Clarify Process Flows:

Clarification of flows based on JIT themes can dramatically improve the process performance. Here are few instances.

First, Federal Express Corporation changed air flight patterns through origin to destination to origin to hub, where the freight is transferred to an outbound plane heading for the destination. This modernizes the air transport industry. Second, the order-entry department of a manufacturing firm converted from functional sub-departments to customer-centered work groups and dropped the order processing lead time from eight to two days. Third, a country government used the JIT approach to cut the time to record a deed transfer by 50%. At last, supermaids sent in a team to house cleaners, each with a specific responsibility to clean each house rapidly with parallel processes. Change in process flows may literally revolutionize service industries.

Eliminate Unnecessary Activities

A step that does not add value is a candidate for removal. A step that does add value can be a candidate for reengineering to improve the process consistency or to drop the time to perform the tasks. A hospital discovered that important time was spent during an operation for an instrument that was not available while the operation began. It developed a checklist of instruments needed for each category of operation. Speed Lube eliminated steps, but these also added steps that did not improve the lubrication process but did not make customers feel more certain about the work being performed.