Page 371 - Design for Six Sigma for Service (Six SIGMA Operational Methods)

Design and Improvement of Service Processes—Process Management 331

Throughput
Similar to the manufacturing and office processes, throughput is the rate at
which a process produces its output. Higher throughput in the service
factory process usually means more customers are served in a given time
period. Clearly higher throughput means higher productivity for the process.
However, depending on the nature of the service process, there might be a
tradeoff between customer service quality and throughput; the throughput
may not be “the more, the better.”
Service Cost
Service cost is certainly a measure of process performance. Service cost
depends on many factors, such as process efficiency and labor cost. A poorly
designed service process often creates a lot of waste, waiting time, errors,
and bottlenecks, and it is often one of the most important contributors to
excessive service cost.

Service Factory Process Analysis
Typical activities in the service factory process include
• Customer arriving
• Greeting customers
• Taking customer orders and payments
• Customer waiting
• Providing needed services
• Customer departing

The resources needed for the service factory process vary greatly depending
on the nature of the service. For the restaurant industry, the resources
include dining spaces, dining tables and chairs, the kitchen, and most
importantly, well-qualified cooks and waiters and waitresses. Good design
of the service process, equipment maintenance, facility design and layout,
and training for service providers and support staff are the primary deter-
minants of service factory process success.

The answers to the following questions may be very helpful in designing
and improving a good service factory process.

• How many of each type of equipment are required to meet customer
demand?
• Which layout provides the most efficient customer flow and minimizes
delays?
• Which resources can be shared to assist in peak times to minimize
waiting time?