Bill builds benches in a small shop and he plans to operate five 8-hour days per week. Each bench has two ends and a top. It takes 5 minutes to cut and sand each end and 3 minutes to make each top. Assembly requires 10 minutes per bench, and painting requires 5 minutes per bench. Bill has one employee who makes the tops and ends. Bill will do the final assembly and painting. He also plans 1 hour per day for setup and teardown for each department.
a. How many benches should he plan to build per week?
b. How many hours per week are required for each person?
c. Suggest ways to increase the number of benches produced per week.