INDIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY KHARAGPUR

Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering

Subject: IM21008 Work System Design
Spring Semester Mid-Term Examination, 2015-2016
Full Marks: 50 No. of Students: 88 Time: 3 Hours

INSTRUCTION: All questions are compulsory. Please don't make assertions. Your answers must be
computationally/mathematically justified.

Question 1

TOYCO produces toy shovels on a 20-ton press. The steps taken by the press operator to produce one
shovel are:
• Remove finished shovel and put on conveyor 0.1 min
• Remove debris from the dies 0.2 min
• Spray dies with oil O.I min
• Check raw material (flat sheet) for defects 0.3 min
• Place flat sheet into press O.I min
• Press cycles automatically 1.0 min
The operator is paid Rs.5001h, and the press costs RS.50001h to run. Raw material in shovel costs Rs.50.00,
and it sells for Rs.200.00. What is the optimum number of presses for one operator for lowest unit cost?
Draw the worker-machine chart for this situation.
[6+4]

Question 2

What proportion of machine time would be lost in operating four machines when each machine
operates unattended 70 percent of the time and the (single) operator attention time at irregular
intervals averages 30 percent? Is this the best arrangement for minimizing the proportion of machine
time lost? Assume that the probability of m (out ofn) machines down is given by:

where p is the probability of downtime and q= I-p.

[5+5]

Question 3

Consider the data given in Question 2 for a single operator. Additionally, consider that each machine
can produce SOunitslhour. The operator is paid Rs.SOO/h, and a machine costs RS.30000/h to run. Is it
worth hiring another operator to reduce the total expected cost per unit?

[10]

Question 4

Based upon the following data, draw the precedence chart. The minimum required production per day
is 90 assemblies. Use the Helgeson and Birnie's line balancing algorithm to recommend allocation of
work and the number of workstations.
Please turn over
 Work Unit Estimated Work Unit Predecessors
Time (min)
0 0.76
1 1.24
2 0.84 1
3 2.07 0
4 1.47 0,3
5 2.40 0,3,4
6 0.62 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
7 2.16 1,2
'8 4.75 1,2,7
9 0.65 0, 1,2,3,4,5,6, 7, 8
10 1.45 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7,
8,9

What is the cycle time according to your work allocation scheme? What is the total idle time per
cycle?

[2+6+1+1J

Question 5

Using the from-to chart (given below) showing the number of units handled from one area to another
per hour and the desired size of each area (in square feet), develop an optimal layout using Muther's
SLP (Systematic Layout Planning). Note that you will need to devise a relationship scheme for the
given flows. Make appropriate assumptions to compare alternative layouts. Also, * means an
undesirable relationship.

Size Area A B C D E
150 A 1
50 B 0
90 C 20
90 0 0 1
~
40 E 0 0

[10J