Question: There are nine machines in the automatic lathe section of a certain machine shop. The setup lime on an automatic lathe averages 6 hr. The average batch size for parts processed through the section is 90. The average operation time = 8.0 min. Under shop rules an operator is permitted to be assigned to run up 10 three machines.
Accordingly, there are three operators in the section for the nine lathes. In addition to the lathe operators, there are two setup workers who perform machine setups exclusively. These setup workers are kept busy the full shift. The section runs one 8 hr shiftjday,6 day/wk.However, an average of 15% ofthe production time is lost due to machine breakdowns, Scrap losses are negligible. The production control manager claims that the capacity of the section should be 1836 piece/wk. However, the actual output averages only 144Q unit/wk. What is the problem? Recommend a solution.