Modify the Extend model for the three station serial system (Three Station Serial.mox) in the Examples/Models and Methods folder. Each station is to use two machines operating in parallel. Units arrive to the system with a mean time between arrival of 5 minutes. The processing time for each machine has the mean time of 8 minutes. Measure the average cycle time, mean WIP, and throughput rate.

a. Assume constant service and interarrival times. Simulate for 250 minutes.

b. Assume exponential service time and interarrival time distributions. Simulate for 250 minutes. Comment on the effect of statistical variability on the system measures.

c. Assume exponential service time and interarrival time distributions. Simulate for 10,000 minutes.

d. Assume exponential service time and interarrival time distributions. Use 10 runs of a simulation for 1,000 minutes.

e. Assume exponential service time and interarrival time distributions. Use the formulas in Chapter 17 associated with a Jackson network to compute the system measures. Compare the analytical results with the simulation results of parts c and d.

f. Compare the system measures with the single machine per station case. For the single machine case assume a mean processing time of 4 minutes. Is it better to have a system where each station has two slow machines are one fast machine?