BUS644 Week Four Assignment 
Beck Manufacturing and Plant Capacity
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BUS 644: Operations Management
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14 May 2015
Beck Manufacturing and Plant Capacity
Operation Number of Machines Run Time Per Piece (min.) % Reject Rate
Milling 5 2 3
Grinding 7 3 5
Boring 3 1 2
Drilling 6 2.5 7
A. Calculate the capacity of each machine center and the capacity of the system. Machine Center Capacity Pieces/Hour
Milling 5 machines x 2 pieces/min. x 60 min/hr / 16 hr. day 37.5 pieces/hr
Grinding 7 machines x 3 pieces/min. x 60 min/hr / 16 hr. day 78.75 pieces/hr
Boring 3 machines x 1 piece/min. x 60 min/hr / 16 hr. day 11.25 pieces/hr
Drilling 6 machines x 2.5 pieces/min. x 60 min/hr / 16 hr. day 56.25 pieces/hr The above table showing the total capacity per hour of each machine center was calculated by taking the number of machines and multiplying them by the run time per piece per minute. This enables you to see the amount produced each minute from each machine center. I then multiplied that by the obvious 60 minutes per hour to determine the output from each machine center each hour. We know from the text that Al Beck is running two eight hour shifts so the machines are running for a minimum of 16 hours per day. Knowing this, I then take my output per hour and divide it by 16-hour days to find the actual production rate.
B. Analyze where the focus of the company’s efforts should be if Beck wants to expand capacity. Determine how much extra capacity he can get without causing another operation to become the bottleneck.
From the calculations on the above table, it is clear to see that the boring machine center is the bottleneck since that is the limiting factor to production. The bottleneck is “the department, workstation, or operation that limits the flow of product through the production system. This department restricts the flow of product from upstream departments and starves downstream departments.” (Vanderembse, 2013,
XXXXX
BUS 644: Operations Management
XXXXX
14 May 2015
Beck Manufacturing and Plant Capacity
Operation Number of Machines Run Time Per Piece (min.) % Reject Rate
Milling 5 2 3
Grinding 7 3 5
Boring 3 1 2
Drilling 6 2.5 7
A. Calculate the capacity of each machine center and the capacity of the system. Machine Center Capacity Pieces/Hour
Milling 5 machines x 2 pieces/min. x 60 min/hr / 16 hr. day 37.5 pieces/hr
Grinding 7 machines x 3 pieces/min. x 60 min/hr / 16 hr. day 78.75 pieces/hr
Boring 3 machines x 1 piece/min. x 60 min/hr / 16 hr. day 11.25 pieces/hr
Drilling 6 machines x 2.5 pieces/min. x 60 min/hr / 16 hr. day 56.25 pieces/hr The above table showing the total capacity per hour of each machine center was calculated by taking the number of machines and multiplying them by the run time per piece per minute. This enables you to see the amount produced each minute from each machine center. I then multiplied that by the obvious 60 minutes per hour to determine the output from each machine center each hour. We know from the text that Al Beck is running two eight hour shifts so the machines are running for a minimum of 16 hours per day. Knowing this, I then take my output per hour and divide it by 16-hour days to find the actual production rate.
B. Analyze where the focus of the company’s efforts should be if Beck wants to expand capacity. Determine how much extra capacity he can get without causing another operation to become the bottleneck.
From the calculations on the above table, it is clear to see that the boring machine center is the bottleneck since that is the limiting factor to production. The bottleneck is “the department, workstation, or operation that limits the flow of product through the production system. This department restricts the flow of product from upstream departments and starves downstream departments.” (Vanderembse, 2013,
References: Vonderembse, M (2013) Operations Management; Bridgepoint Education, Inc. San Diego, CA