The industrial engineer in the Machine Tech, Inc. Company would like to assign a number of similar facilities to an operator, based on the goal of minimizing the cost per unit of output.
A detailed study of the facilities has shown the following performance requirements:
Loading machine standard time = 0.34 min
Unloading machine standard time = 0.26 min
Walk time between two machines = 0.06 min
Operator rate = $12.00/hour
Machine rate (both idle and working) = $18.00/hour
Power feed time = 1.48 min
How many of these machines should be assigned to each operator?