OPS.11.1:5.2 - Sample throughput does not determine order completion

A laboratory has one machine that processes up to two samples in a four-hour batch. Order U needs samples u1 and u2; both are ready at zero. Order V needs v1, ready at hour three. No other work remains after the required samples finish.

Starting U’s two samples at zero completes U at four. Processing V next completes V at eight. Waiting until hour three and batching u1 with v1 completes those samples at seven; u2 then completes at eleven. Both alternatives use two machine cycles and process three samples, yet the order completions differ: (4,8) versus (11,7).

For a promise U by five and V by nine, only the first alternative meets both. The model must retain the sample-to-order relation and the all-required completion condition. A total sample count cannot answer that promise. If partial results become useful to the customer, revise the receiving result rather than assuming the same all-required condition.