Jane produces custom greeting cards using six distinct work elements. She would like to

produce $10$ cards in each $8-$hour card$-$making session. Figure $5\mathrm{.}17$ details each work

element and its associated durations in minutes as well as their precedence relationships.

a$.$ What cycle time is required to satisfy the required output rate?

b$.$ What is the theoretical minimum number of workstations required?

c$.$ If Jane identifies a five$-$station solution, what is the associated efficiency and balance

delay?

d$.$ If the cycle time increased by $100$ percent, would the theoretical minimum number of

workstations also increase by $100$ percent?

$*$VIDEO CASE Constraint Management at Southwest Airlines

What if you could take a commercial airline flight anytime and anywhere you wanted to go$?$

Just show up at the airport without the need to consider time schedules or layovers. Aside

from the potentially cost$-$prohibitive nature of such travel, there are also constraints in the

airline system that preclude this kind of operation. From the lobby check$-$in process through

to boarding at the gate and processing plane turnaround, the process of operating the airline

is filled with constraints that must be managed in order for them to be successful and

profitable. Flight schedules are tightly orchestrated and controlled, departure and arrival

gates at airports are limited$,$ and individual aircraft have seating capacities in each section of

the plane, to name a few. Southwest Airlines is one company that has figured out how to

manage its constraints and generate positive customer experiences in the process. No other