Capacity & Constraint Management Tutorial

Handout 1:
Melissas Photo Studio offers both individual and group portrait options. The process flow
diagram below shows that all customers must first register and the pay at one of the two cashiers.
Then, depending on whether they want a single or group portrait they go to different rooms.
Finally, everyone picks up their own finished portrait.
a) How long does it take to complete the entire process for a group portrait? An individual
portrait?
b) What single activity is the bottleneck for the entire process, assuming the process
receives equal amounts of both group and single portraits?
c) What is the capacity of the bottleneck for both groups and individuals?

Capacity & Constraint Management Tutorial

Handout 2:
The figure below details the process flow for two types of customers who enter Barbaras
Boutique shop for customized dress alterations. After Step T1, Type A customers proceed to Step
T2 and then to any of the three workstations at T3, followed by Steps T4 and T7. After Step T1,
Type B customers proceed to Step T5 and then T6, followed by T7. The numbers in parentheses
are the minutes it takes to process a customer.
a) What is the capacity of Barbaras shop, in terms of the number of Type A customers who can be
served in an hour? Assume no customers are waiting at Steps T1 or T7. What about Type B?
b) If 30% of the customers are Type A, and 70% are Type B, what is the average capacity of
Barbaras shop in customers per hour?
c) Assuming the arrival rate is greater than 5 customers per hour, when would you expect Type A
customers to experience waiting lines, assuming no Type B customers are in the shop? Where
would Type B customers have to wait, assuming no Type A customers?

Capacity & Constraint Management Tutorial

Key Formulas for Precedenc Diagrams

production timeavailable

Desired Cycle Time

Cd = Desired number of outputs

Actual Cycle Time

Ca = maximun workstation time

Theoretical Minimum # of Workstations

N=

ti
Cd

where ti = total completion time for all elements

Efficiency

t i

E = nC a

where ti = total time for all workstations AND n = number of actual workstations

Balance Delay

1 efficiency

Capacity & Constraint Management Tutorial

Handout 3:
Real Fruit Snack Strips are made from a mixture of dried fruit, food coloring preservatives and
glucose. The mixture is pressed out into a thin sheet, imprinted with various shapes, rolled and
packaged. The chart below gives the precedence and time requirements for each step in the
assembly process. To meet demand, Real Fruit needs to produce 6,000 fruit strips every 40-hour
week.
Design an assembly line with the fewest number of workstations that will achieve the production
quota without violating precedence constraints.
A
B
C
D

Work Element
Press out sheet of fruit
Cut into strips
Outline fun shapes
Roll up and package

Precedence
--A
A
B, C

Time (minutes)
0.1
0.2
0.4
0.3

Capacity & Constraint Management Tutorial

Handout 4:
The Basic Block Company needs to produce 4,000 boxes of blocks per 40-hour week to meet
upcoming holiday demand. The process of making blocks can be broken down into six work
elements. The chart below shows the precedence and time requirements for each element. Draw
and label a precedence diagram for the production process, without violating precedence
requirements). Set up a balanced assembly line and calculate the efficiency of the line.
Work Element

Precedence

Time (minutes)

---

0.10

0.40

0.50

---

0.20

C, D

0.60

B, E

0.40

Capacity & Constraint Management Tutorial

Handout 5:
The Henry Street Mission uses volunteers to assemble care packages for needy families during
the holiday season. The mission would like to organize the work as efficiently as possible. A list
of tasks, task times, and precedence requirements is as follows:
Task

Precedence

Time (minutes)

---

C, D

a) IF the mission wants to complete a care package every 10 minutes, how many volunteers
should be called in to help? Balance the line and calculate the efficiency. How many
packages can be assembled in a four hour period?
b) Suppose that volunteers are plentiful. Balance the line to maximize output. What is the
efficiency of this line? How many care packages can be assembled in a four hour period?

Capacity & Constraint Management Tutorial

Handout 6:
The TLB Yogurt Company must be able to make 600 party cakes in a 40-hour week. Use the
following information to draw and label a precedence diagram, compute cycle time, compute the
theoretical minimum number of workstations, balance the assembly line and calculate the
efficiency.
Element

Precedence

Time (minutes)

---

A, E

---

C, D