1.1. Calculation of Balance Number

Now let us find the balance number of trucks needed for one loader. So, that depends upon your balance number of trucks per loader going to be serve by one loader is equal to your truck cycle time divided by load of cycle time. So, you have estimated the truck cycle time earlier, so estimated it is 39.5. The truck cycle time is 39.5 and the loader cycle time is 5.5, we have calculated the loader cycle time as 5.5. So, this gives me the balance number of 7.18.

The balance number of trucks needed for one loader is determined by dividing the truck cycle time (how long it takes for a truck to make a round trip) by the loader cycle time (the time it takes for the loader to load and prepare a truck). Here, the truck cycle time is 39.5 minutes, and the loader cycle time is 5.5 minutes. The formula yields a balance number of approximately 7.18.

Think of this like waiting in line at a coffee shop. If it takes 39.5 minutes for a customer to enjoy their coffee and leave (cycle time), while the barista takes 5.5 minutes to make each coffee (loader time), then ideally, you’d want around 7 customers (trucks) in line to keep the barista busy without delays.

Here also I did not get the old number, so I have to do the rounding either I can round it to 7 or I can round it to 8. So, but the logical thing is you have to work with the economics of both the cases and then take the decision.

Since the calculated balance number is 7.18, it needs to be rounded to either 7 or 8. The choice depends on evaluating the costs and benefits associated with each option. Lowering the number can save costs but might lead to delays, while increasing might lead to extra costs without additional productivity.

Imagine a bakery deciding whether to bake 7 or 8 loaves of bread based on the time it takes to prepare. They need to weigh whether baking 7 is efficient enough, or if the additional loaf (though potentially wasteful) would meet better customer demand on a busy day.

So, just to give you a better explanation I am just working out what will be the economics when I go for different number of trucks. Say if I go for 5 number of trucks 6, 7, 8 and 9, how the productivity will vary, how the unit production cost will vary?

The instructor plans to evaluate how changing the number of trucks affects overall productivity and production costs. By calculating various scenarios with 5 to 9 trucks, he aims to determine the impact on efficiency and cost. Knowing this helps decide the optimal number of trucks needed.

Think of it as renting bikes for a group ride. If you have too few bikes, a few people will miss out (lower productivity), but having too many means some bikes will just sit unused (increased cost without additional benefit).

So, basically how to estimate the job production? So, it is nothing but your single truck productivity multiplied by number of trucks, that will give you the job production. So, provided the number of trucks are lesser than the balance number.

Job production is calculated by multiplying the productivity of a single truck by the total number of trucks, provided the number of trucks is less than or equal to the balance number. This means that if you have fewer trucks, the overall system productivity is determined by the truck cycle time.

Imagine a team of chefs baking cookies. If each chef (truck) can make 12 cookies an hour, and you have 5 chefs, then your total production is 60 cookies per hour. The efficiency works best when all chefs are busy but not overloaded.

But when the number of trucks is your balance number say 7, so actual balance number is 7.18. So, when the numbers of trucks are lesser than the balance number say 5 trucks, 5 into productivity of your truck, individual truck productivity is 12.53-meter cube per hour. So, that gives me the value is 62.65-meter cube per hour.

When the number of trucks meets or is less than the balance number, productivity can be directly calculated by multiplying the individual truck productivity by the number of trucks. For example, with 5 trucks each capable of moving 12.53 cubic meters/hour, the overall output would be 62.65 cubic meters/hour.

It's like a basketball team; if you have just enough players to play, each player can contribute to the game. But if you have extra players who cannot play simultaneously, their presence doesn't increase your score, it just creates confusion.

Beyond the balance number, so you can see that number of trucks are more so the truck will be waiting for the loader unless the loader is available your truck cannot do the job.

Once the number of trucks exceeds the balance number, the additional trucks cannot increase productivity because they will spend time waiting for the loader to be available. Hence, productivity in this situation is limited by the loader, not the trucks.

Imagine a traffic jam; adding more cars does not help if there’s only one traffic light (loader). The cars (trucks) will simply sit idle, waiting for their turn while the light is red.

So, most of the decisions are based upon the economics. People are more concerned about the unit production cost associated with the machine.

Decisions in truck and loader operations often revolve around cost efficiency. The unit production cost is calculated to determine which combination of trucks and loaders minimizes overall costs. This consideration involves evaluating various configurations to find the most economical choice.

It's like shopping for groceries; if buying in bulk saves money but you end up wasting some of the food, it might be wiser to buy in smaller sizes to ensure you get the best balance of cost and use.

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