Backlog
Six Sigma – iSixSigma › Forums › Industries › Financial Services › Backlog
- This topic has 10 replies, 7 voices, and was last updated 8 years, 9 months ago by
Kimmy Burgess.
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February 1, 2012 at 6:00 am #53949
Tony PanareseMember@tpanareseInclude @tpanarese in your post and this person will
be notified via email.Does any have any empiric knowledge of how to attack and ultimately eliminate a backlog of pending transactions?
0February 1, 2012 at 8:47 am #192185
MBBinWIParticipant@MBBinWIInclude @MBBinWI in your post and this person will
be notified via email.@tpanarese – Fundamentally, you’ve got to reduce the time to answer such that you are responding to more than you are receiving, or you need to add more capacity so that you can respond to more than you receive. The delta will give you the time to clear the backlog.
Now, how to do this has various options. You basically have a queueing situation. If you have easily identifiable “problem transactions” then creating a special unit to attack those and let the easy transactions be addressed by the common pool is one approach.
Given that this is posted in the financial services area, I’m guessing that just dumping the backlog isn’t a viable option (but has been used in other arenas) – just don’t expect to have happy customers who get dumped.0February 1, 2012 at 9:10 am #192188
Steve ClappParticipant@clapper1Include @clapper1 in your post and this person will
be notified via email.We frequently refer to the 8 Wastes checklist to see where those issues may be occuring within our transactional processes. “Waiting” and “overprocessing” seem to be our top causes of backlogs.
Be sure to include employees within the process to do the root cause identification and the solution development. Try to include customers impacted by the backlogs, too. That way you have a better chance of identifying and fixing the real issues.
0February 1, 2012 at 12:56 pm #192189I have a basic method for clearing backlog which I’ve been using for several years.
It involves using excess capacity of the processing group to take on the backlog when they have completed their daily work load.
I\\\’m reaching out to see if anyone may have come across a newer/better method.
0February 2, 2012 at 7:11 am #192192
MBBinWIParticipant@MBBinWIInclude @MBBinWI in your post and this person will
be notified via email.@tpanarese – Then the only other suggestion would be to lean out what needs to be processed. Is everything actually necessary? Are there redundancies that can be eliminated? Are there data entry items being typed in that can be simplified with a single stroke entry? Are there defaults that can be pre-populated that would only need to be adjusted in the rare case where they are different? etc, etc.
0July 3, 2013 at 4:49 am #195447
PanareseParticipant@apanareseInclude @apanarese in your post and this person will
be notified via email.During mid May, someone sent me an email with a spreadsheet – in error, deleted the spreadsheet. Whoever sent it – would please send it again. Thanks.
0July 3, 2013 at 5:59 am #195450
Chris SeiderParticipant@cseiderInclude @cseider in your post and this person will
be notified via email.I’m curious about the “just apply resources at the bottleneck” approach. I would suggest looking at the bottleneck and see what non value added activities are going on. This includes addressing downtime issues.
Also, is poor scheduling affecting the bottleneck’s effectiveness?
0July 5, 2013 at 7:42 am #195468
Doug CoensonParticipant@dougcInclude @dougc in your post and this person will
be notified via email.I have worked on many project to reduce cycle time in transactional environments, and many times backlog needs to be addressed using a short-term resolution prior to launching a true long-term fix. To address the backlog, typically 2 things need to happen: (1) create a measurement system to fully understand the number of transactions moving through the process (e.g., how many being completed each day, how many new ones coming in, etc.). Many times the process owner understands he/she has a backlog but does not have a good handle on the inventory as it moves through the process; (2) hold a Kaizen event to map out the current process and identify the different forms of waste throughout the process as Mr. Clapp has indicated. You will likely identify some “no-brainer” improvements that can be made right away (e.g., assessing whether single piece vs. batch is the better way to go, moving steps of the process around, determining whether multiple steps can be handled concurrently rather than in a sequential fashion). Also looks for issues that arise due to the increase in cycle time due to the backlog (e.g., are customers submitting duplicate requests and/or inquiring about status which takes time away from processing the transactions, etc.). Sometime it’s worth just hiring some temporary staff, interns, or borrowing resources from another department to help reduce the backlog while your coming up with a strategy.
I would happy to discuss with you further if you still have questions. Feel free to contact me.
0July 8, 2013 at 12:48 pm #195485I have an “opensource” spreadsheet with very simple formulas that uses a Monte Carlo simulation, and uses excesss capacity to draw down the backlog. You should be able to integrate it into your work (or we could even collaborate to make the solution better for everyone).
0July 8, 2013 at 12:59 pm #195486
Tony PanareseGuest@apanareseInclude @apanarese in your post and this person will
be notified via email.Jordan … Can you provide the link – I think this is the spreadsheet I’m looking for. Thanks.
0August 10, 2013 at 7:50 am #195622
Kimmy BurgessParticipant@cashinasnapInclude @cashinasnap in your post and this person will
be notified via email.Some times you get answers to your question not by your own effort but someone else idea and firstly thank you for the post as this question was in my mind from many days to understand about the backlogs and after a lot of finding I got your post and the replies that I saw in your post truly gave me a brief idea about everything..thanks.
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