The following table shows the six work elements (tasks) necessary to manufacture concrete patio blocks along with their precedence and time requirements. The unit of measurement is pallets of patio blocks. Precedence Work Element A B D E F A A Element Time (min) 0.1 0.4 0.5 0.2 0.6 0.4 C, D B, E Suppose we assign all of the tasks to one worker, i.e. only one workstation. How many pallets of patio blocks can be produced in a 40-hour week? O roughly 27.3 pallets O roughly 18.2 pallets roughly 1091 pallets exactly 2400 pallets When assigning work elements (tasks) to workstations, no workstation can be smaller than the length of the longest task. Given this information, what is the maximum number of pallets of patio blocks that can be produced in a 40-hour week? roughly 4000 pallets oroughly 1000 pallets O roughly 66.7 pallets O roughly 100 pallets Suppose we need to produce 4000 pallets of patio blocks in our 40-hour week. Using this cycle time, the theoretical minimum number of workstations required for the manufacturing line is: 4.33 workstations 5 workstations 3.67 workstations 4 workstations Assign work elements (tasks) to workstations and determine the actual number of workstations required to balance the manufacturing line. Be sure to not violate precedence when determining the next task to assign to a workstation. If there are multiple tasks that are eligible to be assigned to a workstation, use the heuristic rule of: Assign the tasks in alphabetical order. (You'll see this may not be the best heuristic rule to use.) The number of workstations required and the efficiency of the line balance is: 5 workstations with an efficiency of 0.733 or 73.3% 4 workstations with an efficiency of 0.733 or 73.3% 5 workstations with an efficiency of 1.00 or 100% 4 workstations with an efficiency of 1.00 or 100% The heuristic rule used in the preceding question resulted in the following (which isn't a very good line balance): Workstation 1 contains tasks A and B with 0.5 min work time and 0.1 min idle time Workstation 2 contains task C with 0.5 min work time and 0.1 min idle time Workstation 3 contains task D with 0.2 min work time and 0.4 min idle time Workstation 4 contains task E with 0.6 min work time and NO idle time Workstation 5 contains task F with 0.4 min work time and 0.2 min idle time Worker at Workstation 4 works CONSTANTLY! Worker at Workstation 3 has alot of idle time. See if you can reallocate tasks to workstations to improve the line balance. Be sure not to violate precedence. You should be able to both increase the efficiency of the line and reduce the number of required workstations at the same time. The new assignments and line efficiency are: Workstation 1 [AC]; Workstation 2 [B D); Workstation 3 [E]; Workstation 4 [F]; Efficiency = 0.0833 or 8.33% O Workstation 1 [AC]; Workstation 2 [BD]; Workstation 3 [E]; Workstation 4 [F]; Efficiency = 0.9167 or 91.67% Workstation 1 [AF]; Workstation 2 [B D]; Workstation 3 [E]; Workstation 4 [C]; Efficiency = 0.9167 or 91.67% Workstation 1 [AC]; Workstation 2 [BD]; Workstation 3 [E]; Workstation 4 [F]; Efficiency = 1.00 or 100%