A Note On Process Analysis: The Process of Dry Cleaning

For the exclusive use of D. Quispe Gallardo, 2024.
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Rev. Apr. 6, 2018
A Note on Process Analysis
A process is essentially any procedure that converts inputs into outputs. For example, in a bank loan
approval process, bank staff and computer systems process information about a loan applicant and return
either an approval or a rejection of the loan application. In an airport security check process, security
personnel use equipment to inspect passengers and their luggage, and either deem them as fit for boarding or
detain them for further inspection. In a car assembly process, workers and equipment convert car
components into assembled vehicles.
Organizations create value by providing either manufactured products or services. These, in turn, are the
output of processes. For example, FedEx uses a set of processes to speedily deliver parcels from point A to
point B. Walt Disney World creates entertainment experiences via another set of processes. Nike supplies
shoes to stores via a set of processes, which include obtaining raw materials, manufacturing, and distributing
shoes. Clearly, the way in which a process is managed impacts its performance, and this, in turn, impacts
process output. This makes process management crucial to an organization’s ability to create and deliver
value.
To manage processes, we need to understand them. Process mapping or process-flow diagramming is a

visual tool that helps achieve this. Further, we need to develop some criteria by which to measure the
performance of a process. In this note, we illustrate how to analyze processes using a simple process example:
a neighborhood dry cleaner.
The Process of Dry Cleaning
Consider the process at a typical dry-cleaning business. As customers enter, they wait in line to give their
clothing to a worker at the counter. The counter worker then asks each customer when the clothes need to be
ready, inspects the clothing, tags each item of clothing, creates an order ticket, and gives the customer a
receipt. The tag number on each item of clothing corresponds to the number on the order ticket, so that the
clothing is identifiable throughout the dry-cleaning process. In addition, if the counter worker finds a stain on
the clothing, he marks the stain with a piece of tape. At this point, the counter worker puts the clothes into
one of three piles based on the color of the clothing: dark, beige, or white. The tasks performed by the
counter worker comprise the order-taking process.
Next, the machine operator pretreats the stained clothing by washing the stains with a solution, making
sure to maintain the color-based separation of the piles. After clothes have been pretreated as needed, they
are loaded in batches of dark, beige, or white clothing into the dry-cleaning machine by the machine operator.
Upon completion of the machine process, the machine operator unloads each batch and passes the cleaned
clothing on to the pressing station. There are two pressers there who press the clothing using heavy-duty
This technical note was prepared by Joseph Parkhill (MBA ’04) and Kamalini Ramdas, Associate Professor of Business Administration at the Darden
Graduate School of Business. Copyright  2003 by the University of Virginia Darden School Foundation, Charlottesville, VA. All rights reserved. To
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to publish materials of the highest quality, so please submit any errata to editorial@dardenbusinesspublishing.com.
This document is authorized for use only by Dayanna Quispe Gallardo in IN2006 Fundamentos de Operaciones 2024-1 - Prof. Cintya García taught by Cintya García, Universidad de Ingenieria
y Tecnologia UTEC from Apr 2024 to Oct 2024.
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clothespresses and then pass the clothing on to the packer. The packer combines all the items from an order
and wraps them with plastic. Finally, the packer hangs the order, which is now ready for customer pickup.
To pick up an order, the customer presents his receipt to a second counter worker who retrieves the
order and charges the customer.
Figure 1 illustrates this dry-cleaning process. Typically, boxes are used to represent stages where some
work is done. Solid arrows show the flow of the product through the process. Inverted triangles are used to
depict inventory buildup. In addition, dotted lines can be used to depict the flow of information. If a resource
is shared across stages in a process, this can be depicted by enclosing the relevant stages in a larger dotted
box. For example, in the diagram below, a dotted box is placed around pretreatment and dry cleaning as these
stages share a worker. It is useful to remember that process-flow diagramming is an art, and there are no strict
rules on how to do it. A process can be drawn in more or less detail depending on the goal of the exercise.
For example, the diagram below shows two pressers. If we were simply trying to depict the steps an item of
clothing must go through at the dry cleaners, rather than also show routing choices, we could replace these
with a single box for pressing.
Figure 1. Process-flow diagram for the dry-cleaning process.
Beige Beige
Clothing Clothing
White White
Order Clothing Clothing
Taking
Pre-treatment Dry Cleaning
Dark Dark
clothing clothing
Pressing
Work In
Customer Finished Work In
Process
Pick Up Goods Packing Process
& Payment
Pressing
Legend
Materiaal Flow
Materi
Info
form
rmaation Flow
A lot of useful information about the process can be placed on the process-flow diagram, the goal being
easy visual communication. Suppose we know that it takes the first counter worker three minutes to process
each order and that on average an order is comprised of three items of clothing. While some clothes need no
pretreatment and others require a few minutes for this step, the average time the machine operator spends on
pretreatment is about one minute per item. Before clothes are loaded into the dry-cleaning machine, the
machine operator needs to switch the machine’s tanks, which hold the cleaning solvents, according to the
color of the load. If two successive loads are of different colors, it takes five minutes to change the tanks. If
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they are of the same color, the tanks do not need to be changed. After switching tanks as needed, the
machine operator loads clothes into the machine. The maximum number of items that can be loaded at once
is 150. Rather than wait for a full load of items to accumulate, the operator loads about 90 items in each
machine cycle. The process of loading a batch of clothing, running the machine, and unloading the cleaned
clothes takes 55 minutes. Loading and unloading itself takes negligible time, and the machine can run
unattended. At the pressing station, it takes a presser about 2.5 minutes to press an item of clothing. The
packer can assemble and shrink wrap 40 orders per hour, which include three items each on average. The
second counter worker takes three minutes to retrieve a customer’s order and charge the customer. In
Figure 2 this information has been placed on the process-flow diagram.
Figure 2. Dry cleaners’ process-flow diagram with process information.
Beige Beige
Clothing Clothing
White White
Taking
3 min per order 1 min per item 5 min to change tanks

55 min per 90 item load
Dark Dark
clothing clothing
Pressing
2.5 min per item Work In

Process
& Payment
3 min per order 40 orders per hour Pressing
2.5 min per it

ite
em
Legend
Le gend
Materi
terial
al Flo
Flow
Infformati
In atio
on Flow
A glance at Figure 2 gives us an idea of the process flow and how much time it takes to complete
various stages of the process. It is important to remember that the times presented on this diagram are
actually average times. For example, it is highly unlikely that pressing will always take exactly 2.5 minutes per
item. Rather, 2.5 minutes is the average time per item for pressing. Some items may take considerably longer
to press than others. Although the average hides this variability, working with averages gives us a way to start
analyzing a process.
Before moving on to analyzing the dry-cleaning process, it is important to understand how the process
characteristics relate to the criteria that customers care about.
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Order-Winning Criteria and Capabilities
What do customers of the dry cleaner care about? Clearly, price and quality are important. In addition,
customers may care about the variety of services offered: for example, can one get same-day service, or can
one get shirts laundered or clothes altered at the same establishment? Another issue customers care about is
how readily the service, also known as delivery, is available. How early does the dry cleaner open? Can one
drop off and/or pick up clothes on the way to work? Is there a long wait for service? Finally, because
customers care about innovation, does this dry cleaner offer any new, innovative services that are unavailable
elsewhere?
Thus, customers care about price, quality, variety, delivery, and innovation. These dimensions of
value are known as order-winning criteria, as they enable firms to win customer orders. As in any business, the
dry cleaner must create and deliver value along the dimensions its customers care about.
For any process, an important aspect of creating and delivering value is to understand what the process is
currently capable of doing. In this note, we focus on three important aspects of capability:
 What is the capacity of the process? In other words, how many items or orders can be processed in
any given time period?
 How well is the capacity of the process being utilized?
 How long does it take for an item or order to go through the process?
These aspects of process capability directly impact the order-winning criteria. For example, if an item
takes a long time to go through the dry-cleaning process, same-day processing might not be possible, thus
reducing the variety of services offered and delivery time.
Process Terminology
To answer the above questions about capability, we introduce some process terminology.
Batch: A batch is a group of items or orders that is processed at one time. For instance, the machine
operator loads 90 items at a time into the dry-cleaning machine, and each load is called a “batch.” Often,
successive batches will be different from one another. For example, successive batches loaded into the dry-
cleaning machine may differ by color. For example in another industry such as insurance, an agent may first
process a batch of home insurance claims and then process a batch of auto insurance claims. Sometimes
items will be batched together only in some stages of a process. For instance, in the dry-cleaning process, the
counter workers process customers as they arrive, so in this stage the batch size is one. Furthermore, while
the clothes are batched by color for pretreatment and dry-cleaning, they are not batched for pressing.
Batching provides a way to spread the effort involved in completing a task over multiple items. For instance,
when you go grocery shopping, you typically buy many items in one trip to save yourself from having to make
multiple trips. In some situations, batching may make the task for successive items in a batch easier due to
repetition.
Batch Size: The batch size at a process stage is the number of items or orders processed as a batch. For
example, the normal batch size for the dry-cleaning machine is 90 items. The maximum batch size at this
stage is 150 items. Sometimes, the production batch size at a process stage can differ from the transfer batch size,
which refers to the number of items transferred all at once from one stage to the next.
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Setup Time: The setup time at a process stage is the amount of time it takes to set up or prepare before
processing a batch of items. For instance, it takes the machine operator five minutes to change the tanks in
the dry-cleaning machine to match the solvent with the color of the load. This comprises a setup time.
Examples of setting up in other process scenarios include tasks like changing machine settings (e.g., changing
the temperature of an oven), lubricating a machine, gathering raw materials, and preparing the workplace for
a different product or service. Because setup time is often incurred in order to change from working on one
type of product or service to another, it is also known as changeover time. Typically, the time taken to set up
will not change based on batch size. For example, at the dry cleaner, no matter what the batch size for the
dry-cleaning machine, it still takes the machine worker five minutes to change the tanks on the machine.
Run Time: The run time at a process step is the time taken to actually process an item at that specific
step1 independent of any setup time that may be involved. For example, the run time for the order-taking
process is three minutes per order or one minute per item.
If items are batched at an operation, then run time can be computed for a batch of items. For instance,
the run time for the dry-cleaning machine is 55 minutes per 90-item batch. As it happens, in the dry-cleaning
example the run time for a batch does not vary with the batch size, as long as the batch size is less than or
equal to 150 items, the maximum load size. In other situations, the run time for a batch may vary directly with
the batch size. For example, when you are filling out party invitations, you will likely spend a longer amount
of time if you have more guests on your list.
Capacity: The capacity of a resource is the maximum number of items that can be processed by that
resource in a given length of time. Workers, managers, production equipment, testing equipment, and
computers are all examples of resources. Often, but not always, a resource will be associated with a particular
stage of a process, so that one can also think about the capacity at each process stage. At the dry cleaner, for
example, the tasks comprising the order-taking stage are performed by a single resource, the counter worker.
Let’s compute capacity at each stage in the dry-cleaner example. At the order-taking stage, the counter
worker can process an item each minute, so capacity at this stage is 60 items per hour. From its units, it is
clear that capacity is a processing rate. It is, in fact, the maximum processing rate at a process stage.
What about the next stage, “pretreatment”? Here, the average run time is one minute per item. However,
this task is performed by the machine operator, who also switches solvent tanks on the machine and loads
and unloads it (although loading and unloading take negligible time). Suppose at first that successive batches
are always of different colors. For a batch of 90 items, it takes the machine operator 90 minutes on average to
pretreat them and 5 minutes to switch the solvent tanks on the machine.2 So the machine operator can
process the batch of 90 items in 95 minutes. Therefore, her hourly capacity is:
(90 items / 95 minutes) × 60 minutes/hour = 56.8 items per hour. Notice that in this case we computed
capacity for the machine operator, a single resource used to accomplish two stages in the process: pretreatment
and machine operation. Also, notice that if consecutive batches were sometimes the same color, the machine
operator’s capacity would be greater. If the machine operator is actually working at capacity, he will be busy
all of the time. He will spend most of his time pretreating items, and the remaining portion of his time
switching solvent tanks on the dry-cleaning machine while loading, and unloading batches.
When calculating capacity in any time period, it is important to remember that what we are really
calculating is the average capacity in that time period. For instance, the machine worker may actually process
fewer or more than 56 items in any particular hour, but on average over many hours he will process
56.8 items per hour.
1 We use the terms “step,” “stage,” and “operation” interchangeably.

2 Notice that pretreatment was not described as a batch process and involved no setup time. Nevertheless, thinking in terms of a batch of 90 items
is helpful, since the machine operator, who performs the pretreating, must switch tanks once for each batch of 90 items.
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Capacity can be calculated similarly for automated stages. At the dry-cleaning machine, 5 minutes are
spent switching solvent tanks and 55 minutes processing each load. Thus, it takes one hour of machine time
to run a load of 90 items, so the capacity is 90 items per hour. This capacity calculation assumes that the
solvent tanks are switched prior to every load. However, if consecutive loads are sometimes of the same
color, the machine capacity would increase because the setup time would be spread over a larger number of
items. In fact, this gives us an intuitive way to think about batch size: a batch is a group of items that require
only one setup. So, for example, if the shop always runs two consecutive loads of each color before switching
to another color, in effect the batch size is 180 items. Larger batches increase machine capacity.
For the dry-cleaning machine, the run time for a load of 1 item is the same as the run time for a load of
150 items. Thus, batch size and machine capacity can also be increased by increasing the size of each load. Of
course, to determine what batch size is optimal, other factors will need to be considered. For example, if
there is a chance that the clothes waiting to be pressed could gather dust or odors, then smaller batch sizes
might be more suitable.
We found that the capacity of the dry-cleaning machine is 90 items per hour for a batch size of 90 items
assuming there are no consecutive batches of the same color. The number of items that can be dry-cleaned
per hour, however, is limited by the capacity of the machine operator, which is only 56.8 items per hour.
At the pressing stage, each presser can process an item in 2.5 minutes. Therefore, the number of items a
presser can process in an hour is: (60 minutes per hour) / (2.5 minutes per item) = 24 items per hour. So the
capacity at the pressing stage, given two pressers, is 48 items per hour. Similarly, the packer can process
40 orders per hour, with 3 items per order on average or 120 items per hour. Finally, the second counter
worker can process an order in three minutes. Therefore, his capacity is 20 orders per hour or 60 items per
hour. It is important to note that these calculations assume that the two counter workers work only on their
separate jobs and do not cover for each other.
In Figure 3, we label the process-flow diagram to include this information on capacity.
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Figure 3. Run time, setup time, and capacity at each stage in the dry-cleaning process.
Beige Beige
Clothing Clothing
White White
Taking
Run Time: 1 min Run Time: 1.06 min Setup Time: 5 min
Capacity: 60 items per hour Capacity: 56.8 items per hour Run Time: 55 min per batch
Dark Dark Capacity: 90 items per hour
clothing clothing
Pressing
Run Time: 2.5 min Work In

Capacity: 24 items per hour Process
& Payment
Run Time: 1 min Run Time: 0.5 min Pressing

Capacity: 60 items per hour Capacity: 120 items per hr
Run Time: 2.5 min

Capacity: 24 items per hour
Legend
Materrial Flow
Mate
Informa
rmation Flow
Bottleneck: The bottleneck of a process is defined as the resource that limits production or service
delivery. What limits a dry cleaner’s ability to process an order? The pressing station can process at most 48
items per hour. Although every other stage in the dry-cleaning process can handle more than 48 items per
hour, clearly the process as a whole cannot operate any faster than the slowest stage in the process, which is
pressing. This slowest stage is the bottleneck of the process.
Why is capacity important? Capacity gives us an upper bound on the amount of revenue that the
operation can generate in an hour or a day. Knowing capacity also gives the dry cleaner’s management a sense
of the extent to which its operations will be able to meet demand.
Capacity Utilization: Capacity utilization for any resource is defined as the ratio of the amount of the
resource used to the amount available. Suppose that, on average, 180 customers drop off clothes to be dry
cleaned in a typical 12-hour work day. On any day, the first counter worker is available for 12 hours or
720 minutes and spends 3 × 180 = 540 minutes processing orders. Thus, his capacity utilization is
540 minutes / 720 minutes = 75%. Note that it is possible that order-taking is in fact operated on two shifts,
with one employee taking orders on each shift. This will not alter overall capacity utilization.
Next, consider the machine operator. How long does it take the machine operator to process 180 orders
or 540 items, assuming that other stages of the process do not interfere with his ability to process orders? The
machine operator takes 95 minutes to process a load of 90 items, so it will take him 95 × 6 = 570 minutes to
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process 6 loads (540 items/90 items per load). The machine operator is available for 12 hours each day (or
720 minutes each day), so his capacity utilization is 570 minutes / 720 minutes = 79.2%.
Capacity utilization must be calculated separately for the dry-cleaning machine. The machine takes
60 minutes (one hour) to process a load of 90 items (5 minutes setup time plus 55 minutes run time).
Therefore, it can process a day’s orders or 540 items in six hours (540 items/90 items × 1 hour = 6 hours).
Because the shop works one 12-hour shift, machine utilization is 50%.
Recall that with a batch size of 90 items, daily machine capacity is (12 hours per day) × (90 items per
hour) = 1080 items per day. With 540 items dropped off per day, the portion of machine capacity actually
used is 540 items / 1080 items = 50%. So for the dry-cleaning process, dividing the number of items actually
processed each day by the daily capacity at each stage provides us with another way to compute utilization.
At the pressing station, the time needed to process a day’s orders or 540 items is 540 items × 2.5 minutes
per item = 1350 minutes. The amount of time the pressers have available each day is:
2 pressers × 720 minutes per day per presser = 1440 minutes. Therefore, capacity utilization at pressing is
1350 minutes / 1440 minutes = 93.8%.
Similarly, utilization can be computed at the remaining stages in the process. The utilizations for packing
and the second counter worker are 37.5% and 75%, respectively. It should be no surprise that the highest
utilization occurs at the bottleneck pressing stage.
Cycle Time: The cycle time at a process stage is defined as inverse of the capacity at that stage. For
example, at the dry-cleaning business, the capacity for order taking is 60 items per hour. Therefore, the cycle
time for order taking is 1/60 hours per item or one minute per item. The cycle time at a process stage is, in
fact, the average amount of time that elapses between the completions of successive items at that stage,
assuming that the process stage is operating at capacity.
Cycle time gives us a different way to think about capacity. In some settings, cycle time can give us a way
to picture the process. For example, at a car assembly line that operates nonstop on an eight-hour shift and
produces 480 cars per shift, the cycle time is 1/480 shifts per car, or one minute per car (an 8-hour shift lasts
8 × 60 = 480 minutes, thus 480 minutes to produce 480 cars gives a cycle time of one minute per car). We
would, in fact, see a fully assembled car roll off the line every minute.
Returning to the dry-cleaning example, at the pretreatment stage it becomes clear why cycle time at a
process stage represents the average time between the start of two consecutive items at that stage. We found
earlier that when no two consecutive batches are of the same color, the machine worker can process a batch
of 90 items in 95 minutes, so his capacity is (90 / 95) × 60 = 56.8 items per hour. Thus, his cycle time is
1/56.8 hours per item or 1.06 minutes per item. While it takes one minute to pretreat an item, we find that
the cycle time is actually longer than one minute because the machine worker who pretreats the items also
performs other tasks. In most cases, the amount of time that elapses between the completion of the
pretreatment of successive items is one minute, the run time. Occasionally, when the machine operator
switches tanks on the dry-cleaning machine, the time elapsed from the completion of pretreatment of one
item to the completion of the next item is six minutes. On average over all items, the time that elapses
between the completion of pretreatment of one item and the next is 1.06 minutes.
Next consider the dry-cleaning machine. For a batch size of 90 with no consecutive loads of the same
color, its capacity is 90 items per hour. Therefore, its cycle time is 1/90 hours per item or 0.67 minutes per
item. Unlike the car-assembly example, cycle time here does not yield an intuitive interpretation in that a piece
of clothing is not finished every 0.67 minutes.
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At the pressing station, capacity is 48 items per hour, so cycle time is 60 minutes/48 items or
1.25 minutes per item. Because each presser can process an item every 2.5 minutes, on average, the amount
of time between the completions of two consecutive items in the pressing department is 1.25 minutes.
Similarly the cycle time at the packing station is 0.5 minutes per item. For the second counter worker, cycle
time is three minutes per order or one minute per item.
It turns out that the cycle time at the pressing station is longer than that at any other stage in the dry-
cleaning process. Again, this is no coincidence. The bottleneck of any process is the stage or resource with
the longest cycle time. The cycle time for the entire process is defined as the cycle time of its bottleneck stage.
Because cycle time is the inverse of capacity, if we know the cycle time of a process, we can calculate its
capacity. Having said this, one does not need to calculate cycle time in order to calculate process capacity. In
fact, in the previous dry-cleaning example, we calculated capacity before even defining cycle time. Cycle time
simply provides an alternative way to think about bottlenecks and capacity. Table 1 below summarizes the
calculations we have done so far.
Table 1. Capacity and capacity utilization calculations.

Process Stage or Batch Setup time Run time Daily Daily Capacity Cycle Time
Resource size (min./batch) (min./item) Capacity Demand Utilization (min./item)
(items) (items/day) (items/day)
Order Taking 1 0 1 720 540 75% 1
Machine operator3 90 5 1 682.1 540 79.2%
(pretreat + tank
switching)
Dry-cleaning 90 5 555 1080 540 50%
machine
Pressing 1 0 2.5 576 540 93.8% 1.25
Packing 1 0 0.5 1440 540 37.5% 0.5
Customer Pickup 1 0 1 720 540 75% 1
Raw Materials: Materials that have not yet started being processed are referred to as raw materials.
Work-in-Process Inventory: Any items that are currently in process, either at a process stage or
between stages, are referred to as work-in-process inventory or WIP.
Buffer: A buffer is an area where work-in-process inventory can be stored.
Finished Products: Items that have been completely processed are referred to as finished products.
Blocking and Starvation: The clothes processed at each stage must be stored while they wait to be
processed at the next stage. For instance, clothes emerging from pretreatment must wait to be dry-cleaned,
and those emerging from dry-cleaning must wait to be pressed. If there was very limited buffer space to store
clothes that were between stages, then tasks preceding pressing, which is the bottleneck stage, could at times
be “blocked” by the bottleneck stage. For example, if there were very little space to put the clothes that
emerged from the dry-cleaning machine prior to pressing, the dry-cleaning process would need to come to a
standstill if the pressers could not press the clothes fast enough. Gradually, tasks such as pretreatment and
eventually order-taking could also come to a standstill. Similarly, packing, the task following the bottleneck,
3 The capacity, capacity utilization, and cycle-time calculations for the machine operator reflect the fact that he is responsible both for pretreatment
and for the operation of the dry-cleaning machine.

4 Using cycle time = 1.06, the machine operator’s daily capacity is 720/1.06 = 679.2 items/day. The slight discrepancy is due to a rounding error.
5 Run time is in minutes per batch for the dry-cleaning machine.
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could at times be “starved” by the bottleneck in that the packing worker might be standing idle if there were
no items ready to be packed, because pressing is slower than packing.
Throughput Time: Throughput time, or flow time, is the time taken for a specific item, job, or order to
go through the entire process. For a customer with dry cleaning, a shorter throughput time means that
cleaned clothing is ready for pickup sooner. In manufacturing settings, throughput time is also known as
manufacturing lead-time.
Consider a stained item of clothing given to a dry cleaner for service. Suppose for simplicity that there is
no work-in-progress at any stage in the process when this item arrived and that the item will be processed
through all stages in a batch of one. Then, the item will spend 66 minutes being processed: 1 minute (order
taking) + 1 minute (pretreatment) + 5 minutes (to switch solvents, assuming this is needed) + 55 minutes
(dry-cleaning machine process) + 2.5 minutes (pressing) + 0.5 minutes (packing) + 1 minute (customer
pickup and payment). The throughput time for an item that encounters no work-in-process inventory is also
known as rush-order throughput time, as it is the throughput time that would result if the item were
expedited through the process, while items that had arrived earlier were kept waiting.
If there are other items waiting for service when an item of clothing arrives at any step in the process, the
throughput time for that piece of clothing will be greater than 66 minutes, as it will include the time spent
waiting before being processed. In addition, in practice, the item of clothing will spend extra time waiting to
be batched into a full load for the dry-cleaning machine.
Nuances to the Process
In this section, we introduce some nuances to the basic picture of the dry-cleaning process painted thus
far.
One such nuance involves stains that sometimes do not get removed completely during the dry-cleaning
process. If a presser finds a stain, then the item is returned to the pretreatment stage. This rework affects the
throughput time for that item, and it also impacts overall capacity. If a large number of items need to undergo
rework, the capacity of the dry cleaner will be lower.
Another consideration is that our calculations assumed a steady stream of customers throughout each
day. In reality, there are more customers in the early morning between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m., during lunch
between 12 p.m. and 2 p.m., and after work between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. Additionally, Saturday is the most
popular day for customers, followed by Friday and Monday. This means the capacity utilization figures we
calculated are only averages. Actual capacity utilization will vary quite a bit during the day and the week.
Another source of complexity is the actual mix of orders received. For example, an increase in the
percentage of dresses in the product mix would result in more time needed for pressing and would therefore
decrease capacity.
Aside from the machine downtime required for changing solvent tanks, the machine is also shut down
for three hours each week for scheduled maintenance, and it also occasionally breaks down. These
occurrences reduce the time the machine is available for operation, so its actual capacity would be less than
the capacity calculated earlier.
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Management Decisions
Managing a process involves making a lot of decisions. For example, management must decide what
types of services to offer. If utilization is very low, it may become costly to offer same-day service because the
dry-cleaning machine would need to run smaller batches. With smaller batch sizes, the machine would have
to be run more frequently, increasing utility costs. However, if management decides not to offer same-day
service, the business could lose customers to competitors.
Changes in business conditions also impact process decision making. For example, the owners of the dry-
cleaning establishment may expect to see an increase in demand at their location because a nearby dry cleaner
run by a competitor is closing down. Management expects that the number of customers dropping off clothes
will increase to 240 per day, on average. Does the dry cleaner have enough capacity to meet this demand
surge? If not, at which stages will capacity need to be added?
Management is also considering expanding the business by opening dry-cleaning stores at other locations.
If they choose to expand in this fashion, should the dry-cleaning process be centralized at one store with
other stores acting mainly as drop off and pick up points, or should the process be installed at each store?
How would either option impact capacity and throughput time?
In the current process, capacity was lowest at the bottleneck stage, pressing. So if demand increases, we
would suspect that this would be the first stage to run out of capacity. In fact, if demand increases to
240 orders per day, then the pressing station will not be able to keep pace as it can only process 48 items per
hour, which equals 48 × 12 = 576 items per day or 192 orders in a typical 12-hour day. Management would
need to consider whether or not to buy an additional press and hire another employee to meet the excess
demand. Management might find ways to avoid hiring another employee right away by reallocating tasks and
providing additional training to the current employees. For example, if the packer could be trained to press
clothes in his spare time, some additional pressing capacity could be generated.
Summary
In this note, we have introduced some basic metrics used to analyze any process and have learned how to
determine three important aspects of process capability: capacity, capacity utilization, and throughput time.
The capacity of a process is the capacity of its scarcest resource. Therefore, to determine capacity, one
needs to determine the scarcest resource or slowest stage, known as the bottleneck. The bottleneck can be
found by calculating the capacity of every stage or resource and finding the lowest capacity.
Capacity utilization provides managers with a sense of the extent to which the capacity of an operation is
being used. For any resource, it is the ratio of the amount of the resource used in a period of time, to the
amount of the resource available in that time period. Capacity utilization is highest at the bottleneck stage or
resource.
Throughput time varies for each item or order. If there are no other items in the process, the throughput
time for an item is computed by adding up the run times for the process stages, being careful not to double
count when stages occur in parallel. If there are other items in the process, the throughput time includes
waiting time.
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Glossary
Batch: Group of items or orders processed at one time. A batch can also refer to a group of items or orders
that is transferred from one process stage to another at one time.
Batch Size: Number of items or orders processed as a batch.
Setup Time: Amount of time it takes to set up or prepare before processing a batch of items.
Run Time: Run time at a process step is the time taken to actually process an item at that specific step
independent of any setup time that may be involved.
Capacity: Maximum number of items that can be processed by a resource in a given length of time.
Bottleneck: Resource that limits production or service delivery.
Capacity Utilization: Ratio of the amount of a resource used to the amount available.
Cycle Time: Average amount of time that elapses between the completion of successive items at a process
stage, assuming the process stage is operating at capacity; also the inverse of the capacity at that stage.
Raw Materials: Materials that have not yet started being processed are referred to as raw materials.
Work-in-Process Inventory: Any items that are currently in process, either at a process stage or between
stages, are referred to as work-in-process inventory or WIP.
Buffer: Area where work-in-process inventory can be stored.
Finished Products: Items that have been completely processed are referred to as finished products.
Blocking: Blocking occurs when a process stage comes to a halt due to the slower pace of the stages
following that stage. Once the buffer area following a stage is full, there is no place where output can be
placed to await further processing, resulting in blocking.
Starvation: Starvation occurs when a process stage comes to a halt due to the slower pace of the stages
preceding that stage. The starved stage essentially runs out of material to process.
Throughput Time: Time taken for a specific item, job, or order to go through the entire process. In
manufacturing settings, throughput time is also known as manufacturing lead-time.

A Note On Process Analysis: The Process of Dry Cleaning

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A Note On Process Analysis: The Process of Dry Cleaning

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For the exclusive use of D. Quispe Gallardo, 2024.

A Note on Process Analysis

To manage processes, we need to understand them. Process mapping or process-flow diagramming is a

The Process of Dry Cleaning

Figure 1. Process-flow diagram for the dry-cleaning process.

Figure 2. Dry cleaners’ process-flow diagram with process information.

3 min per order 1 min per item 5 min to change tanks

2.5 min per item Work In

3 min per order 40 orders per hour Pressing

2.5 min per it

Order-Winning Criteria and Capabilities

1 We use the terms “step,” “stage,” and “operation” interchangeably.

In Figure 3, we label the process-flow diagram to include this information on capacity.

Run Time: 2.5 min Work In

Run Time: 1 min Run Time: 0.5 min Pressing

Run Time: 2.5 min

Table 1. Capacity and capacity utilization calculations.

Buffer: A buffer is an area where work-in-process inventory can be stored.

and for the operation of the dry-cleaning machine.

Nuances to the Process

Batch Size: Number of items or orders processed as a batch.

Bottleneck: Resource that limits production or service delivery.

Buffer: Area where work-in-process inventory can be stored.

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