ENGR 344 - Cost Reduction: 5S Process Analysis
Task: Observe & perform a 5S audit at a fast food restaurant.
Fast food (JIT) factories are designed to:
1) Flow orders to customers
2) Flow customers through the facility
As a customer, you are to critique the processes that serve you. Now that you are trained in 5S
flow, you should be able to carefully observe and critique the designed layout at a restaurant (e.g.
Burger King, McDonalds, Taco Bell, Hardies, Wendys). In this task, you are specifically asked to
assess the flow of the customers through the facility.
Process: TEAM  ALIGN  OBSERVE  MEASURE  REPORT
1. Assemble into teams of 3.
2. Construct an audit tool that can quickly rank/rate 5S elements pertaining to customer flow at a
fast food restaurant. Your assessment tool should include at least 10-15 5S items that can
determine if the system is effective. Separate the 5S items into categories (e.g. SORT, SET IN
ORDER, …).
3. Construct a radar chart in a software of your choice that will evaluate 5-8 items from your audit.
Construct a scale for the chart. You may wish to put in expected performance ratings.
4. Visit a fast food restaurant.
5. Diagram the layout of the process. Indicate the INTENDED from the ACTUAL sequence of the
process. Taking pictures and use of a graphic software to illustrate layout is expected.
6. Discretely, make observations of customer flow. You may learn more about the system if you
track 5 or more customers. Construct a spaghetti diagram of the routes customers utilize.
Determine if the layout of items is efficient for flow of customers.
7. Fill out your audit tool. Complete a radar chart.
8. From observations, diagrams, and your audit tool, determine the effectiveness the system.
Make suggestions for improvement in a typed analysis.
9. Share your results with the class.
10. Submit your results (observations, diagrams, audit tools, typed analysis).
Notes:
Longer observations will reveal how the system is maintained.
What is observed will be affected by the time the system is visited. Make note of this.