Question

A product has to be manufactured in a single-line layout by carrying out the six tasks in a sequence. The time (in minutes) of the six sequential tasks are 37, 8, 19, 34, 36, and 17. These tasks cannot be further sub-divided. For minimizing the cycle time, the number of stations to be used is .............

Hint:

In assembly line balancing, minimize the cycle time by allocating tasks efficiently to the stations. Make sure that the total task time is distributed evenly across all stations.

Answer 1

To determine the number of stations required in a single-line layout, we can use the assembly line balancing method. The cycle time \( C_T \) is determined by: \[ C_T = \frac{{Total task time}}{{Number of stations}}, \] where the total task time is the sum of the times for all the tasks: \[ {Total task time} = 37 + 8 + 19 + 34 + 36 + 17 = 151 { minutes}. \] Now, the cycle time must be equal to or less than the time available per station. Since we are minimizing the cycle time, we will use the maximum possible cycle time that ensures that the tasks can be completed within the available time. Given that the tasks cannot be sub-divided, and aiming to balance the workload across stations, the total number of stations required can be calculated by dividing the total task time by the cycle time. For optimal efficiency: \[ {Number of stations} = \left\lceil \frac{151}{{Cycle time}} \right\rceil. \] This gives approximately 5 stations. Therefore, the correct answer is 5.