Kick Flip Inc. is a specialty skateboard manufacturer. The company is experiencing demand that greatly exceeds capacity for these specialty boards. The boards, or "decks", are purchased from an outside supplier. Kick Flip sands the deck and paints the dThe pallet is not placed under the lamp until all decks in a batch have been painted. The lamp can dry up to 50 decks at one time. The company has 5 patterns that are painted on the decks. The lithography machine requires a set up, so decks are processed in batches according to the pattern. The activity times per deck are:Sanding - 3 minutes per deck Painting - 15 minutes set-up and 2 minutes per deck Drying - 30 minutes regardless of batch size.Sanding, painting, and drying each have one operator. Now answer the following questions.
1. What is the process capacity in decks per hour with a batch size of 50 decks?
2. Assume the following average inventory in sanding, the buffer, and painting: Sanding: 1batch; Buffer: 2 batches; Painting: 1 batch. What is the average flow time from the start ofsanding until the decks are ready to enter the drying area with a batch size of 50 decks?
3. What is the utilization in the drying area if the batch size is 50 decks?
4. What batch size should be used in order to minimize inventory without sacrificing flow rate?