Process flow metrics

- When I'm in line to checkout at the grocery store…there's usually a long wait,…and the wait's even more frustrating if I see grocery staff…milling around and not at the vacant checkout registers.…This type of workflow problem needs to be fixed,…and there are a number of metrics to measure how well…any process flows.…To start you can analyze the work in process or WIP,…which are all the items being processed and items in…between waiting to be processed.…For example, if you are in line at the grocery store…the WIP for checkout is the total number of customers…being checked out plus the number of customers standing…in line waiting to be checked out.…

This is important because the more WIP there is,…the longer the wait and the longer it takes to leave…the grocery store.…The rates at which customers leave the grocery store…after checking out is the throughput rate.…Another metric to consider is the cycle time for a…process step or workstation.…It's the time it takes between starts or completions…of processing items.…