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Time
charting and analysis begins by assembling a process activity chart
(see the separate section) or a critical path diagram which details
all the steps involved in producing the product or service. The process
chart must contain the elapsed time data. The standard process chart
uses standardised symbols to indicate operation, move, delay/wait, and
store. These should be used because they aid clarity. (There are also
variations of the process chart, such as the man-machine chart that
can be useful. Details are given in specialised books on work-study,
but are usually not necessary for the purpose described here.)
Often
in manufacturing, but also in services, there is an "official" process
chart (what should happen) and a real process chart (what actually happens).
Also process charts, where they are kept, are often notoriously out
of date.
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In
any case the aim is to get the real time-process chart. This can often
be achieved by following through a product or service and detailing all
the steps and times, including delays and storage.
Now
the questioning begins. The aim is to reduce time and waste. It is essentially
a creative process. Preferably the people involved in the process should
be used in its analysis and improvement. Bold thinking is a requirement,
not piecemeal adjustment. The title of the classic article in Harvard
Business Review by Michael Hammer gives the clue: "Reengineering work:
don't automate, obliterate!"; that is the type of thinking that is required.
Competitive benchmarking may be useful as may the creativity encouraged
by value engineering. The same Harvard Business Review article tells of
how Ford used to have 400 accounts payable clerks compared with just 7
people at Mazda.
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