Individual Final Project – A process improvement

Subject: Quality Management and Customer Service

Teacher: Augusto Choy

Section: S-001

Date of submission: July 4th

Student:

ZALDÍVAR VALDEZ, Ana Sofía

Lima, 2018
Process Name
“Buying bread each evening”

Brief Explanation of the background of the activity

I am in charge of this daily activity at home, because I am the one who has more flexible
schedules and usually I am the only one free at that time (the evening); no one else is at
home or has finished work like my parents. So, they have entrusted me the activity of buying
bread each evening in order to have it available each morning, as everyone at home, my
parents, my sister and me, have bread for breakfast. Almost every day, I have classes in the
morning and then I have about 5-6 hours of break until I have classes again at nights, and in
those free hours I go back home in order to have lunch and have some rest.
I prefer to buy the bread in the evenings rather than in the mornings, because time at early
hours of the day ends up being short, traffic is specially chaotic where I live and most
important of all, I prefer to take advantage of those first hours before class in completing hours
of sleep. Furthermore, as it has become a habit, there is got to have bread each morning
because as I mentioned before, we all have some for breakfast and we all take an extra
portion in our lunch boxes for the rest of the day.

List of activities - Process

1. Leave the house and walk 5 blocks
2. Cross main avenue
3. Walk 1 block
4. Enter the bakery and make the queue to pay in advance
5. Receive receipt and deliver it to the worker in charge
6. Worker in charge gathers my order
*Sometimes my order does not only consist of bread, but other groceries such as
butter, cheese, milk or just bakery biscuits (like “empanadas” or “rosquitas”)
7. Receive order and leave the bakery
8. Walk 1 block back home
9. Cross main avenue back home
10. Walk 5 blocks and arrive home
Process Flow Chart
Data collection
The data collected only involves registration of times from Mondays to Fridays because the weekend is too variable to observe and sometimes, we
do not even have breakfast at home those days. The observations were taken from 14th May to 29th June, resulting in 35 days of total study.
However, this first table shows the times taken up to 8 th June, where the process was performed without any improvement. Times were recorded in
minutes.
7th
14th 15th 16th 17th 18th 21st 22nd 23rd 24th 25th 28th 29th 30th 31st 1st 4th 5th 6th 8th
Jun
May May May May May May May May May May May May May May June June June June June
e
1. Leave the house 5.4 0.0
5.30 5.45 5.49 5.40 5.38 5.42 6.00 5.41 5.46 6.01 0.00 5.43 5.39 5.44 5.36 5.45 5.40 5.29
and walk 5 blocks 4 0
2. Cross main 2.0 0.0
1.52 3.15 1.98 1.25 1.14 1.01 1.26 1.17 2.33 2.10 0.00 1.21 1.09 3.05 2.32 3.07 1.11 2.01
avenue 2 0
1.1 0.0
3. Walk 1 block 1.01 1.22 1.19 0.52 0.46 1.28 0.49 0.57 1.09 1.04 0.00 0.52 1.08 1.23 1.16 1.10 0.53 0.59
5 0
4. Enter the bakery
and make the 2.0 0.0
2.48 2.33 1.48 1.51 2.22 2.24 2.35 2.18 1.52 1.43 0.00 2.16 2.26 1.56 1.44 1.39 1.58 1.37
queue to pay in 3 0
advance
5. Receive receipt
and deliver it to 0.0 0.0
0.15 0.18 0.35 0.19 0.13 0.33 0.23 0.17 0.24 1.19 0.00 0.13 0.27 0.29 1.01 0.14 0.21 1.09
the worker in 7 0
charge
6. Worker in charge 0.4 0.0
0.46 0.30 0.54 0.48 0.55 0.42 0.49 0.51 0.56 0.37 0.00 0.48 0.42 0.54 0.41 0.59 0.51 0.53
gathers my order 4 0
7. Receive order 0.0 0.0
and leave the 0.04 0.02 0.03 0.02 0.05 0.01 0.03 0.04 0.02 0.02 0.00 0.03 0.02 0.04 0.02 0.03 0.03 0.02
2 0
bakery
8. Walk 1 block 0.5 0.0
1.08 0.49 1.15 1.01 1.28 1.23 0.53 1.22 1.16 1.10 0.00 0.57 1.09 1.04 0.53 0.59 1.16 0.58
back home 2 0
9. Cross main 2.4 0.0
avenue back 2.32 2.35 2.38 1.55 1.54 1.41 1.46 1.57 2.53 2.50 0.00 1.51 1.49 3.45 2.52 2.47 2.11 2.03
2 0
home
10. Walk 5 blocks 5.5 5.57 0.0 5.49 5.56 5.48 5.13 5.41 5.18 5.12 5.48 5.59 0.00 5.36 5.24 5.17 5.40 5.32 5.03 5.21
and arrive home 2 0
With this first collection of data and the help of several quality tools, now we will proceed
analyzing which activities tend to last more time and make the whole process slower, and of
course find out the reasons why we are making those delays, so we can be able to set up
some improvements to make the process more efficient.

Control Charts:
For this case in particular, “n” will be the number of activities and “k” (samples) will be the
number of days. Range (R) is only being considered for the calculation of Xbar, but it is not
going to be taken into consideration as the range per sample is too variable because the
times per sample were taken for different activities, and so there is a wide difference
between the maximum and minimum values.
 Control Chart without Improvements
25.00

20.00

15.00

10.00

5.00

0.00
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18

Sum Xbar UCL LCL

Evidently, those days when I did not go back home from university are not considered in or
out of control, as times were simply not recorded those days and so they were not
considered for the calculations needed to draw the graph. Still, some days show the process
is actually out of control, surpassing both lower and upper control limits; this is taking more
time than the average indicates. That is why we need to make further analysis in order to
know what the most important reasons and causes for delays are, especially those days.
Histogram

As we can observe from the Histogram below, it is

evident that the activity of walking 5 blocks to the
bakery as well as returning back home walking the
same distance, are the activities which make the
whole process to take much of the time and make it
slower. Crossing the main avenue and make the
queue to pay for what I will buy, slightly take some
considerable time as well. Still, further analysis is
needed.

Histogram
120.00
100.00
80.00
60.00
40.00
20.00
0.00

Pareto
For following analysis with the next tools, activities will be treated separately in order to know
which one of them are making the overall process slower.
 Pareto Diagram
100.00%
300 90.00%
80.00%
250 70.00%
200 60.00%
50.00%
150 40.00%
100 30.00%
20.00%
50
10.00%
0 0.00%
  Leave Walk 5 Cross Enter the Cross Walk 1 Walk 1 Worker Receive Receive
the blocks main bakery main block block in charge receipt order and
house and avenue and avenue back gathers and leave the
and walk arrive back make the home my order deliver it bakery
5 blocks home home queue to to the
pay in worker in
advance charge

Frequency Cummulative % 80-20

Confirming results from the Histogram, the Pareto diagram above also denotes that walking
5 blocks to and from the bakery, crossing the main avenue and enter the bakery to make the
queue and pay in advance, are the activities that cover 80% of the overall process time. So,
in order to make the process more efficient, some changes especially for those activities
should be implemented.
Ishikawa
Now, using the Ishikawa tool, deeper causes for delays in the overall process will be
identified.

As we can see from the diagram, most causes for delays in the process deal with Method
and Manpower areas, basically because of my own bad organization, having to complete
homework or study or because I do not sleep complete hours at night and then I need to take
a nap, which usually takes longer, so I can be awake for classes at night. When I take a
longer nap than expected, I leave home later, finding much more traffic and making it even
more difficult to cross the avenue. Furthermore, having some health problems make me walk
slower than I used to, and that is the main cause why my times to go and return form the
bakery are not so fast. Other causes deal with internal organization and processes of the
bakery, such as using old machinery or having less workers that it is actually needed.

Setting up Improvements
Taking into consideration the observations collected from the quality tools above, being
aware of those activities which delay the process and are under my own control, then the
following improvements could be implemented in order to make the process more efficient:
- Instead of having a nap right before going to buy the bread, try to have a nap just
after having lunch, so in that way I might be able to manage times better.
- If having a nap after lunch is not that possible, try to sleep one or two more hours at
night so I will not need to have a nap in the afternoon. In either ways, I would leave
the house earlier, catch up less traffic to cross the avenue and probably find less
people in the bakery (maybe do not even find a queue).
- For further improvement of my own organization, in the case I took naps after lunch, I
can program myself to make pending homework only up to 5:30 pm or just use those
remaining hours in the afternoon to study only. Either way would let me leave home
earlier, prevent traffic and avoid queues at the bakery.
 - Another possibility to make the process faster, would be to start riding a bike to go to the bakery and return back home. That would
definitely shorten times (the main cause for delays) because it would be easier to cross the main avenue as well. Furthermore, with different
velocities and changes (cadence) proper from bicycles, I might be able to strain my knees less.

Now, being aware of which improvements should be implemented, from 11 th June, times were recorded again taking changes into consideration,
and so times were faster. Times were recorded in minutes and these are shown in the following table:

11th 12th 13th 14th 15th 18th 19th 20th 21st 22nd 25th 26th 27th 28th 29th
June June June June June June June June June June June June June June June
1. Leave the house and
3.06 3.04 3.10 3.11 2.58 3.04 0.00 0.00 3.01 3.03 3.01 3.15 3.16 3.00 3.06
ride bike 5 blocks
2. Cross main avenue 1.34 1.35 1.34 2.20 2.06 2.21 0.00 0.00 1.10 1.13 1.35 1.11 1.02 2.00 1.45
3. Ride bike 1 block 0.24 0.23 0.28 0.33 0.26 0.22 0.00 0.00 0.19 0.24 0.18 0.09 0.17 0.50 0.24
4. Enter the bakery and
make the queue to pay 1.56 2.08 1.56 1.58 1.04 1.28 0.00 0.00 1.11 1.42 1.44 1.45 1.58 1.00 1.03
in advance
5. Receive receipt and
deliver it to the worker 0.16 0.13 0.33 0.23 1.01 0.14 0.00 0.00 0.29 0.18 0.15 0.27 0.24 0.50 0.17
in charge
6. Worker in charge
0.26 0.31 0.27 0.21 0.26 0.44 0.00 0.00 0.33 0.40 0.27 0.34 0.36 0.41 0.22
gathers my order
7. Receive order and
0.03 0.04 0.02 0.04 0.02 0.03 0.00 0.00 0.03 0.04 0.02 0.02 0.04 0.03 0.02
leave the bakery
8. Ride bike 1 block back
0.19 0.18 0.29 0.24 0.33 0.40 0.00 0.00 0.41 0.38 0.23 0.30 0.35 0.29 0.23
home
9. Cross main avenue
2.24 2.17 1.34 1.59 1.57 2.32 0.00 0.00 1.40 1.39 1.26 1.31 1.42 2.00 2.15
back home
10. Ride bike 5 blocks and
3.04 3.00 3.09 3.05 3.07 2.58 0.00 0.00 3.03 3.08 3.06 3.03 3.37 2.50 2.58
arrive home
With these new recording of times, a new control chart was designed in order to know if the
overall process is now under control, this is within the limits.

Control Chart with Improvements

13.00
12.50
12.00
11.50
11.00
10.50
10.00
9.50
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

Sum Xbar UCL LCL

Again, those days when I did not go back home from university are not considered in or out
of control, as times were simply not recorded those days and so they were not considered for
the calculations needed to draw the graph. With the improvements made, the overall process
was controlled, as times remained within both the upper and lower limits.

Recommendations and Conclusions

- It is concluded that due to an inefficient organization, times can be affected resulting in
the process to take longer. Homework, studying, nap times and even my hours of sleep
at night should be better organized so I do not take much time buying the bread. As
mentioned before, maybe the free afternoon hours should only be used to study.
- Rehabilitation therapy is needed soon, not only to better perform these group of activities
in particular but in order to be able to walk or ride a bike normally without any limitations.
- According to the internal processes at the bakery, it would be recommended to invest in
buying a new and bigger oven because in that way the bakery will be able to produce
even more bread in less time and in the long run have higher rotation of clients and no
queues. Breaking down of the oven or running out of gas before expected and every
time more frequently because it is an old oven should not become a habit.
- Another recommendation for the bakery would be to hire one more baker and one more
worker gathering orders so tasks can be better performed internally, benefitting clients
like me by reducing queues and having to wait less time.