The marketing department at Bellevue University is working on a project with the following information. The Activity Time is also referred to as the Normal Activity Time and is the time it takes to complete the activity based on the normal times. The Crash Time is the time it takes to complete the activity if this activity is crashed.
Activity Immediate Predecessors Activity Time (Days) Activity Cost (Total) Total Time After Crashing (Days) Activity Crash Cost (Total)
A -- 6 $10,000 4 $12,000
B -- 4 $5,500 2 $7,300
C A, B 3 $6,000 2 $7,500
D C 6 $4,000 4 $6,400
E C 4 $3,500 2 $5,100
a) What is the critical path for this project, what is the project completion time, how much total work time (in days) is required for this project, and what is the cost for completing this project using the Activity Time? Also identify the slack time for each path. The slack time for each path should be based on the time to complete the critical path.
b) Suppose that the school wants to complete the project in 13 days by crashing the most economical activity. Which activity(ies) should it crash and how much will the project cost increase?
c) Suppose that the school wants to complete the project in 12 days by crashing the most economical activity(ies). Which activity(ies) should it crash and how much will the project cost increase from your answer in a)?
d) Start with the original Activity Times in answering this part. In addition to the cost information provided above, indirect project costs total $600 per day. The company also incurs $300 in penalty costs for each day the project lasts beyond eleven days. What is the minimum cost schedule for this project? What is the cost of this schedule and what is the project completion time?