Process Analysis

Our focus this week is process analysis. Why analyze processes? To ensure that we, as
operations managers, have the data and information to continually improve processes.

Let’s now define “process analysis”: The documentation and detailed understanding of how
work is performed and how it can be redesigned. So, as can be seen, continuous improvement
is the goal.

So, how are processes analyzed? Let’s list and explore the basic steps here:
1. Identify the opportunity: Sometimes opportunities for improvement are obvious, as
seen by increasing work-in-process being backed up; unhappy employees rushing and
being overworked to keep up; or perhaps work cells that produce poor quality. There
may be times where opportunities for improvement aren’t as obvious. In these cases,
various lean “tools” can be applied. Much more on that in later weeks.
2. Define the scope: Once the opportunities for improvement are identified, now it’s your
job as an operations manager to start the improvement process. The first step in
implementing improvements is to define the scope of the improvement work. Be sure
that the scope is large enough to make an impact, yet not too large that an impact can’t
be made quickly.
3. Document the process: There are many methods to document processes. Simple tools
include flow charts and bar graphs. There are also more complex tools such as Pareto
charts, process maps, people maps, waste maps, spaghetti diagrams, etc. The key to
documenting the process, whether your using a simple or complex tool, is to put on
paper what you see happening. Once the process is documented, now an operations
manager can dissect the process and identify opportunities for improvement.
4. Evaluate performance: Now that the process has been documented, it’s time to sit
down with your operations team, study the process you had documented, decide what
parts of the process require improvement, and then take action.
5. Redesign the process: Now that you have documented the process and evaluated the
process, it’s time to redesign the process based on what you’ve found. So, what do you
look for when you want to improve the process? Analyze what you’ve documented,
decide what “doesn’t make sense”, and where there appears to be time, materials and
resources wasted (non-value-added activities).
6. Implement changes: Once the process is redesigned, have a bias towards action. Get
your employees engaged and make positive change to the process. As an operations
manager, don’t wait for what you think is the “perfect” process improvement. Take
action and make it an iterative process. A little improvement at a time will keep your
 employees engaged in the improvement process and will keep your organization moving
towards perfection.

You’ll see in this week’s chapter some excellent examples of very detailed flowcharts used to
document processes. These examples list activities performed by many different functions
within an organization. Cross-department interactions (or lack thereof) can be observed in
these detailed flowcharts. As an operations manager, use tools like those displayed in the
chapter to document processes and discover opportunities for improvement.

Let’s now discuss how we can “measure” processes. If you’d like to know how long activities
take, you can use the tool of “time study”. It is as simple as it sounds. Use a stopwatch to time
the different parts of a process. Once you can determine the time the parts of the process
“ought to take”, set that as your standard time (the time that should be measured against).
Once you have your standard time, work on improving it.

The final thing we will discuss here is some problem solving techniques. The first technique
we’ll discuss is the “Ishakawa Diagram” – or the fishbone diagram. The problem you’re trying
to solve is written on the far right of the diagram. To the left, you list four categories: People,
Equipment, Materials and Procedures. Within each of those categories, brainstorm what could
have gone wrong within that category and document it on the diagram. Come up with as many
probable causes as you can within each category (make sure you are doing this with a team of
people). Once you have exhausted all of the team’s ideas, dissect your way through the
diagram to come up with the root cause(s) of the problem. Be sure to introduce
countermeasures to immediately correct the problem, and then fix the root cause to prevent
the problem from recurring.