Manufacturing Metrics & Economics

10 Practice Problems with Full Solutions + Comments

Chapter 3 | Automation & Robotics | Dr. Shakeel Ahmed

Problem 1 — Cycle Time Breakdown

Statement A milling machine takes 8 min to cut a part (To) and 1.5 min to
load/unload (Th). The tool is indexed every 20 parts, taking 0.4 min
each index. Find the operation cycle time Tc.

Given To = 8.0 min (actual machining)

Th = 1.5 min (work handling)
Tool index: 0.4 min every 20 parts => Tth = 0.4/20 = 0.02 min/part

Find Tc (min/part)

Solution Tc = To + Th + Tth
Tc = 8.0 + 1.5 + 0.02
Tc = 9.52 min/part

Comments Tth does NOT occur every cycle — spread it over the number of parts
between tool changes.
Here: Tth = 0.4 / 20 = 0.02 min per part.
If tool change interval is NOT given, Tth is already per-part and used
directly.

Problem 2 — Batch Production Time & Hourly Rate

Statement A CNC lathe processes batches of 120 parts. Setup time = 90
min/batch. Cycle time = 4.5 min/part. Find (a) batch time Tb, (b) avg
production time Tp, (c) hourly production rate Rp.

Given Q = 120 parts/batch

Tsu = 90 min
Tc = 4.5 min/part

Find (a) Tb (b) Tp (c) Rp

Solution (a) Tb = Tsu + Q×Tc = 90 + 120×4.5 = 90 + 540 = 630 min

(b) Tp = Tb/Q = 630/120 = 5.25 min/part
(c) Rp = 60/Tp = 60/5.25 = 11.43 parts/hr

Comments Tp > Tc always (setup cost is spread over each part in the batch).
Larger Q => Tp gets closer to Tc. e.g. Q=1000:
Tp=(90+4500)/1000=4.59 min vs Tc=4.5 min.
Problem 3 — Job Shop Production (Q = 1)
Statement A prototype is machined one at a time (job shop). Setup = 2.5 hr. Cycle
time = 45 min. Find (a) production time Tp, (b) hourly rate Rp.

Given Q = 1 (one-off part)

Tsu = 2.5 hr = 150 min
Tc = 45 min

Find (a) Tp (b) Rp

Solution (a) Tp = Tsu + Tc = 150 + 45 = 195 min/part

(When Q=1: Tb/Q = (Tsu + 1×Tc)/1 = Tsu + Tc)
(b) Rp = 60/Tp = 60/195 = 0.308 parts/hr (~1 part every 3.25 hr)

Comments Job shop has the lowest rate — full setup cost on a single part.
This is why one-off/prototype parts are expensive per unit.

Problem 4 — Production Capacity — Single Operation

Statement A stamping dept has 10 presses. They run 2 shifts/day, 5 days/week, 8
hr/shift. Each press makes 30 parts/hr. Each part needs only 1
operation. Find weekly production capacity PC.

Given n = 10 presses
S = 2 shifts/day × 5 days = 10 shifts/week
H = 8 hr/shift
Rp = 30 parts/hr
no = 1 operation

Find PC (parts/week)

Solution PC = n × S × H × Rp / no
PC = 10 × 10 × 8 × 30 / 1
PC = 24,000 parts/week

Comments With no=1, formula simplifies to PC = n×S×H×Rp.

Dividing by no accounts for multi-operation parts consuming machine
time at each step.

Problem 5 — Production Capacity — Multiple Operations

Statement A machining shop has 12 machines running 1 shift/day, 6 days/week, 8
hr/shift. Each machine produces 18 parts/hr. Each finished part needs
3 separate operations. Find weekly plant capacity.

Given n = 12 machines
S = 1×6 = 6 shifts/week
H = 8 hr/shift
 Rp = 18 parts/hr
no = 3 operations per part

Find PC (parts/week)

Solution PC = (n × S × H × Rp) / no
PC = (12 × 6 × 8 × 18) / 3
PC = 10,368 / 3 = 3,456 parts/week

Comments Each finished part occupies 3 machine-slots — dividing by no=3

accounts for this.
If no were 1, capacity would be 10,368 pc/wk — but parts wouldn't be
complete!

Problem 6 — Utilization
Statement A factory has weekly PC = 5,000 parts. Last week actual output was
3,750 parts. (a) Find utilization U. (b) How many parts must be
produced to hit 90% utilization?

Given PC = 5,000 parts/week

Actual output Q = 3,750 parts/week

Find (a) U (b) Output required for U = 90%

Solution (a) U = Q / PC = 3,750 / 5,000 = 0.75 = 75%

(b) Target output = 0.90 × 5,000 = 4,500 parts/week

Comments U = 75% => 25% of capacity is idle (low demand, breakdowns, or

changeovers).
In practice 85–95% utilization is considered healthy; 100% leaves no
buffer for breakdowns.

Problem 7 — Equipment Availability — Comparing Two Machines

Statement Machine A: breaks down every 50 hr on average, takes 4 hr to repair.
Machine B: breaks down every 80 hr, takes 10 hr to repair. Which is
more reliable? Find availability for both.

Given Machine A: MTBF=50 hr, MTTR=4 hr

Machine B: MTBF=80 hr, MTTR=10 hr

Find Availability A for both; which is more reliable?

Solution Machine A: A = (MTBF - MTTR)/MTBF = (50-4)/50 = 46/50 = 0.92 =

92%
Machine B: A = (80-10)/80 = 70/80 = 0.875 = 87.5%
=> Machine A is more reliable (92% > 87.5%).
Comments Machine B fails less often BUT each repair takes 2.5× longer — net
effect: lower availability.
To improve: EITHER prevent failures (raise MTBF) OR speed up
repairs (lower MTTR).
Availability = 0.92 means 8% of scheduled time is lost to breakdowns
and repairs.

Problem 8 — Manufacturing Lead Time (MLT)

Statement Batches of 60 parts go through 4 operations. Setup = 3 hr/op. Cycle
time = 10 min/part. Non-operation time (waiting, moving, inspection) =
16 hr/op. Find MLT in (a) hours and (b) working days (8 hr/day).

Given Q = 60 parts
no = 4 operations
Tsu = 3 hr = 180 min per op
Tc = 10 min/part
Tno = 16 hr = 960 min per op

Find (a) MLT in hours (b) MLT in days

Solution MLT = no × (Tsu + Q×Tc + Tno)

MLT = 4 × (180 + 60×10 + 960)
MLT = 4 × (180 + 600 + 960) = 4 × 1,740 = 6,960 min
(a) MLT = 6,960 / 60 = 116 hours
(b) Days = 116 / 8 = 14.5 working days

Comments Actual machining per part = no×Tc = 4×10 = 40 min.

40 min machining out of 6,960 min total = only 0.57% of MLT is real
cutting!
99.4% is setup + waiting. This is the target for lean manufacturing
improvement.

Problem 9 — Plant Production Rate — Multi-Machine / Multi-Part (Rpph)

Statement A shop has 3 machines, 40 hr/week. Part A (no=2): M1 → 16 hr @ 20
pc/hr, M2 → 10 hr @ 25 pc/hr. Part B (no=1): M1 → 24 hr @ 15 pc/hr.
Part C (no=1): M3 → 40 hr @ 30 pc/hr. Find (a) fij values, (b) Rpph, (c)
weekly output.

Given Available = 40 hr/wk per machine

Part A: M1=16hr@20, M2=10hr@25, no_A=2
Part B: M1=24hr@15, no_B=1
Part C: M3=40hr@30, no_C=1

Find (a) fij (b) Rpph (pc/hr) (c) Weekly output (pc/wk)

Solution (a) fij = hours_on_part / total_hours:

 f(A,M1)=16/40=0.40 | f(A,M2)=10/40=0.25 | f(B,M1)=24/40=0.60 |
f(C,M3)=40/40=1.00
Check M1: 0.40+0.60=1.00 ✓ M2: 0.25 ✓ M3: 1.00 ✓

(b) Rpph = SUM(fij × Rpij / noj):

Part A (2 ops): (0.40×20)/2 + (0.25×25)/2 = 4.0 + 3.125 = 7.125
Part B (1 op): (0.60×15)/1 = 9.0
Part C (1 op): (1.00×30)/1 = 30.0
Rpph = 7.125 + 9.0 + 30.0 = 46.125 pc/hr

(c) Weekly output = 46.125 × 40 = 1,845 pc/week

Comments For Part A (2 ops): both M1 and M2 contribute, but each divided by
no=2 — avoids double-counting.
M1 is 100% utilized (f=1.0), M2 is 25%, M3 is 100% — these are the
bottleneck machines.
Sum of fij per machine must be <= 1.0; here both M1 and M3 hit
exactly 1.0 = full capacity.

Problem 10 — WIP with Machine NOT 100% Utilized ★ (Key Concept)

Statement A batch plant has 10 machines, 40 hr/wk. Batches of 80 parts, 5
operations each. Setup=2.5 hr/op, Cycle=5 min/part, Non-op time=10
hr/op. Actual weekly output = 600 parts (machines are NOT fully
utilized). Find: (a) MLT, (b) full PC at 100% utilization, (c) actual Rpph,
(d) utilization U, (e) WIP based on ACTUAL output, (f) compare WIP at
100% vs actual utilization.

Given n = 10 machines, 40 hr/week available

Q = 80 parts/batch, no = 5 operations
Tsu = 2.5 hr = 150 min/op, Tc = 5 min/part
Tno = 10 hr = 600 min/op
Actual output = 600 parts/week (NOT at full capacity)

Find (a) MLT (b) PC@100% (c) Rpph_actual (d) U (e) WIP_actual (f)
WIP comparison

Solution ━━ (a) Manufacturing Lead Time ━━

MLT = no × (Tsu + Q×Tc + Tno)
MLT = 5 × (150 + 80×5 + 600) = 5 × (150+400+600) = 5 × 1150 = 5750
min = 95.83 hr

━━ (b) Production Capacity at 100% utilization ━━

Tp = (Tsu + Q×Tc)/Q = (150 + 400)/80 = 550/80 = 6.875 min/part
Rp_per_machine = 60/6.875 = 8.727 pc/hr
Rpph_full = n × Rp/no = 10 × 8.727/5 = 17.45 pc/hr
PC = Rpph_full × 40 = 17.45 × 40 = 698 parts/week
 ━━ (c) Actual Rpph based on real output ━━
Rpph_actual = Actual output / Available hours = 600 / 40 = 15.0 pc/hr

━━ (d) Utilization ━━
U = Actual output / PC = 600 / 698 = 0.86 = 86%
(14% of capacity is idle — machines not running full time)

━━ (e) WIP based on ACTUAL output ━━

WIP_actual = Rpph_actual × MLT = 15.0 × 95.83 = 1,437 parts

━━ (f) Comparison: WIP at 100% vs 86% utilization ━━

WIP at 100% (U=1.0): WIP_full = Rpph_full × MLT = 17.45 × 95.83 =
1,672 parts
WIP at 86% (actual): WIP_actual = 15.0 × 95.83 = 1,437 parts
Difference = 1,672 - 1,437 = 235 fewer parts in process at 86%
utilization

Comments RULE: WIP always uses Rpph_ACTUAL (real throughput), NOT the
capacity rate.
MLT is FIXED by batch size, setup, and non-op times — it does NOT
change with utilization.
Lower U => fewer parts enter the system per hour => lower WIP in the
factory.
At 86% utilization: 1,437 parts stuck in factory. At 100%: 1,672 parts.
MLT = 95.83 hr both cases.
Non-op time = 5×600=3000 min out of 5750 min MLT = 52% of MLT is
purely waiting!
Reducing Tno (non-operation time) is the single biggest lever to reduce
both MLT and WIP.
Formula Cheatsheet
Formula Expression Notes

Cycle Time Tc = To + Th + Tth Tth spread over parts between

changes

Batch Time Tb = Tsu + Q×Tc Full batch processing time

Avg Prod Time Tp = Tb / Q Per-part time including setup

Hourly Rate Rp = 60 / Tp Tp must be in minutes

Plant Rate Rpph = SUM(fij×Rpij/noj) fij = time fraction; noj = ops per
part

Capacity PC = n×S×H×Rp / no At 100% utilization

Utilization U = Actual Q / PC Use as percentage

Availability A = (MTBF-MTTR)/MTBF Uptime proportion

MLT (batch) no×(Tsu + Q×Tc + Tno) Tno = waiting+moving+inspect

MLT (flow line) MLT = no × Tc Tc = Tr + Max(To)

WIP Rpph_ACTUAL × MLT Use actual rate, NOT capacity

rate!