The Single Milling Machine at Stout Manufacturing Was Severely Overloaded

Multiple Choice

The single milling machine at Stout Manufacturing was severely overloaded last year. The plant operates eight hours per day, five days per week, and 50 weeks per year. Management prefers a capacity cushion of 15 percent. Two major types of products are routed through the milling machine. The annual demand for product A is 3,000 units and 2,000 units for product B. The batch size for A is 20 units and 40 units for B. The standard processing time for A is 0.5 hours/unit and 0.8 hours/unit for B. The standard setup time for product A is 2 hours and 8 hours for product B. How many new milling machines are required if Stout does not resort to any short-term capacity options?

A) no new machines
B) 1 or 2 new machines
C) 3 or 4 new machines
D) more than 4 new machines