Identifying Procedure Snags

1/07/2022

So you have designed (or redesigned) your process to be lean, no fat, meaning it only has necessary steps, and on paper it is now as efficient as possible. But now that it is implemented, your reports show output is not achieving the predicted output, or resources consumed isn't as low as predicted. You may have hit a snag!

Of course it is possible that your workers are spending too much time socialising, or that the recorded times to complete tasks have been measured incorrectly, but most likely your figures have not accounted for inherent snags in the process.

A 'snag' is an unexpected or hidden obstacle or drawback. In a work process or procedure, a snag is a hindrance, temporary delay or unexpected obstacle that needs to be overcome before continuing with the process.

Task times and cycle times recorded by a non-IE (Industrial Engineer) or non-ME (Methods Engineer) will most likely be inaccurate for a number of reasons, but even if measured accurately and with high confidence the likelihood of new unexpected snags in the system is high. In fact some processes are found to lose up to 10% in productivity.

Snags are more and more common now that we use more and more computer equipment and software packages. Most staff that complete daily procedures using an array of information management systems  such as ERP or accounting software, along with email and team based apps, will admit that they experience system issues and frustrating delays, but often find it difficult to define exactly how and when they occur. These snag events are often seen as small and infrequent, and are typically treated as insignificant. Spending time monitoring and attempting to define these snag events is therefore deemed too hard and unfeasible, leading to the accrual of many such events that add to more delays than expected.

The robustness of the software program used, the interaction between systems, the network setup and loads on it, and the expertise of staff in all aspects drive the prevalence of unforeseen obstacles in the process. So what are you to do? There are only two roads really, either factor the snags into your data as unavoidable delays, or identify and prioritise snags to be addressed. Follow the points below to identify and address snags in your processes:

1. Advise staff that you are wanting to identify 'snags' and to note down any they have experienced each week, including what they experienced, and how long they felt it took to overcome. Even if only seconds.

2. Have staff describe the snag events and frequency they experience during each team meeting over several weeks, until you find a pattern. Putting a name to them if they appear often that all staff can use.

3. You may find that staff begin to find similarities with some snags and offer each other ways they avoid or control the snags. There will be several that can be reduced or eliminated with small method changes in the procedure. Ensure any such method change is recorded with work instructions for future training.

4. Snags that appears regularly but have no solution are to prioritised based on those that cause the most cumulative delay. Note that high frequency delays that are only 15 seconds long, such as slow loading of a form or slow uploading of documents will cause staff higher frustration and lead to more frequent breaks in concentration from a task, even causing staff to leave their desk to attend to another task, vent their frustration or get a coffee more frequently. The extra delay from this frustration needs to be included when prioritising snags. The use of a weekly histogram is a great way to visualise delays and help with prioritising. Label the horizontal axis with each snag name, and mark time intervals on the vertical axis, creating columns representing the cumulative delay for each snag . E.g. A 'Slow doc load' event may be 19 seconds on average, and occurs 250 times per week across all staff, so will have a column height of 79.2 minutes.

Always investigate the possibility of automating any changes in the system rather than building a work-around solution into procedures.

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