Two Industrial engineers (IE) manage two adjacent subassembly lines separated by a buffer with a fixed capacity as shown in the figure below. They are good friends but they like messing with each other.
Both lines A and B are paced and currently running in a steady state. The new plant manager puts high emphasis on maintaining low WIP levels.
a. What can the IE managing line A do in order to increase WIP levels on line B?
b. What can the IE managing line B do in order to increase WIP levels on line A?