Section 2  Bottleneck Analysis and the Theory of Constraints 1) The bottleneck time is always at least as long as the throughput time. 2) To find the throughput time with simultaneous processes, compute the time over all paths and choose the shortest path through the system. 3) The theory of constraints is a body of knowledge that deals with anything that limits an organization’s ability to achieve its goals. 4) Substantial research has proved that the only successful method of dealing with bottlenecks is to increase the bottleneck’s capacity. 5) Consider a production line with five stations. Station 1 can produce a unit in 9 minutes. Station 2 can produce a unit in 10 minutes. Station 3 has two identical machines, each of which can process a unit in 12 minutes (each unit only needs to be processed on one of the two machines. Station 4 can produce a unit in 5 minutes. Station 5 can produce a unit in 8 minutes. Which station is the bottleneck station? A) Station 1 B) Station 2 C) Station 3 D) Station 4 E) Station 5 6) A tortilla chip workstation produces 1,000 chips in 20 seconds. What is its bottleneck time? A) .02 seconds per chip B) 50 chips per second C) 20 seconds D) 6000 chips per minute E) 20,000 seconds 7) A work system has five stations that have process times of 5, 9, 4, 9, and 8. What is the throughput time of the system? A) 4 B) 9 C) 18 D) 35 E) 7 8) A work system has five stations that have process times of 5, 9, 4, 9, and 8. What is the bottleneck time? A) 4 B) 9 C) 18 D) 35 E) 7 9) An assembly line has 10 stations with times of 1, 2, 3, 4, …, 10, respectively. What is the bottleneck time? A) 18.18% of the throughput time B) 100% of the throughput time C) 550% of the throughput time D) 50% of the throughput time E) 1.82% of the throughput time 10) Which of the following is not one of the four principles of bottleneck management? A) Release work orders to the system at the bottleneck’s capacity pace. B) Lost time at the bottleneck is lost system capacity. C) Increasing capacity at non-bottleneck stations is a mirage. D) Increased bottleneck capacity is increased system capacity. E) Bottlenecks should be moved to the end of the system process.