The state tax department wants to set up what would amount to a series of identical production lines (running 8 hours a day) for processing state tax returns that are submitted on the state's "EZ" form. The various tasks, times, and precedence relationships for each line follow:

The director has determined that each line needs to process 150 returns a day. The director has asked you to develop a proposed layout that would be shared across the lines.
a. What is the takt time for each line? What is the theoretical minimum number of workstations needed on each line?
b. Make workstation assignments using the "largest eligible task" rule. Calculate the cycle time, idle time, per cent idle time, and efficiency delay for the resulting line.
c. Given the task times listed above, what is the minimum cycle time that can be achieved by a line? What is the maximum daily output that could be achieved by a single line?

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TIME DIRECT TASK (MINUTES) PREDECESSORS A. Open return; verify filer's name, address, and taxpayer ID. 0.75 None B. Make sure W2 and federal information match 1.25 A computer records. C. Check key calculations on return for correctness. 2.50 B D. Print report to go with return. 0.50 E. Route return to refund, payment, or special handling department, based on the results. 0.30 D F. Update status of return on computer system. 3.0