Bus 5461 - Circuit Board Fabricators, Inc.: An Analysis of Production Units
Autor: Antonio • March 31, 2011 • Research Paper • 1,400 Words (6 Pages) • 4,312 Views
Circuit Board Fabricators, Inc.: An analysis of production units
Team 1: Case 1
Eric Elliott
Florida Tech University
BUS 5461 Production and Operation Management
Faculty: Dr. Hong-Tham Rosson
March 20, 2011
Abstract
This case study deals with a small manufacturing firm called Circuit Board Fabricators, Inc. (CBF, Inc). The intent of the case study is an analysis on the manufacturing process that CBF, Inc. uses and ways to improve the process to run at full capacity. It will describe the current process flow and diagram the current process. It will address the current production capacity and the impact of losses in the Inspection process as well as the final testing stages. It will also suggest short-term and long-term recommendations that will enable CBF, Inc to run closer to full capacity.
The process flow structure of the company
Circuit Board Fabricators, Inc uses a make to order multiple stage process flow activated in response to actual orders received from customers. Throughout their process, CBF buffers internally between stages. The buffering process (storage area) used can lead to potential problems of blocking and starving which leads to bottlenecking within their process. The bottlenecking within their process flow limits the capacity of their process, which is why CBF is running beneath their design capacity of 1,000 boards per day.
Diagramming the process
The current diagrammed process used by CBI is shown in Figure 1 below.
In the current process, there are two delay stations where starvation takes place because the process stops until all the boards are completed.
The capacity of the process
Figure 2 shows a breakdown of the capacity per day of each stage of the process.
Figure 2. Circuit Board Fabricators - Process Data
Required Output per shift 1000 Production hours per day 7.5
Average Job Size (boards) 60 75 Working Days per Week 5
Process / Machine # of Machines # of Employees Setup Time
(min. / job) Run Time
(min. /part) Average Size of Job (boards) Operation time per order Capacity per day (jobs)
Load 1 1 5 0.33 75.00 29.75 15.13
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