Written by Charities often rely heavily on volunteers, and the BW Food Pantry was fortunate to have Green Belt Darleen Grandison help them improve their Food Box process. The Food Box process took 20 minutes to pack a box, which limited the capacity of the organization, and risked the loss of volunteers.
After Darleen analyzed the process, she applied Lean principles and in less than a month, she was able to cut cycle time to 9 minutes, reducing the walking time by 55%.
Root Cause Analysis
- Data showed pack food box time took longer because:
- Food was too far from packing tables
- Boxers, packers, and stackers crossed paths
- Food box content changed while packing because items were not count prior to packing
- There were no visuals of box content
- Packing occurred on both sides of tables contributing to the congestion
Solutions Implemented
- Created designated zones for dry goods, canned goods, and juices/water
- Restructured floor layout to allow for continuous flow and to avoid overcrowding
- Sorted and counted food items to determine the quantities of the box content
- Posted visuals of box content
- Repositioned volunteers (packers) to work from one side of table
Project Results
- Reduced the packed food box cycle time from 20 minutes to 9 minutes
- Reduced the box preparation lead time by 55 minutes
Read the entire project report at https://goleansixsigma.com/lean-six-sigma-helps-feed-people-in-need-45-faster/