The help desk at Triple Stacked handles calls from customers regarding their high-end industrial switches. The help

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The help desk at Triple Stacked handles calls from customers regarding their high-end industrial switches. The help desk is actually divided into two groups. The first group is called the “Frontline” and it is staffed with 5 people. The second group is called the “Solver” and it is staffed with 3 people. There are three types of calls: “Routine,” “Stumper,” and “Nasty.” All three types are first received by the Frontline desk. A Frontline staffer can resolve a Routine call in 10 minutes. The Frontline staffer also spends 10 minutes with the Stumper and Nasty calls but is unable to resolve those calls in that time. Hence, after 10 minutes, the Frontline staffer forwards the Stumper and Nasty calls to the Solver desk. At the Solver desk a staffer takes 15 minutes to resolve a Stumper call and 30 minutes to resolve a Nasty call. The table below includes the processing times, staffing, and arrival rates for each of the three types of calls: 

Processing time (min) at the... Types of issues Frontline desk Solver desk Calls per hour Routine 10 n.a. 20 10 15 Stumper 10 30 2 Nasty Desk Staffing Frontline 5 Solver 3


(a) What is the implied utilization of each desk? 

(b) What are the actual and maximum flow rates of each type of issue per hour through this process?

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Operations Management

ISBN: 9781260547610

2nd International Edition

Authors: Gerard Cachon, Christian Terwiesch

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