The time required to complete a project is normally distributed with a mean of 80 weeks and a standard deviation of 10 weeks. Th
e construction company must pay a penalty if the project is not finished by the due date in the contract. If a construction company bidding on this contract wishes to be 90 percent sure of finishing by the due date, what due date (project week #) should be negotiated?
Since the time required to complete a project is normally distributed, we would apply the formula for normal distribution which is expressed as
z = (x - µ)/σ
Where
x = number of weeks.
µ = mean
σ = standard deviation
From the information given,
µ = 80 weeks
σ = 10 weeks
If a construction company bidding on this contract wishes to be 90 percent sure of finishing by the due date, the z score corresponding to 90%(90/100 = 0.9) is 1.29