Swim produces swimsuits and diving gear for the water enthusiast. The swimsuit production manager is looking at next year's forecasts to develop a plan for the plant. The forecasted quarters are below. Your year will start with inventory of 415 swimsuits, and 17 workers. Each swimsuit takes 15 hours of production time and a worker can work 400 hours a quarter, with a maximum of 40 hours of overtime if needed. Regular pay is $15/hour, and overtime is time and a half. Inventory costs are $12/unit/quarter. Your production line has a maximum worker space for 35 workers. Outsourcing costs are $55/swimsuit. The cost of hiring a new worker is $100, the cost of firing a worker is $550.

A. Solve using the level forecast method, determine total costs.

B. Solve using the matching demand method and determine total costs. Use overtime in quarters 1 and 2 if needed. Use outsourcing in quarters 3 and 4 if needed.

Which option is the best and why?

2. Create a process chart/flow chart to map the process of taking a license plate at Department of Motor Vehicle. Here are the process details: You enter the office and take a number, then walk 50 feet to the waiting area. During the wait, you count additional 30 customers waiting for service. Some customers become discouraged and leave. When a number is called, if a customer stands the ticket is checked by a uniformed person and the customer is directed to the available clerk. If no one stands, several minutes are lost while the same number is called repeatedly. Eventually the next number is called and more often than not that customer has left too. The DMV clerk has now been idle for several minutes but does not seem to mind. After 4 hours wait the customer number is called and checked by the uniformed person. You walk 60 feet to the clerk and the process of paying city sales tax is completed in 4 minutes. The clerk then directs you to the waiting room area for paying state personal property tax, 80 feet away. You take a different number and sit down with some different customers who are just renewing licenses. One hour-forty minutes wait this time, and after a walk of 25 feet you pay property taxes in a process that takes 2 minutes. Now that you have paid taxes you are eligible to pay registration and license fees. That department is 50 feet away. The registration and license customers are called in the same order in which personal property taxes were paid. There is only a 10 minute wait and a 4 minute process. You receive your license plates and leave exactly 6 hours after arriving. Make a process chart to depict this process and suggest improvements.