What is the capacity, flow rate, utilization, and cycle time of a barber serving customers?
a. What is the capacity of the barber expressed in customers per hour? b. Assuming the demand for the barber is 7 customers per hour, what is the flow rate? c. Assuming the demand for the barber is 7 customers per hour, what is the utilization? (percent) d. Assuming the demand for the barber is 7 customers per hour, what is the cycle time? (minutes)
a. The capacity of the barber expressed in customers per hour is 12 customers per hour. b. The flow rate is 7 customers per hour. c. The utilization is 58.33%. d. The cycle time is 8.57 minutes per customer.
Capacity Calculation
The capacity of the barber expressed in customers per hour is calculated by dividing the total available time in an hour (60 minutes) by the time it takes to serve one customer (5 minutes):
Capacity = 60 minutes / 5 minutes = 12 customers per hour.
Flow Rate Calculation
The flow rate is the lower value between the capacity and the demand. In this case, the demand is 7 customers per hour, so the flow rate would be:
Flow Rate = Minimum(Capacity, Demand) = Minimum(12 customers per hour, 7 customers per hour) = 7 customers per hour.
Utilization Calculation
Utilization is the ratio of the flow rate to the capacity, expressed as a percentage:
Utilization = (Flow Rate / Capacity) * 100 = (7 customers per hour / 12 customers per hour) * 100 = 58.33%.
Cycle Time Calculation
The cycle time is the reciprocal of the flow rate, expressed in minutes per customer:
Cycle Time = 60 minutes / Flow Rate = 60 minutes / 7 customers per hour = 8.57 minutes per customer (rounded to two decimal places).