Problem:
A small diner is open for lunch each day. The lunch counter seats a maximum of 12 customers at one time. The average time required for a customer to complete lunch is 30 minutes. It takes 4 minutes of the server's time to take care of a customer (taking their order, bringing out the food, and cleaning up afterwards.) There are two servers assigned to the counter. The cook in the kitchen can prepare an order in 1.5 minutes. Answer the following questions, assuming that the diner is relatively full and operating normally (i.e., it is not at the start-up time.)
Required:
Question 1) What is the constraint in the diner? Show your work to support your answer. If the average meal costs $10 and the variable cost is $3 per meal, what is the maximum throughput (production capacity) of the diner?
Question 2) A new advertising campaign is estimated to increase the number of customers to 36 customers per hour. What are some ways the diner can accommodate this increase and increase throughput? Solve the problem and show all work.