OM5 C17 IM
1
OM5 Chapter 17: Lean Operating Systems
Discussion Questions
1. Provide some examples of different types of waste in an organization with
which you are familiar, such as an automobile repair shop or a fast-food
restaurant.
In a fast food restaurant, for example, we often see overproduction (food sitting
under hot lamps with no immediate sale), customer waiting, incorrect and
2. Compare the lean service system of Southwest Airlines to a full service airline
such as United Airlines or British Airways on the following: (a) airplane
boarding process, (b) cabin service, (c) ticket transfer to other Southwest flights,
(d) frequent flyer program, (e) baggage handling, (f) seat assignment system,
and (g) service encounters.
Operating System
Southwest
Full Service Airline
Boarding process
Stand in line in A.B, and C boarding priority zones
First class boards first, board by assigned seat
rows
Cabin service
No in-flight meals due to shorter routes, drinks and
peanuts only
In-flight meals especially on long flights
Ticket transfer to other SW flights
Ticketless travel, if miss flight use ticket
later and no charge
Paper and electronic ticketing, complex re-
reservation system and rebooking fees
Frequent flyer program
Simple free flight after 8 paid flights but loyalty
program (with points) being implemented
Complex point systems and rewards
Baggage handling
Luggage-flys-free
Mostly checked baggage-charge/fees
Seat assignment
No assigned seats but A, B, C group boarding
System to assign seats
Service encounters
Cross-trained employees, friendly and fun
games, tell jokes — flight attendants,
boarding, etc.
Jobs defined by unions with little cross-
training, professional
3. Recycle Technologies manufacturers and sells recycled antifreeze that is 20
percent cheaper and has a carbon footprint about 80 percent smaller than new
antifreeze made from original raw materials. The company is trying to reduce
waste in the traditional antifreeze supply chain. Would you buy this recycled
antifreeze and put it into your vehicle? Explain the pros and cons of your
decision.
Some pros are “going green and saving the planet”, reducing global waste and
the need for many raw materials, lower price, and less energy required to
remanufacture versus find and source raw materials, produce, etc. Cons of
buying recycled antifreeze include the remanufactured antifreeze may “harm”
2
4. Do you think applying operations management concepts and methods such as
Six Sigma and lean principles can reduce U.S. health care costs? Explain.
Provide examples that show how OM can help the U.S. health care industry.
The resounding answer is yes. There are many examples of waste in the U.S.
health care system that currently is 15 to 18 percent of Gross Domestic Product
(GDP). If this percentage goes to 20 percent, as some forecast, it will bankrupt
many U.S. corporations as they compete in a global marketplace. A computer
5. What types of “setups” do you perform in your work or school activities? How
might you reduce the setup times?
Some examples might be gathering all materials needed to study for an exam,
booting up a computer and locating all necessary files to do an assignment, or
making up a schedule for the day. For the computer example, putting all
Problems and Activities
1. Interview a manager at a local company that uses JIT. Report on how it is
implemented and the benefits the company has realized.
Many companies use JIT so it should not be difficult to find one. Suppliers,
original equipment manufacturers, broadcasting, and retail companies are
OM5 C17 IM
3
2. Research JIT practices and how they impact purchasing. How do you think JIT
systems affect purchasing functions and practices? Answer this question in a
short paper of no more than two typed pages.
JIT practices make purchasing a much more demanding job. Fast transport time,
frequent and sometimes small order sixes, minimal inventory, global markets and
suppliers, new product introductions, certified suppliers, vendor managed
3. Research and briefly describe one or two lean initiatives in service organizations
and then make an argument for or against adopting lean principles in service
businesses. What is different about applying lean in a factory versus a service
situation? Describe your findings in a two-page paper.
Starbucks is a good example of trying to adopt lean principles in a service
business with mixed results. The CEO noted, “The majority of cost reductions
we’re achieved come from a new way of operating and serving our customers.
4. Research and write a short paper on the impact of global supply chains on JIT.
Use Exhibit 17.3 to focus student attention. You can ask the students “How do
Long global supply chains are problematic for JIT success and require more
global buffer inventories, longer lead times, disaster planning, dual sourcing to
“Just‐in‐time and logistics in global sourcing: an empirical study,”Ajay Das;
OM5 C17 IM
4
Other information is as follows: The manufacturing process produces and
supplies products to the distribution channels based on past forecasts.
Manufacturing processes must be flexible to respond to market changes and
5. Choose one of the lean tools and approaches from Section 2 of this chapter and
Research and write a short paper (2 pages maximum) on how organizations use
this tool, and provide specific examples.
This might entail the 5s, visual controls, single minute exchange of dies
6. Search the Internet for manufacturing or service tours similar to the ones in this
chapter. Classify their practices according to the four lean principles in a manner
similar to the examples.
The text describes Timken and Southwest Airlines using the four basic lean
principles:
The objective of this question is to apply lean principles to an organization of
interest to students such as restaurants, universities, hospitals, and
7. Search the Internet for images of visual controls. Select five of them and
explain how they contribute to achieving one of the four principles of lean
operating systems.
If you search under Images on Google for “visual controls,” many pages pop up.
Students should select some meaningful examples. Here is one example that
OM5 C17 IM
5
8. A catalog order-filling process can be described as follows: [endnote: Modeled
after an example in Soren Bisgaard and Johannes Freiesleben. “Six Sigma and
the Bottom Line,” Quality Progress, Vol. 37, No. 9, September 2004, 57-62.]
Telephone orders are taken over a 12-hour period each day. Orders are collected
from each person at the end of the day and checked for errors by the supervisor
OM5 C17 IM
6
a. Develop a flowchart for this process (see Chapter 7).
b. Identify opportunities for improving the process using lean principles.
The most serious problem from the standpoint of customer service is the
potential for a 12-hour delay before an order reaches the supervisor for error
OM5 C17 IM
checking, perhaps through direct entry of telephone orders into the computer; c)
processing information needed for customer verification and setup of new
9. A team at a hospital studied the process of performing a diagnostic CT scan.
The current process can be described as follows.
The CT tech enters a “send for patient” request into a computer when the CT is
available for the next patient. The computer prints a request for transport and an
orderly is assigned to take the patient for the scan. The orderly walks to
Draw a flowchart of this process, identify the value-added and non-value added
Students will draw a flowchart similar to Exhibit 7.7. They may or may not be
Value & Non-Value Added Discussion Issues
Why print out a hard copy scan ticket? Why not read scan ticket from
hand held device or PC? Why does process require a patient
bed transfer (two beds)? Why not take bed in room (no wheels?) to
radiology?
Timely pickup by orderly of scan ticket; orderly trying to find nurse;
orderly and nurse must obtain patient’s chart (why not electronic
medical records?); elevators take time; the process is reversed when
taking patient back to their room.
Service management skills for both orderly and nurse since they are in
high contact with patient and family; patient waits in the hallway
(not good service quality); clinical quality requires accurate patient
medical records; patient privacy in transport and waiting in hallway;
safety is always a concern during patient transfer; can orderly use service
elevators, not the public use elevators.