RusTech Tooling, Inc., is a large job shop operation that builds machine tools and dies to manufacture parts for specialized items. The company bids primarily on contracts for government-related activities to produce parts for things such as military aircraft, weapons systems, and the space program. The company is bidding on a contract to produce a component part for the fuselage assembly in a new space shuttle.

A major criterion for selecting the winning bid besides low cost is the time required to produce the part. However, if the company is awarded the contract it will be held strictly to the completion date specified in the bid, and any delays will result in severe financial penalties. In order to determine the project completion time to put in its bid, the company has identified the project activities, precedence relationships, and activity times shown in the following table:

If RusTech, Inc., wants to be 90% certain that it can deliver the part without incurring a penalty, what time frame should it specify in thebid?

Order special gas 10 navigation charts Locate and purchase Atlantic charts Ship 3a5 east Construct fuselage Apply for license Redesign 12 16 wing Fly to N.Y Start 15 Finish Assemble Test flight Construct8 landing gear 9 Test engine Order and receive whirlwind Order carburetor and air heater Time Estimates Weeks Activity Predecessor Activity 12 14 12 f. g h,i