Sample Capacity Calculation and Process Flow Diagram Problem:

Imagine you go to a movie theater for a 7:00 PM show. You decide to valet your car. There are 3 valet attendants helping customers, taking 1 minute per customer.You then go inside to buy a ticket from one of 4 employees selling tickets. On average, it takes a customer 2 minutes to buy a ticket. You then proceed to the concession stand to purchase popcorn and drinks. There are 2 employees helping customers. On average, it takes 3 minutes to serve a customer. After getting concessions, you proceed to the one ticket taker. It takes 30 seconds for each customer at this station. You then head to the theater. Assume each customer only buys 1 ticket. Also, you may assume that the time to get from one station to the next is minimal and does not need to be included in your analysis.

a). Draw a process flow diagram for the above process.

b). Calculate the capacity (unconstrained) of each operation in the process in terms of people/ hour.

c). What is the bottleneck operation?

d). What is the minimum throughput time for a customer?

e). What is the capacity of the theater per hour (i.e. maximum system capacity) in terms of processes before the actual watching of the movie?

f). Where will WIP build up in the system?

g). If 20 customers are in line at 6:30 PM when you arrive, will you get through the ticket taker before your movie starts? If not, how late will you be to the movie?