Last weekend my wife and I went through the drive-through at a fast food restaurant. By the time we got to the cashier window, our food was ready to go. This week, we celebrated a family occasion by going out to a restaurant, and had a very pleasant meal. Each course was brought out in a timely manner.
Behind the scenes at both establishments, the staff utilized parallel processing to prepare the food. In the first instance, as one person took orders, two or three others actually prepared and packaged our food so that by the time we got to the cashier, our drinks and food were ready to go. At the restaurant, staff completed different preparation processes simultaneously so that the various courses would come out at the proper timing and temperatures.
Parallel processing, as the term implies, is doing two or more things at the same time. This differs from linear processing, where one person does everything in the process from beginning to end. Imagine the length of time it would take for one person at a fast food establishment to take an order, prepare a hamburger, then prepare the French fries, then package both of those, then prepare a drink, then act as cashier. After waiting a half-hour for our order, most of us would never go to that fast food establishment ever again.
Parallel processing can be seen in many forms. It can be as simple as cooking breakfast, or as complex as building a car or assembling a rocket. Simpler forms are often referred to as multitasking. More complex projects involve a great deal of project management and oversight, and hence the focus on parallel processes.
It’s not a new concept. In fact, it’s a tried and true technique used by many successful companies. Henry Ford was a master of it when he started the automobile industry and automobile assembly.
Oftentimes in business we think that a process must be done from beginning to end, in a linear fashion. Many times, however, the process can be broken down into components. Many of those components can be performed in a parallel fashion so that the total amount of time from beginning to end is reduced significantly. Efficiency experts often look at these types of linear processes as ways to quickly make significant changes for a company’s production rate and speed.
In looking at the processes within your company, what do you have that could be converted into parallel processes? Are there are processes that are taking too long that could be broken down into components and done in a parallel fashion so that time is reduced? As the old adage goes, “time is money.” If you can reduce the time needed to produce a product, you’ll likely reduce spending on that product’s production.
How are you helping your employees to work smarter by reducing the amount of time they spend on non-productive activities and correcting errors? If your business processes need a “check-up,” please email me at michael@leadingchangeforgood.com! I’d love to help you get back to a healthy, productive workplace.
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