The Operations Manager at the TerraCycle London Recycling Centre is currently strategizing for The upcoming Easter period, anticipating an increase in workload during that time. Consequently, there is an increased concern regarding the readiness of the recycling machines To handle the additional loads. To address this, a set of 20 machines in the sortation and Aggregation stage underwent a testing phase lasting 2,000 hours. Unfortunately, during this Testing period, three machines experienced failures at the following intervals: Failure 1 occurred at 1150 hours. Failure 2 occurred at 1300 hours. Failure 3 occurred at 1550 hours. 1. Compute the failure rate based on the number of machines tested and the operating time. 2. Calculate the Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF) for the tested machines. 3. Provide an interpretation of the results and recommend strategies for the Operations Manager to effectively manage the identified risks.
The Operations Manager at the TerraCycle London Recycling Centre is currently strategizing for The upcoming Easter period, anticipating an increase in workload during that time.
Consequently, there is an increased concern regarding the readiness of the recycling machines To handle the additional loads. To address this, a set of 20 machines in the sortation and Aggregation stage underwent a testing phase lasting 2,000 hours. Unfortunately, during this Testing period, three machines experienced failures at the following intervals:
Failure 1 occurred at 1150 hours.
Failure 2 occurred at 1300 hours.
Failure 3 occurred at 1550 hours.
1. Compute the failure rate based on the number of machines tested and the operating time.
2. Calculate the Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF) for the tested machines.
3. Provide an interpretation of the results and recommend strategies for the Operations Manager to effectively manage the identified risks.
4. After successfully completing this test at the London Recycling Centre, the Operations Manager Other at TerraCycle's Liverpool Recycling Centre expressed concerns about the potential strain on their machines due to increased workload. In response, the operations manager proactively reached out to the machine supplier to address and mitigate potential risks associated with the machines during the upcoming busy period. Following an assessment by an engineer, it was identified that a specific type of machine used by TerraCycle was causing issues at the Liverpool Recycling Centre.
Presently, the mean time between failures (MTBF) for the machine at the Liverpool Recycling Centre is 100 hours, and its mean time to repair (MTTR) is 5 hours. The Operations Manager engaged in discussions with the machine supplier, who proposed two alternative service deals:
Option One: Buy preventive maintenance to be conducted each weekend. This would increase the MTBF of the machine to 110 hours.
Option Two: Subscribe to a faster repair service. This would reduce the MTTR to 4 hours.
Importantly, both options are offered at an equal cost. The challenge is to determine which option would provide TerraCycle with higher availability. Which option between preventive maintenance and faster repair service would yield higher availability for TerraCycle? Justify your answer
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