As part of a major plant renovation project, the industrial engineering department has been asked
to balance a revised assembly operation to achieve an output of 240 units per eight-hour day. Task
times and precedence relationships are as follows:
Task
Duration
(minutes)
Immediate
(Predecessor)
a 0.2 —
b 0.4 a
c 0.2 b
d 0.4 —
e 1.2 d
f 1.2 c
g 1.0 e, f
Do each of the following:
a. Draw the precedence diagram.
b. Determine the minimum cycle time, the maximum cycle time, and the calculated cycle time.
c. Determine the minimum number of stations needed.
d. Assign tasks to workstations on the basis of most following tasks. Use shortest processing time
as a tiebreaker. If ties still exist, assume indifference in choice.
e. Compute the percentage of idle time for the assignment in part d
