PART III | LESSON 10: RATE AND BOTTLENECKS MATERIAL HANDLING ACADEMY

Lesson 10 Worksheet: Rate and Bottlenecks

Solutioning tolerance, plus or minus ten percent. Work the four drills with the guide's reference inputs, then stress-test the flow. Don't run the sorter tab or spur speed. That's Lesson 25.

The Three Formulas

Your reference. The Calc Logic Guide is the formula authority.

Gap Produced

SpeedOut x (L / SpeedIn) - L + StartingGap

Theoretical Rate

SpeedIn / ((L + StartingGap) / 12)

Pitch

Gap + L

Rate Quick-Math Drill

Four problems, all on the guide's own reference numbers. Show the substitution, then the answer.

DRILL 1 · GAP PRODUCED

A belt accelerates from SpeedIn 60 to SpeedOut 120. Carton length L 20 in, starting gap 24 in. What gap forms after the speed change?

120 x (20 / 60) - 20 + 24 = ?
Gap Produced:
DRILL 2 · THEORETICAL RATE

At SpeedIn 60 FPM, carton length L 20 in, starting gap 24 in. What's the maximum cartons per minute?

60 / ((20 + 24) / 12) = ?
Theoretical Rate:
DRILL 3 · PITCH

Gap 44 in, carton length L 20 in. What's the center-to-center pitch?

44 + 20 = ?
Pitch:
DRILL 4 · RIVERSIDE STANDARD CASE

Sanity-check 20 CPM with the standard case: SpeedIn 60, carton length L 13 in, starting gap 24 in. Then decide: does it clear 20 CPM with margin? If not, name your levers.

60 / ((13 + 24) / 12) = ?
Theoretical Rate:
Clears 20 with margin?

Run the Five-Question Stress Test

Trace your flow under each condition. No calculation. If a question stumps you, you found a hole in the flow, not your explanation.

  1. A wave releases and every zone fills at once. Does each section absorb the surge?

  2. A downstream station slows. Does upstream accumulation absorb it, or does it reach induction?

  3. Volume grows twenty or thirty percent. Is there headroom, or is the system saturated?

  4. Combined flows both peak together. Is the conflict structural?

  5. An exception is handled manually. Is there a path that doesn't block the main flow?

RIVERSIDE PROJECT NOTES, RATE AND STRESS