The quad chair lift at Whiteface Mountain Ski Resort carries four skiers in each chair to the top of the intermediate slope in four minutes based on timing a large sample of skiers. The time between loading skiers on successive chairs is 15 seconds.

a. What is the effective capacity of the system in number of skiers per hour?

b. If only one skier gets on the chair being loaded approximately 10 percent of the time, will the capacity of the system be affected? Explain.

c. Frequently it is necessary to stop the chair lift temporarily to assist beginning skiers in safely getting on and off. How could the resort’s operations manager assess the effect of this practice on the lift capacity?