Question

You need to get a driver’s license. There is a clerk A, a clerk B, a clerk C, a clerk D, and a clerk E. Assuming that the work each clerk does is value adding, answer these two questions.

1. Calculate the amount of time in the process that is value adding and the amount that is wait time.
2. What is the bottleneck?

3. Department of Motor Vehicle process:

4. A. Check in, clerk A puts your name into the computer. Clerk A takes 1 minute to check you in and give you a number.

5. B.You go sit in a waiting room for 30 minutes.

6. C.When your number is called, you go to clerk B’s window, show your old license and proof of residence, and pay for the license. Clerk B takes 10 minutes to process your information and credit card and give you a new number.

7. D. You go sit in a waiting room for 90 minutes.

8. E. When your number is called, you go to a room to get a photo made, Clerk C takes 5 minutes to take your photo, load it into the computer system and give you a new number.

9. F. You go sit in a waiting room for 15 minutes. While you are waiting, clerk D prints and laminates your license, this takes her 15 minutes per license. She hands it to clerk E who calls you immediately.

10. G. When your number is called, you go to a window and get your license from clerk E. It takes 1 minute for you to sign the forms and get a receipt.

Answer 1

In the first figure shows the chain of work during this cycle. In this star marked entries are the value added process which means the process which have some productive work.

From the calculation in the above figure we determine the value adding time to be 32 minutes .

And wait time to be 120 minutes.

In this scenario we can se that from total work duration of 152 minutes only 32 minutes are the value added time and 120 minutes are wait time . A process in chain of process due to which whole activity is delayed is called bottleneck.

It is more clearly explained in the below figure.