My Daily Maths Challenge

1
My Daily Maths Challenge

• (Steve Butler)

2
Forecast FiguresBasic Goods In

• I am due to receive 16 Containers within my 8 Hr
  Shift
• I am forecast a Pallet Yield of 49.5 for the week
• I have 3 Hrs to tip each container before I incur
  costs
• I have to plan for a variance of 5 to forecast
  either way
• My required rate is 7 Pallets per man hour

What would be the minimum amount of staff that I
would require to run my goods in Dept efficiently
for this day?
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The Maths

• First thing I would need to know is when to
  schedule the containers in over an 8 Hr shift
  that would tell me the minimum amount of teams I
  would need to run with.
• If I had 8 Containers at 0600, and then another 8
  at 0900 I would be finished by 1200 and have 2
  hours left of shift without work
• If I had 6 at 0600, another 6 at 0900 and the
  last 4 at 1200 would I be able to cope?
• For the answer to this I would need to know about
  the number of pallets and the required rate.
• If each container yields 50 pallets on average
  and I need to run at 7 pallets per hour I need
  approx 7 Man Hrs per container
• With this in mind the answer would be yes I could
  cope with booking my containers in waves of 6, 6
  4.

4
Getting Deeper

• Based on the previous calculation I should be
  happy with 6 teams normally of 3 men
• But will I hit rate?
• I need to know how many pallets I am forecast to
  create and the amount of man hours that I am
  going to use.
• Pallets is easy, 16 Containers at average yield
  of 50 800 Pallets ( not forgetting the possible
  5 840)
• 6 teams of 3 men 18 _at_7.5Hrs each 135
• Potential rate 840/135 6.2 (FAIL)

5
Solutions

• 3 teams of 3 and 3 teams of 2, would this work?
• To complete 6 containers 315Pallets (50 each
  5) at a rate of 7 pallets per hour we would
  need, 45 Man hours
• This would be 15 staff at 3Hrs each therefore
  teams of 3 x 3 3 x 2 would be perfect for the
  first two waves.
• The third wave would be 4 containers 210
  pallets (50 each 5) at a rate of 7 pallets per
  hour we would need 30 hours again a perfect
  scenario.

This is a basic solution and does not include the
other day to day variances that can be added to
make solving this problem more complex such as
including clerks and non productive hours into
the daily rate. This solution only works if all
15 members of staff work for the entire 8 Hrs
shift without a break which in reality does not
work.
6
Spatial awareness

• Basic figures ( all metric figures approx)
• Each container is 40 long ( 12.20m)
• Each container is 10 high (3.05m)
• Each container is 8 wide (2.45m)
• A Container contains microwave ovens that come in
  a box 0.8m x 0.4m x 0.4m.

How many Microwave ovens will be in a container?
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The Maths

• A simple equation is used by my staff
• How many can we get across? 2.45 / 0.4 6.125
• How high can they go? 3.05 / 0.4 7.62
• How many in a row? 6 x 7 42
• How many rows? 12.2 / 0.7 17.42
• How many in a container 42 x 17 714

I have to build pallets to as close to the
following specifications as possible1.6M high
by 1.2M by 1M (NB the pallet is 0.2M high), how
many microwaves per pallet and what is my Ti Hi?
(Ti Hi Qty per Tier x Number of Tiers)
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More Maths

• Similar to before how many on a tier?
• Basic ground space available is 1M X 1.2M
• How many can I get across 1.2M / 0.4 3
• How many can I get across1M / 0.4 2
• How many can I get on a Tier 3 X 2 6
• How many Tiers can I make? 1.4M / 0.7 2
• Microwaves on a Pallet 2 Tiers of 6 12
• TI HI would be 6 x 2

How many pallets would this container Yield?
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And Finally on Goods in

• 714 Microwaves on the container
• 12 Microwaves on a pallet
• Yield 714 / 12 59.5
• We would therefore create 59 pallets of 12 and
  one pallet of 6 items

10
More Complex

• Would there be any unproductive time for my
  staff?
• How would including a clerks hours effect the
  rate?
• How much dead space is in the container?
• How much dead space is there on the pallet?
• Could the pallet be built any other way?
• Will the pallet yield effect the plan?
• What happens if the variance to forecast is
  bigger than 5 either way?

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Much Much More

• These are basic problems that we have discussed
  with the school as using as real life examples to
  show pupils how the maths that they are being
  taught today is actually used in the real world
• I have spoken only of a small section of where I
  work, the possibilities are not endless but vast,
  On a daily basis I make calculations on warehouse
  occupancy which is basic pallet spaces available
  against those used. To add complexity a bulk
  pallet will take 1.5Pallet spaces but the .5 of a
  space cannot be used so the of bulk in the
  racking changes the space availability.
• I have many different pieces of Mechanical
  handling equipment (Fork Lift Tricks) that all
  have their own speeds so therefore have different
  productivities, I may be able to load 30 pallets
  per man hour but do I have the equipment to get
  the pallets to the despatch bay.

12
Benefits to me and my team

• I feel that since we have had our partnership
  with Bishop Stopford School it has made my staff,
  my managers and myself a bit more conscious about
  the amount of basic and more complex maths we do
  each and every day.
• In some cases it has surprised the staff, if you
  had asked them a few months ago if they used
  maths at work they would have said no I empty
  containers and build pallets it is now a
  different story
• If by our partnership we help one child to
  realise his or her potential because we raise
  their understanding of the importance of of what
  they are learning now and how that may be used
  later in life then I for one believe that any
  time my team or I give is time well spent
• To see the guys on my shop floor smile when they
  are called mathematicians is fantastic.