PART A $-$ Process

A large mail$-$order catalog company found that there were $23,981$ wrongly addressed customer packages, a number consider excessive. Their objective is to cut down the incidence of wrong addresses on mailing labels and improve upon the process of handling incorrectly addressed packages. The current sequence of work activities with processing times $($in minutes$)$ are:

wrongly addressed package remains on delivery truck and returns to delivery office service center $($variable$)$

package carried $15$ ft from delivery truck into delivery office service center $(0\mathrm{.}2)$

await shuttle truck until $25$ packages have collected $(5\mathrm{.}0)$

loaded on hand cart $(0\mathrm{.}1)$

pushed $20$ ft to shuttle truck $(0\mathrm{.}2)$

hand cart stationed near shuttle truck while, $(0\mathrm{.}1)$

packages individually stacked in shuttle truck $(2\mathrm{.}0)$

driven $1$ mile to main warehouse and office complex $(3\mathrm{.}0)$

shuttle trucked parked at receiving dock $(0\mathrm{.}5)$

packages unloaded onto another hand cart sitting on receiving dock $(2\mathrm{.}0)$

once all packages are unloaded, they are pushed $60$ ft to the freight elevators $(1\mathrm{.}0)$

wait for elevator $(1\mathrm{.}0)$

push hand cart $8$ ft onto elevator $(0\mathrm{.}2)$

go to $5^{th}$ floor $($where mailing office is located$)(2\mathrm{.}0)$

push cart off elevator $(0\mathrm{.}2)$

roll $50$ ft $.$ to mailing office $(0\mathrm{.}2)$

await 'special problems' clerk $(3\mathrm{.}0)$

a package is individually removed $(0\mathrm{.}1)$

address rechecked with telephone book and city directory for obvious wrong address error $($rare$)(1\mathrm{.}5)$

address then checked with order form pulled up on computer terminal $(0\mathrm{.}5)$

$($if address incorrect on order form, address checked with phone call to credit card company based on the charge authorization$)($variable$)$

correct address found, duplicate mailing label made $($and computer records updated$)(1\mathrm{.}0)$

package placed on out$-$going hand cart $(0\mathrm{.}1)$