Operations Management in the Restaurant - Type of Layout and Its Objectives - Coursework Example

Name Course Institution Instructor Date of Submission Operations Management Introduction For the purpose of this report, the author has picked on a restaurant operating in the service sector as an example in the analysis of internal processes. Through analysing the service organisation, the author will prepare a process chart detailing the process activities; discuss each stage process in detail as well as the objectives of the facility layout and how they have been achieved. As a service process, the time taken for each activity will be assessed to identify the efficiency of the process and the total time taken for a single process to end. This information will then be considered by the management towards the improvement of the internal processes. Rough time estimates for the depicted processes are stipulated below; Welcoming the customer, take customer order and submit their names for the wait list (A) – 5 minutes Presenting the customer’s order to the kitchen staff and placing their names on the waiting list (B) – 1 Minute Processing and preparation of the customer’s order (C) – 15 minutes Delivery of the customer’s order to the waitress and eventually the customer (D) – 1 minutes Receiving the customer’s order for drinks (E) – 2 to 3 minutes Prepare and issue bill to the customer (F) – 5 minutes Pay bill (G) – 2 minutes The Process Chart Customer Arrival at Walk in Book name Sit and Have a seat Order for drinks Receive Receive Get and settle bill Restaurant on wait list wait at the table and food drinks food Leave Restaurant Long Wait* Onstage Welcome Take Customer’s Call customer’s Receive food Deliver Deliver Process Customer name name, deliver and drink drinks food bill the order order Backstage Receive food Order* Support Waiting List Prepare Cook food Cashier Process Drinks billing *-indicates bottlenecks Discussion of Each Stage Stage 1: Welcoming the customer Jacka and Keller state that the restaurant as a service provider, courtesy towards customers is very vital to the survival of the organisation (p4). Courteous gestures towards the customer provide them with an invaluable experience that they will always want to recur and hence the frequent visits to the restaurant. At this stage, the waiter (ess) welcomes the customer and guides them to the lounge section of the restaurant. Afterwards, they are provided with the menu where the waiter takes their order. This process will take at least 5 – 10 minutes. The waiter/waitress can assist where the customer seeks clarification on the items in the menu. Stage 2: At this stage, the waiter takes the customer’s order and notes it down for placement in the waiting list. The customer’s name is booked at the counter and the order is forwarded to the kitchen and placed on the waiting list. It is at this stage that the customer has to wait for a few minutes, at most 15 minutes in a highly efficient restaurant as the order is being processed. As an executive restaurant, the customers are provided with refreshments and other forms of entertainment while still at the lounge to safeguard their patience as their orders are being prepared. Stage 3: Once the order has been processed, the chefs present it to the onstage entities that call out the customer’s name for the order to be delivered. In turn, the waiter involved with the customer goes to the lounge, calls the customer and guides them to a table for them to receive their order. Once they arrive at the table, the customers are provided with hand towels for them to clean up their hands as the order is being delivered. Eventually, the order arrives and the customers enjoy their meal. As they enjoy their meal, the customer can order for drinks and beverages as part of their consumer activities. This requires the waiter to receive the customer’s order for drinks and present it to the onstage personnel for processing. The order is forwarded to the back stage units that ensure the processing of the customer’s order according to their specifications. After processing, the ordered drinks at delivered to the counter and the waiter eventually delivers them to the customer. Preparation of the drinks takes almost 3 minutes before they are actually delivered to the customer. Stage 4: After enjoying their meal and drinks, the customers have to leave the restaurant and create room for other customers willing to use the restaurant’s facilities. The payment of the bill can occur in two modes whereby the customer can either request the waiter to bring them the bill and pay before they leave or pay the bill at the till as they leave. This is the final stage of the process as the customer pays for the services they have received at the restaurant. The customers receive their bill and in turn settle the bill through their preferred means. In case the customers want to take away some of the meals offered at the restaurant, the meals are nicely packaged and a waiter assigned to deliver the package to the customer. 3.0 Type of Layout and its Objectives 3.1 Type of Layout Internal processes are a competitive tool deployed by the organisation through the operations strategy to fend off competition within the industry of operation (Hlupic p37). The process layout is a management exercise that enables the executive management to improve the efficiency of the internal processes by analysing the entire process, its constraints and deliverables. For the restaurant’s internal processes, the author has decided to utilise the line-flow layout whereby the operations are sequential with a single order made by a customer moving through 3-4 stages until its eventual delivery. With the line-flow layout, line balancing plays a vital role towards ensuring that minimal workstations are involved in the achievement of the desired output (Anupindi p24). This determines the efficiency of the internal process by identifying the independent work elements and immediate predecessors that enable other processes to be undertaken. From the restaurant process diagram, welcoming the customer, taking their initial order and guiding them to the lounge are work elements that are performed independently. On the other hand, taking the customer’s initial doubles up as an immediate predecessor as this process has to be done before the next process can commence. From this layout, the identification of the expected output rate should be based on the restaurant’s production and/or staffing plans (Butler, p67). This is because the resources available to the restaurant are limited and there exists a maximum level of output that can be achieved with the current level of resources. Additionally, the cycle time ought to be established as it reflects the overall time utilised in the production process. The cycle time refers to the maximum time utilised on a particular job at a single workstation prior to its movement to the next workstation (Harmon, p31). Another analytical tool of the line-flow layout is the theoretical minimum that seeks to identify the minimum number of work stations that can be involved in the service delivery process (Reijers, p119). With this tool, the total time utilised by the overall process is divided with the cycle time. The figure attained has to be rounded off and compared to the individual time taken at each workstation. This enables the management to identify the unproductive time associated with each workstation, compare the productive time to the total time and determine the percentage by which efficiency falls short of 100 per cent known as the balance delay (Harmon 2003, p67). With this information, the management is able to devise a process improvement plan that seeks to increase the process efficiency. Other process considerations should include the pace at which the output of a workstation moves from one station to the next once the cycle time elapses, the worker’s behaviours and the cycle time that is dependent on the output rates. 3.2 Layout Objectives The objectives of the line-flow layout include:- 1. Analysing the efficiency of the restaurant’s internal processes. By considering the amount of time taken at a given stage and its impact on the other stages, the restaurant is able to determine the efficiency of their processes (Stevenson, p41). Additional times incurred at a particular stage negatively impact on the other stages by causing delays hence reducing the efficiency of the internal processes. 2. Identification of the number of required work stations Through the layout, the restaurant’s management is able to identify the number of workstations required for a process to be completed. The identification process seeks to acknowledge the value addition of the workstations to the overall process as well as their importance. Barnes (p52) notes that increased workstations increase the amount of time incurred in delivering the customer’s order and their reduction is of importance to the efficiency of the process. 3. Improving communication The layout assists in improving communication among the various work stations as they are highly aware of the implication of their actions to other work stations. This understanding is important in increasing the process’s efficiency whereby human behaviour is vital (Reijers, p73). Reliable communication supports the efficiency achieved by the restaurant’s internal processes whereby a work station’s output is another workstation’s input. Additionally, the layout increases employee motivation as they realise the importance of their actions towards the restaurant’s efficiency. Works Cited Anupindi, Ravi. Managing Bus. Process Flows: Principles of Operations Mgmnt. New Jersey: Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2006. Barnes, David. Understanding Bus: Processes, Washington: Routledge, 2000. Butler, Martin. Business Process Mgmnt: Improving Business Efficiency, Chicago: Addax Media, 2002. Harmon, Paul, Bus. Process Change: A Manager’s Guide to Improving, Redesigning & Automating Processes. Michigan: Morgan Kaufmann, 2003. Hlupic, Vlatka. Knwldge & Bus. Process Mgmnt. Denver: Idea Grp, 2003. Jacka, J Mike & Keller, J Paulette. Business Process Mapping: Improving Customer Satisfaction, 2nd Ed, California: John Wiley & Sons, 2009. Reijers, A Hajo. Design & Ctrl of Wrkflow Processes: Bus. Process Mgmnt for the Service Industry, Carolina: Springer, 2003. Stevenson, J William. Operations Mgmnt, 8th Ed. Boston: McGraw-Hill/Irwin, 2005. 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