a) Develop a feasible design for this process. Make sure you specify who is assign which task/tasks and in what order.
Activities
Average time for each activity (minutes)
A
Medical history
10
B
Eye exam
8
C
Blood test
5
D
Blood pressure; weight and height measurements
7
E
Medical exam
16
F
Psychological interview
12
G
Final medical evaluation
10
Since task E takes the longest time, task E is the bottleneck. I design a process based on the bottleneck.
A.C → A paramedic
B.D → A paramedic
E → A paramedic
F → A physician
G → A physician
The order is A C B D E F G.
b) What is the cycle time of the process you developed in part a)? What is the hourly capacity of the process? Which activity is currently a bottleneck one? What is the efficiency (or labor utilization) of the process?
With 5 workers, the cycle time equals the bottleneck activity E’s time 16 min/customer.
So the hourly capacity of the process = 60 min/hr ÷ 16 min/customer = 3.75 customer/hr
As showing above, bottleneck activity is E.
The efficiency = (10+8+5+7+16+12+10) ÷ 5*16 = 85%
c) Can you improve the capacity of the process you designed in a) with existing personnel? If "yes", show new improved process design. If, "no" justify why not.
Yes, A.B.C.D.E → 3 paramedics as a team, F.G → 2 physician as a team, the average handling time will be 15.33min and 11 min. Than the bottleneck activity is ABCDE, the cycle time will be 15.33min/customer.
The capacity = 60 min/hr ÷ 15.33 min/customer = 3.91 customer/hr
d) If you could hire one additional employee, how would your process design change? What is the new hourly capacity? Does this new hire need to be a doctor or could this be a paramedic? What is the efficiency of this new process?
Because paramedics can’t do task F and G, according to the result of c), I will hire a paramedic to reduce the cycle time of ABCDE.
A.B.C.D.E → 4 paramedics as a team, F.G → 2 physician as a team
The cycle time of ABCDE = 46/4 = 11.5 min/customer, which is also the whole task cycle time.
The capacity = 60 min/hr ÷ 11.5 min/customer = 5.22 customer/hr.
The efficiency = 68 ÷ 6*11.5 = 98.6%
e) If each physician is paid $35 per hour and each paramedic is paid $20 per hour, what is the cost per each employee of U.S. Navy who goes through the physical examination process for the process you have in part a? What is this cost for the process you have in d) ?
For part a), the cost per each employee = (35*2+20*3)/5 = $26
For part d), the cost per each employee = (35*2+20*4)/6 = $25
f) Which of the processes you designed in this exercise do you think is the best and why? Is it possible to improve even this best one? If "yes", then how? If "no", then why not?
I think processes d) is the best way. Because it is the most efficiency process, and also is the most economic process with the lowest cost per each employee.
I don’t think this design can be improved. Theoretically, I can improve the process by hiring 9 more physicians and 10 more paramedics to achieve 100% efficiency. But this needs much more money, the cost per each employee will be (35*11+20*13)/24 = $26.9. Balancing between the efficiency and the cost, hiring 2 physicians and 4 paramedics is the best way. First, physicians are paid more than paramedics, so hiring a paramedic is more economic then hiring a physician. Second, only two activities need a physician, so, two physicians is enough. So the minimum cycle time for FG is 11 min/customer. 4 paramedics already makes the ABCDE cycle time to be 11.5 min/customer, if hiring 5 paramedics or more, the cycle time and the cost will decrease a little but the efficiency will drop a lot.
PART 2. Quality management and process tools
1. How should quality be defined at this restaurant?
Quality at this restaurant should be defined by service, value, quality food, environment, and overall customers’ satisfaction. Customer satisfaction should be at the top priority for the restaurant, so the