Consider the potential drawbacks associated with the proposed simplification in terms of time, cost, quality, or agility. Discuss the improvement-drawback tradeoff.

Q1. A part must be processed on two automatic machines, A and B, each run by an operator. Figure (1) shows two timelines, one for each machine-operator. As soon as the operation at A is completed, the part is transferred to B, as indicated by the wiggly line. The operators load and unload the machines but otherwise are idle while the machines are running. The machine cycle time (CT) for operation A is slightly longer than for B, so the worker at B periodically has to wait for parts from A. L = Load U=Unload L Wait UL Wait UL B Assume: CTACT Product Product L Wait U Wait L Wait U Wait, L Idle Idle Time Figure (1) Figure (2) shows the process simplified by moving the machines closer together so one operator can run both. (The wiggly line shows points where the operator goes from machine A to machine B with the part, then returns to machine A.) The operator experiences no idle time, though there is still a small amount of machine idle time at B because of the disparity in machine CTS. U A Product Yorker Run Worker L Run U L Run Product Worker Worker UL Run Idle Time Figure (2) B Consider the potential drawbacks associated with the proposed simplification in terms of time, cost, quality, or agility. Discuss the improvement-drawback tradeoff