As-is Metrics

Quick reference

• 00:04 Hi, I'm Ray Sheen.
• 00:06 Well, it's no surprise to find that during the measure phase, we measure the process.
• 00:12 These measurements are known as the As-Is Metrics, for the process.
• 00:16 This means that the measurements reflect the process as it is currently performing.
• 00:22 Another way of putting this is that the As-Is Metrics reflect what the process
• 00:26 customer is currently experiencing.
• 00:28 It is the total time from when the process has started until the customer actually
• 00:32 gets what they asked for.
• 00:33 It is a probability that everyone will be doing their job correctly and
• 00:37 doing that on the first try at each step of the process.
• 00:41 And it's the total cost to the business to deliver that process output.
• 00:45 The As-Is Metrics are what is being measured right now
• 00:49 in terms of process performance.
• 00:51 It's not the ideal case or the standard cost and standard time.
• 00:55 It is what is actually occurring on a day-to-day basis in the process.
• 01:00 Sometimes that is better than expected and sometimes it is worse.
• 01:04 Also, the As-Is Metrics include the impact of the problem or
• 01:09 problems that are being analyzed.
• 01:11 If a process has a problem, half the time when you run it then the timing,
• 01:15 quality and cost data will include that impact.
• 01:18 This is because we use the average for the measurements, so
• 01:22 the impact of the problem is included in the average.
• 01:25 By far, the most commonly used two measurements for
• 01:28 describing the As-Is process performance are total time and value-added time.
• 01:34 Total time is just that, the total of all the value and
• 01:37 non-value-added time in the value stream.
• 01:40 It is typically calculated by determining the total time for each step and
• 01:45 then summing those values.
• 01:47 But when doing that,
• 01:48 you should still check an end to end time for you to go through the process to be
• 01:52 sure that you haven't overlooked something along the way.
• 01:55 The total process time starts when Step 1 starts, and
• 01:59 doesn't end until Step Last ends.
• 02:02 That means it includes all of the nights, weekends and holidays.
• 02:06 It does this because this is what the customer experiences.
• 02:10 Now, it's likely that different process steps will be the stopping point for
• 02:13 different weekends.
• 02:14 So use averaged data over several weeks time period
• 02:17 to ensure the effects are included.
• 02:19 Then determine the value-added time for
• 02:21 one unit to go through each step in the straight line flow of the value stream.
• 02:27 Add up the value-added time across the process steps.
• 02:29 Remember, the value-added time can be zero if the step is for internal convenience or
• 02:34 requirements but does not increase the customer value.
• 02:38 The value-added time and total time are often combined to show the value-added
• 02:43 time as a percentage of the total time.
• 02:45 Don't be surprised if that number is a very low percentage.
• 02:49 Single digit percentages are common, and I've even had processes where
• 02:54 the As-Is Metric of value-added time was less than 1% of the total time.
• 02:59 In fact, that's why we were asked to improve that process.
• 03:03 Now we'll consider a quality metric, first pass yield.
• 03:07 The metric is just what it says.
• 03:09 It's the percentage of times that the step is completed
• 03:12 error free on the first attempt with the unit.
• 03:15 Now, just to be clear, it's everything in that step.
• 03:19 All of the step activities, even administrative ones,
• 03:22 also it means that the operator gets it right the first time.
• 03:25 Not that the operator keeps working on it until they get it right.
• 03:29 It is right on their first try.
• 03:31 Of course, it also means that no one else has to come in and
• 03:34 fix the problems after the operator thinks it's done.
• 03:37 And as mentioned before, this is usually an item in the Value Stream Map data box.
• 03:42 The metric also includes completing any non value-added work as part of the step
• 03:46 and completing that correctly on its first try.
• 03:49 It applies to everything that happens during that step,
• 03:52 whether it's part of the standard process or not.
• 03:55 When a step has low first pass yield, it will often create problems with flow.
• 04:00 In fact, watch for that.
• 04:02 Sometimes we think that the step yield is very good,
• 04:04 based upon our review of measurements from the operator.
• 04:07 But the step is always causing problems, delays and
• 04:10 bottlenecks and a need for extra resources.
• 04:13 When I've discovered this,
• 04:15 it usually means that there are some first pass yield problems.
• 04:18 But the operators we're just fixing them and not reporting them as in step rework.
• 04:23 So the reported yield was good because that was at the end of the step, but
• 04:28 there was a lot of rework going on within that step.
• 04:31 And of course, despite the best effort,
• 04:34 some of the problems will make it through to the customer.
• 04:37 The last item I wanna talk about on this module is the swim lane process view.
• 04:42 This is not a numerical metric, but it is an important view of the As-Is process.
• 04:47 In this case, we draw the process map or value stream map differently.
• 04:52 It's not shown as a straight line, rather it is displayed spread across various
• 04:56 lanes that represent organizational boundaries.
• 04:59 That's why it's often referred to as the organizational breakdown of the process.
• 05:04 But I like the term swim lane map.
• 05:06 The diagram looks like a pool where a swimming is occurring.
• 05:09 Each lane represents a department or organization that is responsible for
• 05:13 completing one of the process steps.
• 05:16 The first step starts in the lane for the department completing that step,
• 05:20 each succeeding step is shown in the lane for the appropriate department.
• 05:24 And arrows connect the steps showing the sequence.
• 05:27 The reason this view is so
• 05:29 powerful is that in most organizations when a process item must cross from
• 05:33 one lane to another, there's a delay and an opportunity for confusion and error.
• 05:39 This is less likely to happen within a lane because many times it's the same
• 05:43 person doing each step or at least someone who they work with routinely.
• 05:47 However, when crossing lanes they had to schedule a hand off.
• 05:50 The other lane may be working to a different set of priorities
• 05:53 creating a delay, there may be misunderstandings in the hand off.
• 05:58 The bottom line is that the more frequently the process items must cross
• 06:01 swim lanes, the greater the accumulated delays and the likelihood for errors.
• 06:07 I used this approach with a client one time.
• 06:09 In their process documents, they showed about 35 steps in the process.
• 06:14 However, there are more than 20 swim lane changes,
• 06:17 although there are only three departments involved.
• 06:21 This exposed why this process took weeks longer than expected.
• 06:25 When improving a process, you need to start with the current state
• 06:30 of performance, otherwise you may be fixing the wrong problem.
• 06:34 The As-Is Metrics describe that current state.

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