A finished MGT-455 Topic 3 bottleneck capacity calculation example, with takt time, effective capacity per station, the sealer found as the limit and two proposals tested. Searches like "mgt 455 topic 3 assignment example", "mgt455 topic 3 sample" and "mgt-455 topic 3 example" land here.
What a finished MGT-455 Topic 3 bottleneck capacity calculation looks like
The finished calculation begins with demand and converts it into takt time: 480 available minutes divided by 440 kits allows about 1.09 minutes per kit. Each station's hourly capacity follows, with labeled figures of 60 kits at portioning with three workers, 45 at sealing after film changeovers are deducted from a design rate of 50, 60 at boxing and 75 at labeling. Sealing is the only station slower than takt, at 1.33 minutes per kit, so the line ships 360 kits a shift and misses demand by 80. Utilization is shown for the others, portioning sitting at 75 percent. Two proposals are then tested. A fourth portioner lifts that station to 80 kits an hour and line output stays at 360; a second sealer raises output to 480, where portioning and boxing now tie as the limit.
How an MGT-455 Topic 3 example is structured
The example is arranged as a worksheet with prose between the tables. Demand and available time come first, producing the takt time every station will be compared against. A second table lists each station with its task time, number of workers or machines and resulting hourly capacity. A third separates design capacity from effective capacity at the sealer, deducting the film changeovers that the machine's rated speed ignores. A fourth identifies the lowest effective capacity as the constraint and multiplies it through to output per shift, setting that beside demand to size the shortfall. A fifth computes utilization at every other station and explains why their idle time is expected. The last part tests both proposals against the same table and recommends the second sealer, stating which stations would bind once it is installed.
Takt time from demand, first
Dividing 480 available minutes by 440 kits gives roughly 1.09 minutes per kit, the pace every station on the line has to match or beat.
Rated speed versus effective capacity
The sealer is rated at 50 kits an hour but film changeovers bring it to 45, and the calculation carries the lower figure through every later table.
One station slower than takt
At 1.33 minutes per kit the sealer alone falls behind the required pace, which fixes line output at 360 kits against a demand of 440.
The extra portioner tested and rejected
A fourth worker raises portioning to 80 kits an hour and the table shows shift output unchanged, since sealing still meters every kit through.
A second sealer, and what binds next
Doubling sealing lifts the line to 480 kits a shift, clearing demand, with portioning and boxing tied at 60 an hour as the new limit.
Where marks go in MGT-455 Topic 3
Most deductions on this calculation trace back to the wrong capacity figure. Using the sealer's rated 50 kits an hour instead of its effective 45 overstates output by 40 kits a shift and hides part of the shortfall. Papers that compare stations by task time alone, without dividing by the number of workers, misidentify portioning as the slowest station, since three minutes looks worse than 1.2 until the three workers are counted. A proposal to add the fourth portioner, however well argued, spends money at a station with spare capacity and earns nothing, and markers treat it as the characteristic error of the topic. Mixed time units, capacity per hour at one station and per shift at the next, break the comparison table. Recommendations that stop at the second sealer without naming what binds afterward leave the result unverified.
Get an MGT-455 Topic 3 example written to your instructions
Send the MGT-455 Topic 3 problem set and your section's rubric, with the station times and demand figures the assignment supplies. A custom example is written to those criteria, with takt time computed, effective capacity separated from rated speed, the constraint located, utilization shown and each proposal tested against the same table, returned in 24 to 48 hours. The first one is free.
MGT-455 Topic 3 questions, answered
What is takt time?
The pace of production needed to meet demand, found by dividing available working time by the units required in that time. A line with 480 minutes and 440 kits to make needs one kit roughly every 1.09 minutes. Any station that cannot work at that pace limits the line, which makes takt a quick first check before the full capacity table is built.
What is the difference between design and effective capacity?
Design capacity is the maximum a resource could produce under ideal conditions, often the rated speed on the machine. Effective capacity deducts the losses that are planned and unavoidable, such as changeovers, scheduled maintenance and breaks. Actual output is usually lower again because of unplanned stops. Using the design figure in a capacity problem produces an answer the line never achieves.
Why would adding a worker not raise output?
Because the added worker is at a station that could already produce more than the constraint could process. In the example, portioning handled 60 kits an hour while sealing managed 45, so a fourth portioner creates more portioned kits waiting at the sealer and the same number of finished kits leaving the line at the end of each shift.