Assignment Information:
Imagine you are at a sit-down restaurant (or a fast-food restaurant), or you can go actually visit one, and do a SIMPLE lead time study. This activity involves watching the clock and making note of time spent in the restaurant. Note the various activities and the time required to perform each activity during your visit to the restaurant.
You’ll need to note the total lead time (or throughout time) of your restaurant experience, which is:
- The time when you walk in the door of the restaurant to the time when you walk out the door after you have eaten.
Determine the time spent on non-value-added times:
- Wait time:
- waiting to sit
- waiting to eat
- waiting to get your check
- waiting to pay
Determine the time spent on value-added times:
- Time spent drinking (pre-meal)
- Time spent eating
- Time spent socializing with family & friend
Your value-added times may include other time spent inside the restaurant; it depends on what is considered value added to you.
Assignment Requirements:
- Write a simple analysis about your experience. Include the total lead time, non-value-added time, and value-added time for each activity you encountered while at the restaurant.
- Perform a value-added ratio analysis and report your findings. What do you think about the percentage comparing value-added time with total lead time?
- In your analysis include a reflection based on your dining experience with regards to non-value-added activities and value-added activities. You may include suggestions for reducing wait time or provide alternative courses of action for serving food to customers. If you’re dining experience produced a high value-added ratio by limiting non-value added wait-time, provide reasons as to why, or how, you think the restaurant accomplished this task. Feel free to share all items you feel are relevant to the situation and experience.
