As he does on the first business day of each month, Ted has just opened up the suggestion box that Luke placed in the plant to attract ideas from the employees.
Ted finds a message from a production worker who is very concerned about the company’s racquetball racquet machine:
Dear Thorndike management:
I am getting very worried about the racquetball racquet machine. Some of the older workers say it was here 15 years ago when they started, and I think it is just about worn out. I know new machines are expensive, so I thought I would collect some numbers that might help you out in making a decision to replace it.
I know that the weight of the racquets coming off the machine is a big deal, since all of the rac- quets are weighed and then you decide which ones will be “Light,” “Regular,” and whatever you’ve decided to call the heavier model. Anyway, I’ve been doing some research. On my own time, honest. From time to time during the day, I take the 30 racquets that have just come from the machine and weigh them myself.
You’ve told us that some racquets weigh more than others, so I can understand that one racquet might weigh 245 grams, the very next one might weigh 230 grams, and then the next one off the line might be all the way up to 250 grams. Like I said before, I think the machine is worn out. The first 30 racquets I weighed yesterday weighed an average of 236.5 grams, the next 30 weighed an
average of 243.1 grams. I think the machine is going crazy, and you should either get it fixed or replace it.