A U.S Postal Service supervisor is looking for ways to reduce stress in the sorting department
A U.S Postal Service supervisor is looking for ways to reduce stress in the sorting department. With the existing arrangement, stamped letters are machine canceled and loaded into tubs with 375 letters per tub. The tubs are then pushed to postal clerks, who read and key zip codes into an automated sorting machine at the rate of 1 tub per 375 seconds. To overcome the stress caused when the stamp canceling machine outspaces the sorting cleaks, a pull system is proposed. When the clears are ready to process another tub of mail, they will pull the tub from the canceling machine area. How many tubs should circulate between the sorting clerks and the cancleing machine if 90,000 letters are to be sorted during an 8-hour shift, the safety stock policy variable , (alpha) is 0.18, and the average waiting time plus material handling time is 25 minutes per tub?
