20 & \text { E } \\\text { J } & 60 & \text { H. I }\end{array}$ The company is planning to operate 2 shifts per day, 8 hours per shift. The desired output rate of the line is 480 units per day.
a. Compute the cycle time per unit in minutes.
b. Compute the minimum number of workstations required.
c. Use the longest-task-time heuristic to balance the assembly line.
d. Compute the efficiency of your assembly line.

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Definitions:

Bond Issue

The process by which a government or corporation raises funds by selling bonds to investors, which are then repaid with interest at a future date.

Coupon

The interest rate stated on a bond, representing the amount of interest paid to bondholders on an annual basis.

Interest Tax Shield

The reduction in income taxes that results from deducting interest payments on debt from taxable income.

Unlevered Cost of Capital

The cost of capital for a company that has no debt, representing only the cost of equity.