Consider the following two-stage production process with a buffer between the two stages: Stage 1 => Wait => Stage 2.
The first stage operates on an 8-hour shift, and has a processing speed of 30 gadgets per hour. The second stage operates on a 12-hour shift, and has a processing speed of 20 gadgets per hour. Both shifts start at 8am. Answer the following questions sequentially.
What is the process capacity per hour?
What is the cycle time of the process?
Describe how the inventory level of the buffer changes during a day. When do the maximum and minimum inventory levels occur during each day? What are the maximum and the minimum levels? Let the average inventory level of the buffer be the mid-point of the maximum and minimum inventory levels of a day, calculated in (c).
Use Little's law to find the average time that each gadget stays in the buffer.
What is the average time that each gadget goes through the two-stage production process (i.e., the throughput time)?