Week 3: Assignment: 3.3

NCC is a leading organization in the fruit industry and it has failed to find the bottleneck in its Receiving Plant 1. It is faced with the challenge of long queues at RP1 leading to reduced operational efficiency.  This paper aims to determine the bottleneck of its operations, calculate overtime, and the time wasted while trucks are waiting to unload the berries. It will further provide recommendations on the best ways to improve the operations at the organization.

  1. Process Flow Diagram:
  • Determine the bottleneck of the operation(s)

Number of dumpers = 5

Average time used = 7.5 minutes

Average = 75 barrels

Therefore, the total dumping capacity,

= 75* 5 *(60) / 7.5

=3000 barrels/hour

Individual bins’ capacity 1-16 = 250

So, total Individual bins’ capacity 1-16 = 6*250

= 1,500 barrels

Individual bins’ capacity 17-24 = 250

So, Individual bins’ capacity 17-24 = 8*250

= 2,000 barrels

Individual bins’ capacity 25, 26 and 27 = 400

So, Individual bins’ capacity 25, 26 and 27 = 3*400

= 1,200 barrels

Total dryers = 3

One dryer capacity/hour = 200 barrels

Total capacity = 600 barrels/hour

Available Jumbo separators = 3

Capacity for one separator/hour = 400 barrels

Total capacity/hour = 1,200 barrels

Wet berries (de-chaffing capacity/hour) = 3,000 barrels

Dry berries (de-chaffing capacity/hour) = 1,500 barrels

Total de-chaffing capacity/hour = 4,500 barrels

Therefore, drying capacity is the bottleneck operation because it has the lowest capacity per hour (600 barrels).

  • Overtime Required

Operations commence at 11.00 AM while dumping bins start at 7.00 AM. The time difference for the two operations is 4 hours.

Dry Berries

In one hour, there is 450 barrels

So in 4 hours, there will be,

4 hours* 450 barrels = 1,800 barrels

Dumping bins total capacity = 4,000 barrels.

This means that within the 4 hours, there is no hitch in the processing of dry berries.

Wet Berries

In one hour, there is 1050 barrels

Dryer capacity/hour = 600 barrels

So in 4 hours, there will be,

4 hours* 1050 barrels = 4,200 barrels

Dumping bins total capacity = 3,200 barrels

From the given data, the drying capacity is less than the required capacity and thus there is waiting in order for trucks to unload. There is hourly added 450 barrels after 11.00 AM. This means that for a day, the barrels,

= 4,200 + (8 *450)

= 7,800 barrels (wet berries)

Total barrels in truck at end of day = 4,600 barrels

Total barrels in wet dumping bins at end of day = 3,200 barrels

Total time to unload = 4,600/600,

Where 600 is the processing rate.

= 7.67 hours

This means that the earliest time for all the trucks to unload is 2.40 AM the following day.

Loading process further takes another 5 and a half hours to drive the process to 8.00 AM the next day. Therefore, the total overtime during peak days is approximately 13 hours.

Overtime = 13 hours

  • Truck Delay and Time Lost

Assuming that a truck will unload within 7.5 minutes and 18 trucks unload per hour, there will a back-up challenge of approximately 1 hour 15 minutes. Consequently, considering that truck 1 arrives at 7.00 Am and plant operations begin at 11.00AM, truck one waits for at least 4 hours to unload.

  • Recommendations
  • This case strongly recommends a re-scheduling of the arrival time for the trucks. According to calculations;

Total deliveries= 610,185 barrels

Standard deliveries/truck = 20-400 barrels

Average = 75 barrels

Therefore, the total truck load per season will be,

= 610,185/75

= 8,136

Time used to dump berries = 5-10 minutes

So, average time used = 7.5 minutes

So in a day,

= (8 hours * 60 minutes) /7.5 minutes

=64

=64 trucks per dumper in a day

Total dumpers = 5

Total trucks/day = 64 *5

=320

So, in one hour = 320/8

No. of trucks that can be scheduled per hour = 40 trucks/hr.

  1. The organization should also better re-schedule its labor to reduce the total overtime cash paid.

At Receiving Plant 1, there is an approximately 12,000 overtime labor hours.

The average normal time pay rate = $6.50 per hour

Therefore,

Total overtime pay = $39,000

  1. Introduction of 2 additional dryers at the Receiving plant No. 1 (RP1). This will help lower the output time as well as in increasing the volume.

Currently, there are 3 dryers with a capacity of 600bbls per hour.

Therefore, 5 dryers will be 1000bbls/hour

3 dryers utilize 175% (bottleneck of the process)

  • dryers = 105%, (not the bottleneck of the process anymore)
  • The dechaffing process should commence at 7.00 AM and not 11.00 AM, especially in peak periods. This is important in reducing overhead cost through the reduction of the unloading time.
  • Acquire light meter systems

From calculations,

Net benefit = premium saving cost – cost of the system

168750- 20000

Net benefit= $148,750