Circuit Board Fabricators INC
Case #3

1) What type of process flow structure is CBF using?
a) They are using a set number production set… I would call it a batch process.
2)

3) Analyze the capacity of the process:
The capacity of this process has a couple apparent bottle necks. The first problem is between the loading and cleaning/coating. The process to finish a board is Takes 1.66 minutes only .66 of that is advancing product to a next step. The process the way it site should produce 900 boards per day at step one. They do not move to the expose step until the entire batch of 75 are complete. Each board is loaded and unloaded by an operator, but there are five machines. That should equate to 1299 boards that can process per day. 450min/shift + 5 machines = 2250min/day of machine runtime – 15min for one job setup = 2235 / 1.72 min/unit = 1299 boards per day. (Assuming they are running only one product per day to obtain max efficiency) The next bottleneck is waiting for the entire order to be filled after the baking process. I would focus on these two areas to start.
4) What is the impact of the losses in the process:
The company has a policy to produce 75 boards for every 60 ordered. They realize a 20% actual loss rate. The policy puts them at 5% over the loss rate, at this rate they produce 3 extra boards that do not even need to be made to cover the losses. They are producing 700 good board per day, so if they were able to eliminate the defects in the process they should hit 840 (+20%)
5) What recommendation would you make for a short-term solution to CBF’s problems:
My first recommendation would be to look at the first step. If the math shows that you can only produce 900 boards per