Circe Niezen

L-257
 The concepts described thus far are
illustrated with three examples. This
examples are typical of the types of analysis
that are performed in manufacturing,
services, and logistics businesses.
 The analysis used in each example can be
applied to many different contexts.
 Be creative in applying something that you
have seen in another context to the
problem at hand.

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 The first example analyzes a bread-making
process.
 Following a restaurant operation is evaluated.
 Finally, a typical logistics operation is
appraised.

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 For the manager of a bakery, a first priority
is to understand the products that are made
and the process steps required. The
following is a simplified diagram of the
bread-making process.
Current Layout

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 Two steps are required to prepare the bread.
 The first is preparing the dough and baking
the loaves.
 The second is packaging the loaves.
 Due to the size of the mixers in the bakery,
bread is made in batches of 100 loaves.

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 Both bread making and packaging operate
the same amount of time
 Capacity is 100 loaves per hour
 Packaging idle for a quarter hour
◦ Has 75 percent utilization
 Bread making is the bottleneck in the process

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 Suppose that instead of having only one
bread-making operation we now have two, as
shown in the following graph:

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 The cycle time for each individual bread-making
operation is still one hour per 100 loaves.
 The cycle time for the two bread-making lines
operating together is half an hour.
 Because the packaging operation takes 0.75 hour
to bag 100 loaves, the packaging operation now
is the bottleneck.
 If both bread making and packaging were
operated the same number of hours each day, it
would be necessary to limit how much bread was
made because we do not have the capacity to
package it.

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 If we operated the packaging operation for three
eight-hour shifts and bread making for two
shifts each day, then the daily capacity of each
would be identical at 3,200 loaves a day (this
assumes that the packaging operation starts up
one hour after the bread-making operation).
 Doing this requires building up a shifts worth of
inventory each day as work-in-process.
Packaging would bag this during the third shift.
 So what is the flow time of our bakery?

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 Bread making runs two shifts
◦ Produces =
 Packaging runs three shifts
◦ Produces =
 Capacities are roughly equal

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 During the first two shifts, inventory builds
from 0 to 1,200 loaves. We can estimate
the average work-in-process over this 16-
hour period to be 600 loaves (half the
maximum).
 Over the last eight-hour shift inventory
drops from the 1,200-loaf maximum down
to 0. Again the average work-in-process is
600 loaves. The overall average over the
24-hour period is simply 600 loaves of
bread.

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 The packing process limits the cycle time
for the process to 0.75 hour per 100 loaves
(assume that the loaves are packaged in a
batch), and this is equivalent to a
throughput rate of

 Little's law calculates that the average time

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 The total flow time is the time that the
loaves are in work-in-process plus the
operations time for the bread-making and
packaging processes.
 The total flow time then is

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 The bakery operates in what is referred to
as steady state, meaning that the operation
is started up and runs at a steady rate
during the entire time that it is in operation.
 The output of this steady state process is
adjusted by setting the amount of time that
the operation is run.
 In the case of the bakery, we assures that
bread making worked for three shifts and
packaging for two shifts.

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 A restaurant cannot run in this manner.
 The restaurant must respond to varying
customer demand throughout the day.
 During some peak times, it may be
impossible to serve all customers
immediately, and some customers may have
to wait to be seated.
 The restaurant because of this varying
demand, is a non-steady state process.
 Keep in mind that many of the menu items
in a restaurant can be pre-prepared.

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 The pre-prepared items, salads and desserts,
for example, help speed the processes that
must be performed when customers are at the
restaurant being served.
 Because it is important that customers be
served quickly, the managers have set up a
buffet arrangement where customers serve
themselves.
 The buffet is continually replenished to keep
items fresh. To further speed service, a fixed
amount is charged for the meal, no matter
what the customer eats.

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 The buffet is continually replenished to keep
items fresh. To further speed service, a fixed
amount is charged for the meal, no matter
what the customer eats.
 Assume that we have designed our buffet so
customers take an average of 30 minutes to
get their food and eat.
 Assume that they typically eat in groups (or
customer parties) of two or three to a table.
The restaurant has 40 tables. Each table can
accommodate four people. What is the
maximum capacity of this restaurant?

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 Solution
◦ Management has collected data and expects the
following profile for the customer parties arriving
during lunch, which runs from 11:30 am until
1:30 pm

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 Solution

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 Solution

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 Two hours for the route during peak traffic
 Route has 60 stops
 Each bus has seating capacity of 50
◦ Another 30 passengers can stand
 Busy much of the day

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 With one bus, maximum wait is two hours
 If bus is half way through cycle, wait is one hour
 Average wait is one hour
◦ In general, average wait is ½ cycle time
 If two buses used…
◦ Cycle time is one hour
◦ Average wait is 30 minutes
 For a two minute wait
◦ Need four minute cycle time
◦ Need 30 buses (120 minutes / 4 minute cycle time)

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 Each bus has total capacity of 80 passengers
◦ 50 Seated
◦ 30 Standing
 30 Buses can accommodate…
◦ 1,500 Seated
◦ 2,400 Total

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 With 30 buses, many will stand
 During morning and afternoon rush, not all
customers can be accommodated
◦ Need at least 40 buses during rush hours
 With 40 buses all the time…

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 Critical processes are subject to the well-
known rule that time is money.
 For example, the longer a customer waits,
the more likely the customer is to switch to
a different vendor.
 The longer material is kept in inventory, the
higher the investment cost.
 There are exceptions in services, where
more time in process can lead to more
money (coffee example).

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 Unfortunately critical processes often
depend on specific limited resources,
resulting in bottlenecks.
 Flow time can sometimes be reduced
without purchasing additional equipment.
 The following are some suggestions for
reducing the flow time of a process that do
not require the purchase of new equipment.
 Often a combination of ideas is appropriate.

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1. Perform activities in parallel
◦ Most of the steps in an operations process are
performed in sequence.
◦ A serial approach results in the flow time for the
entire process being the sum of the individual steps
plus transport and waiting time between steps.
◦ Using a parallel approach can reduce flow time by
as much as 80 percent and produces a better result.

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2. Change the sequence of activities
◦ Documents and products are often transported
back and forth between machines, departments,
buildings, and so forth.
◦ For instance, a document might be transferred
between two offices a number of times for
inspection and signing. If the sequence of some
of these activities can be altered, it may be
possible to perform much of the document's
processing when it comes to a building the first
time.

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3. Reduce interruptions
◦ Many processes are performed with relatively
large time intervals between the activities.
◦ For example, purchase orders may be issued only
every other day.
◦ Individuals preparing reports that result in
purchase orders should be aware of deadlines to
avoid missing them, because improved timing in
these processes can save many days of flow time.

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