Question

Tasco Oil owns a pipeline booster unit that that operates continuously.

The time between breakdowns for each booster is exponential with a mean of 20 hours. The repair time is exponential with mean 3 hours. In a particular station, two repairpersons attend 10 boosters. The hourly wage for each repairperson is $18. Pipeline losses are estimated to be $30 per broken booster per hour. Tasco is studying the possibility of hiring an additional repairperson.
a) Will there be any cost savings in hiring a third repairperson?
b) What is the schedule loss in dollars per breakdown when the number of repairpersons on duty is two? Three?

Answer 1

Answer: