Lean Lessons are Everywhere

     Many times, solutions to operations problems can be found in unexpected places.  In some cases, the opportunity for improvement is only recognized when a superior example is discovered.  A fast-food restaurant could easily be overlooked by other service providers and manufacturers seeking best practices.  The examples below aim to demonstrate why this potential benchmark should not be so quickly dismissed.

     Unbeknown to me as a teenager, working in a fast-food restaurant provided a number of lessons that I would later recognize as lean operations principles.  Several examples are briefly explained here.

• Many of the “tools” used are purpose-built for maximum productivity and consistency (“quality”).  The designs of grills, toasters, condiment dispensers, deep-fryers and baskets, and various other items reflect the high-volume, low-variability environment for which they are intended.  General-purpose equipment is the exception and relegated to the most generic of tasks (e.g. mop and bucket).
• A kanban system is created by matching packaging sizes to dispensers (e.g. condiments) and storage containers (e.g. freezers and warming cabinets).
• The application of 5S (sort, set, shine, standardize, sustain) is evident in the layout of the preparation table for consistency and speed.  Each required item has a designated space reserved (“set”) and extraneous items are removed (“sort”).  The table’s design facilitates the “clean as you go” process (“shine”, “sustain”) as well as maintenance of the “standard.”
• The amount of food to be prepared is adjusted, in real time, based on current demand (customer orders) and historical trends.  The kitchen is stocked accordingly; it is fully stocked for high-demand periods, while stock depletion is allowed for “slower” periods.  This just-in-time (JIT) method ensures customer orders are filled promptly while minimizing waste.
• The production of a tray of hamburgers provides an excellent demonstration of the use of internal time vs. external time:
  • buns are placed in toaster (external*)
  • meat is placed on grill (internal to toasting); grilling begins when buns are removed from toaster
  • buns are “dressed” with condiments, pickles, and cheese (internal to grilling)
  • meat is placed on dressed buns and hamburgers are completed (external)
  • *during high-demand periods, when this process is repeated in rapid succession, time for placement of buns in toaster can be made internal to the completion of the previous tray of hamburgers if two people coordinate their work (more on this in final points)
• The division and coordination of labor ensures that all tasks required to fulfill customer demand are done as efficiently as possible.  For example, several people may be involved with a single customer order to prepare a hamburger, wrap the hamburger, fill a french fry carton, fill and cover a drink, bag all items and deliver to the customer.
• Flexible staffing plans allow the workforce to be varied to match customer demand.  Fewer people are needed to meet customer demand during slow periods than are required during peak demand (“rush”) periods.  The labor divisions are modified to maintain system performance while minimizing cost and waste.

     Many other examples surely exist.  The same approach also applies to other areas of business, such as sales, marketing, or customer service.  The purpose here is only to encourage readers to keep an open mind and look for opportunities to adapt solutions discovered in unrelated environments.  To the extent there are no intellectual property violations, adapt the solutions you discover and make them your own.
     Creativity does not require a development to be new to the world; creative application of an existing process, technology, or technique can also provide the performance boost your business needs to succeed.  As a bonus, it is often less time-consuming and less costly to adapt and repurpose existing knowledge and expertise than it is to develop it anew.

     If I can help you discover or adapt an improvement to your business, please contact me.  Perhaps we could discuss it over a burger and fries.

     If you have other examples of lessons learned from unexpected sources, please share them in the comments section.
 
Jody W. Phelps, MSc, PMP®, MBA
Principal Consultant
JayWink Solutions, LLC
jody@jaywink.com