An automobile manufacturer is considering a change in an assembly line that should save money by reducing labor and material cost. The change involves the installation of four new robots that will automatically install windshields. The cost of the four robots, including installation and initial programming, is $400,000. Current practice is to amortize the initial cost ofrobots over two years on a straight-line basis. The process engineer estimates that one fulltime technician will be needed to monitor, maintain, and reprogram the robots on an ongoing basis. This person will be paid approximately $60,000 per year. Currently, the company uses four full-time employees on this job and each makes about $52,000 per year. One of these employees is a material handler, and this person will still be needed with the new process. To complicate matters, the process engineer estimates that the robots will apply the windshield sealing material in a manner that will result in a savings of $0.25 per windshield installed.How many automobiles need to be produced over the next two years to make the new robots an attractive investment? Due to the relatively short time horizon, do not consider the time value of money.

Practical Management Science
6th Edition
ISBN:9781337406659
Author:WINSTON, Wayne L.
Publisher:WINSTON, Wayne L.
Chapter12: Queueing Models
Section12.5: Analytic Steady-state Queueing Models
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An automobile manufacturer is considering a change in an assembly line that should save money by reducing labor and material cost. The change involves the installation of four new robots that will automatically install windshields. The cost of the four robots, including installation and initial programming, is $400,000. Current practice is to amortize the initial cost of
robots over two years on a straight-line basis. The process engineer estimates that one fulltime technician will be needed to monitor, maintain, and reprogram the robots on an ongoing basis. This person will be paid approximately $60,000 per year. Currently, the company uses four full-time employees on this job and each makes about $52,000 per year. One of these employees is a material handler, and this person will still be needed with the new process. To complicate matters, the process engineer estimates that the robots will apply the windshield sealing material in a manner that will result in a savings of $0.25 per windshield installed.
How many automobiles need to be produced over the next two years to make the new robots an attractive investment? Due to the relatively short time horizon, do not consider the time value of money.

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ISBN:
9781337406659
Author:
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Publisher:
Cengage,