Problem
Frank's tire repair shop
Frank had been in the tire business for 18 years. Recently, his son, Dean, a business major in college, had suggested Frank look into implementing lean practices to improve his shop.
Frank's customers had a variety of reasons for visiting the store. Some wanted to replace tires or get new wheels, while others needed tire repair or to get their tires filled.
The amount of time required varied substantially depending upon the type of service requested.
The shop was divided into a retail lobby, a repair shop with eight service bays, and a tire and parts storage room (see exhibit 2-1 on the following page). In the retail lobby, a service advisor greeted customers when they first arrived, and then discussed their problem or concern, began the paperwork, and received the key for the vehicle. For most repair jobs, customers waited in the retail lobby, which had a waiting area with two couches and a TV set. After the service advisor had checked in the customer, they assigned the job to one of the shop's techs. The advisor discussed the issue with the tech, who then pulled the vehicle into his bay and began work. The service advisor monitored the progress of the techs. If something unexpected was found - for example the tire was too badly damaged to be repairable - the service advisor contacted the customer and presented them with options and estimates. Once the repair was finished, the service advisor obtained the paperwork and key from the tech, contacted the customer, and prepared the final bill. He then explained the work done and the bill to the customer, received payment, and sent the customer on their way. An assistant service advisor helped the service advisor on simpler tasks.
Dean had occasionally helped out at the shop and was familiar with the processes and the shop layout. He noted that the service advisor was almost always busy and moved around a lot. The techs were sometimes idle even when there were many customers waiting. Dean had also noticed techs searching for tools or parts. Occasionally, it took some time for them to locate the correct set of new tires in the storage room.
Using lean terminology describe opportunities for improvement at Frank's shop using lean methods / lean thinking. What concrete benefits might result from successful improvements in these areas? Answers should be concrete and detailed, but no longer than 1 single spaced page.