Jacob Davis

4/30/2016
Discrete Mathematics
Eric Smith
The Critical Path to Success
Ever watch one of those cooking shows where the participants have to race against each
other in a seemingly unreasonably short amount of time that is the critical path concept in
action. Society as a whole utilizes critical paths more frequently than it realizes. People all
around the world build themselves algorithms to maximize every second in a day without
recognizing that they are performing mathematics, just without abstract numbers. The concept of
a critical path is it outlines the project or task into smaller events and structures it in a
chronological fashion that helps identify which items are required first and which items are
dependent on a previous action. After these items are set up, they then need to be assigned a time
value to reflect how long the task takes. Lets look at a personal example of a critical path in the
setup for Taco Bell morning: only an hour to set up the store for open.

Turn on lights,
fryer, line, and
rethermalizer

Hot drop

Hot drop
cooks

Pan hot
drop

3 minutes

30 minutes

5 minutes

2 minutes
Set up cold
line

Open

15 minutes
Move prep
tables, line
trash cans,
wash hands

Prepare beans
and rice

Beans and rice

cook

5 minutes

5 minutes

45 minutes

As seen on the chart, it takes about seven minutes to get the store to the point where all functions
can be carried out.
Immediately after, the beans and rice are started as they take 45 minutes to cook. After mixing,
the hot drop then goes into the rethermalizer and takes 30 minutes to cook there.
While the hot line items (hot drop, beans, and rice) are cooking it is then time to set up the cold
line.
Since the beans and rice are put onto the line to finish cooking, just need to pan up the rest of the
hot line. Should have whole line ready with five minutes to spare.
The critical path for this is ensuring beans and rice are started first followed by the hot
drop and panning the hot drop. The cold line setup is grouped into what is called a floating path
in engineering because it does not have an immediate time restraint. This task is still required to
complete the opening, however they have a buffer as to when they need accomplished. Most
companies, especially factories, streamline their production based around critical paths. In a
factory setting there are few tasks that have float time as most items are either removed if not
necessary for production or only given sufficient manpower to keep up with the rest of
production but remove as much potential float time as possible. However in research and
development oriented work there will be lots of float time to utilize, as often studies require a
substantial amount of time between inception and various points of data collection; during that
time the researchers can further define parameters that may or may not have been considered
originally. Another example of critical paths would be the group project for Intro to Engineering
at CWI: each group is supposed to tackle a problem that involves engineering, develop a paper
for it, and deliver a presentation on the findings to the class. While it is for the most part a linear

progression from one step to the next, certain elements were given substantially more time than
required to complete.
Step One: Determine the problem
Step Two: Define the problem. Which parts can be tested or fixed?
Step Three: Research
Step Four: Paper
Step Five: Presentation
Determine
the Problem

3 weeks

1 week

Define
the
Problem

8 weeks

Research
3 weeks

2 weeks

Presentation
1 week

1 week

Paper
1 week

This example, while each item is critical to the success of the project, demonstrates how
float time can be present in a critical path. The green arrows show how much time was allotted to
the task to be completed and with both steps two and three it is shown that there was
substantially large float times given. As the paper and presentation made up the final project,
both the paper and the presentation were held off until the last weeks of the course even though
the teacher admitted that the project could be completed in its entirety in half the semester.
Critical paths serve as a way to maximize time efficiency in a society that values every
second of every day. However, instead of winging the process and improving errors on each

iteration, utilizing critical paths helps streamline the process as it outlines areas of concern and
ensures that potential timelines are able to be accomplished. If the current equipment available
takes an hour to do something, promising it can be done in 45-50 minutes is both unreasonable
and can lead to major conflicts between organizations. It is a mathematical process that has
affected all aspects of life from work to cooking to getting ready in the morning. Critical paths
enable us to not only save time but ensure we have enough available time for leisurely activities.
A side effect of critical paths is that companies can sometimes streamline their processes too
much. This was the case for most factory workers prior to the New Deal labor reform. Safety for
workers was seldom a significant risk factor for production and workers frequently lost fingers,
arms, and lives unjamming machinery, of which management did not turn off. However, through
the New Deal and unions, worker safety started to become a risk factor for producers Today, we
look at the benefits wrought by those of the 1930s and 1940s 40 hour work weeks and
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and see that while critical paths can
benefit people and organizations, it can also cause problems when things like employee safety
are not considered significant enough to incorporate when developing procedures. OSHA is most
likely the largest contribution to providing a check against companies maximizing production as
it outlines core safety standards that standard operating protocols (SOPs) have to abide by. With
these alterations to workplace safety and production floors the critical paths now sought by U.S.
based companies has to accommodate these as much as any other factor, such as profits or costs,
otherwise they are held liable for any damages to persons and a hefty fine from the U.S.
Department of Labor. These changes have forever redefined how critical paths work in the field
of manufacturing fortunately these algorithms of time efficiency are capable of evolving to

match whatever system they end up in allowing them to remain always relevant. For critical
paths comprise of all activities in life, therefore math is life.