III. Broiler Assembly 



Broiler assembly operations are eonducted for each day of sched- 

 uled processing. A quantity of broilers sufficient to exactly meet the 

 number scheduled for processing is assembled at the plant. Trucks, 

 pick-up laborers, and supervisors are dispatched from the plant to the 

 broiler producing units. The pick-up laborers and foremen travel by 

 station wagon. At the farm the crew, which consists of a foreman, labor- 

 ers, and the driver of the truck being loaded, prepare for catching and 

 crating birds. The crew proceeds to catch, carry to, and crate the birds 

 on the truck. Once the truck is loaded, the driver secures the load and 

 proceeds to the plant. In the meantime, another truck arrives and the 

 driver prepares it for loading. At the plant, the plant unloading crew 

 unloads the truck and reloads it with empty crates. The driver then 

 proceeds back to the original farm stop or to another farm. When oper- 

 ations are finished at a farm, the crew proceeds to another farm if suffi- 

 cient time remains in the specified ten-hour day. If not, the crew returns 

 to the plant and is dismissed. 



Factors considered in this analysis of each firm size at each density 

 level are: number and size of crews, number and size of trucks, and 

 broiler weight shrinkage. Within limits, these factors can be substituted 

 for one another. This is considered in the derivation of the least cost 

 solutions. 



In the analysis, the crew size can range from three to ten men. 

 Labor productivity ranges from a low of 563 pounds per man-hour for 

 a three man crew to a maximum of 949 pounds per man-hour for a nine 

 man crew. A ten man crew has a laljor productivity of 942 pounds per 

 man-hour. Crew productivity ranges from 1,690 pounds per hour for a 

 three man crew to 9,400 pounds per hour for a ten man crew. 



Two truck sizes are used which are representative of the sizes used 

 by many firms. They are straight trucks with crate capacities of 190 and 

 220 crates or broiler capacities of 9,975 pounds and 11.550 pounds. 



Bird weight shrinkage is an important item, and the loss is gener- 

 ally regarded as a function of the time that birds are in crates. The 

 weight loss increases at a decreasing rate over time. 



Broiler assembly costs are categorized under the six headings of 

 labor, truck, shrinkage, management, car, and crate. Labor includes the 

 cost of the truck drivers, pick-up laborers, and foremen. Truck includes 

 the cost of owning and operating the trucks used for hauling broilers. 

 Shrinkage is the value of the weight lost in the assembly operation. Man- 

 agement includes the cost of space and personnel that arc required in 

 management and direction of the operation. The crew transportation 

 expenses are for transporting the crews out from and back to tbe plant. 

 Crate expenses are for the crates used to contain the broilers while in 

 transit between the farm and plant. 



Table 3 is a summary of the assembly costs for tbe six firms with 

 broiler production density at three levels. At each density level, increas- 

 ing firm size increases unit assembly cost. At the lowest density level 

 considered, cost increases from 0.881 cents a pound for firm A to 1.255 

 cents a pound for firm D. Firms E and F cannot assemble tbe volume 

 required within the ten hour work day limit on resources at this density 



10 



