Question 1: (Part-A) Lean Operations management emphasizes reducing variability in your system. Why do you think variability is a cause of concern in any production environment? Briefly discuss some of the situations where variability can occur in a production environment if the managers do not plan against it. (Marks: 04)

(Part-B) Suppose a superstore operates 24 hrs every day and offers its own brand of milk which is very popular among the customers. This milk is offered only in tetrapacks of 1 liter each. Find out the Lead Time (in hours) from supply station (companys milk plant) in a Kanban system given following data: Demand at the store is 15 liters per hour. The milk plant supplies milk in cartons where each carton carries 12 tetrapacks. As per business rule, every time the order is delivered at the store it MUST have 50 cartons (exactly!). The store maintains a safety stock = 15% of daily demand. (Marks: 6)