1. SecchiSafe PLC processes home insurance applications. Each application is submitted online and received by a sorter that organises the material for further processing. 60 percent of the applications need a credit check and 40 percent need a check on the safety record of the building (it is not possible to submit an application if both are needed). It takes on average 2 minutes for the clerk process incoming applications, 13 minutes for a credit check, and 30 minutes for a check on the safety record. An audit revealed that there are, on average, 10 applications waiting to be processed by the sorter, 3 applications waiting for a credit check, and 7 applications waiting for the safety record check. After the credit check, 50 percent of applications need to be sent to a phone operator to gather further information from the applicant, 10 percent of applications get accepted right away, and 40 percent are rejected. After the safety record check, 20 percent of the applications need further information gathering and are sent to the phone operators, 30 percent are rejected, and 50 percent are accepted. Of the applications that go to the phone operators, 20 percent are rejected and 80 percent are accepted. There are, on average, 3 applications waiting to be processed by the phone operators. (a) Draw a process flow map of the process. (b) What is the average flow time of an application? (c) Management has performed a series of tests and determined that, when working without interruptions, the time it takes a worker to perform each activity is reported in the following table. The table also includes the number of workers at each station. Station Time 0.75 minutes 8 minutes 4 minutes 10 minutes Sorting Credit Check Safety Record Check Phone Operators # of workers 1 3 1 2 Assuming an 8 hour working day, what is the utilization of the bottleneck in this process? (d) What would you do to improve this process?