Value Added Time
Value Added Time refers to the time spent on activities that directly contribute to the creation or enhancement of a product or service for which a customer is willing to pay. These activities are considered to add value to the end product or service from the customer’s perspective.
In manufacturing, service, and other sectors, distinguishing between value-added and non-value-added time is crucial for improving process efficiency, reducing waste, and enhancing customer satisfaction. This concept is often discussed in the context of Lean methodologies and Six Sigma, which aim to eliminate waste and improve processes.
Characteristics of Value Added Time:
- Customer Willingness: The customer is willing to pay for the time spent on these activities.
- Transformation: The product or service undergoes a change or improvement. In manufacturing, this could mean changing the form, fit, or function of a product.
- Done Right the First Time: The activity should be completed correctly the first time it is undertaken. If rework is required, the time spent on it is generally considered non-value-added.
Examples of Value Added Time:
- Manufacturing: In a car assembly line, the time spent on welding parts, painting, and installing the engine would be considered value-added time.
- Healthcare: In a hospital, the time doctors, nurses, or technicians spend diagnosing, treating, and caring for patients would be considered value-added time.
- Retail: In a grocery store, the time spent assisting customers in finding products and checking them out would be considered value-added time.
- Service Sector: In a consulting firm, the time consultants spend analyzing client problems and generating solutions would be value-added time.
Contrast with Non-Value Added Time:
Non-value added time includes activities that are considered wasteful from the customer’s perspective—things like waiting, moving items unnecessarily, or redoing work. The goal of many efficiency improvement methodologies is to minimize non-value-added time to make processes leaner and more cost-effective.
Understanding and analyzing the proportion of value-added time to total time in a process can provide insights into the process’s efficiency and help identify areas for improvement.
Example of Value Added Time
Let’s consider a fictional bakery, “Sweet Treats,” which specializes in making custom cakes. The owner, Emily, is looking to streamline the cake-making process to improve efficiency and customer satisfaction. To do this, she decides to identify the value-added and non-value-added time spent on making a custom cake.
Time Breakdown for Making One Custom Cake:
- Customer Consultation: 10 minutes (Value Added)
- Designing Cake: 20 minutes (Value Added)
- Ingredient Preparation: 15 minutes (Value Added)
- Baking: 1 hour (Value Added)
- Decorating: 30 minutes (Value Added)
- Packaging: 5 minutes (Value Added)
- Waiting for Oven to Preheat: 10 minutes (Non-Value Added)
- Cleaning Utensils and Work Area: 15 minutes (Non-Value Added)
- Inventory Check: 5 minutes (Non-Value Added)
Calculating Value Added Time:
The value-added time includes customer consultation, designing the cake, ingredient preparation, baking, decorating, and packaging:
10 minutes (Customer Consultation) + 20 minutes (Designing) + 15 minutes (Ingredient Preparation) + 60 minutes (Baking) + 30 minutes (Decorating) + 5 minutes (Packaging) = 140 minutes
Calculating Total Time:
The total time includes both value-added and non-value-added activities:
140 minutes (Value-Added Time) + 10 minutes (Waiting for Oven) + 15 minutes (Cleaning) + 5 minutes (Inventory Check) = 170 minutes
Interpretation and Actions:
In this example, 140 minutes out of the 170 minutes total time spent are value-added, contributing directly to the creation of the custom cake that the customer values.
Emily recognizes that there’s 30 minutes of non-value-added time, such as waiting for the oven to preheat and cleaning. While some non-value-added activities are unavoidable (like cleaning for food safety), she decides to:
- Upgrade the oven so it preheats faster, reducing the waiting time.
- Conduct inventory checks at the end of the day, not during the cake-making process.
By focusing on these areas, Emily aims to make the process more efficient, thereby potentially reducing costs and increasing customer satisfaction.
This example helps illustrate the concept of value-added time and how identifying it can lead to tangible improvements in a business process.
