Question

Calculate Lead Time

Flint Fabricators Inc. machines metal parts for the automotive industry. Under the traditional manufacturing approach, the parts are machined through two processes: milling and finishing. Parts are produced in batch sizes of 55 parts. A part requires 2 minutes in milling and 6 minutes in finishing. The move time between the two operations for a complete batch is 7 minutes.

Under the lean philosophy, the part is produced in a cell that includes both the milling and finishing operations. The operating time is unchanged; however, the batch size is reduced to 6 parts and the move time is eliminated.

Determine the value-added, non-value-added, and total lead times, and the value-added ratio under the traditional and lean manufacturing methods. If required, round percentages to one decimal place.

	Traditional Philosophy		Lean Manufacturing Philosophy
Value-added time		min		min
Non-value-added time		min		min
Total lead time		min		min
Value-added ratio (as a percent)		%		%

Answer 1