Statistical Process Control

Process Analysis at Starwood

Starwood has implemented a new program meant to drive results in a virtuous cycle of self-improvement at all levels of the company. The president is committed to improving processes that lead to significant improvements, and rolled out a “Power of Innovation” program meant to address this process improvement. Starwood sent a team to the Phoenician property to examine the scheduling of the workforce to meet the demand of operations while streamlining operations processes, in particular the Stewarding position.

Before the team arrived, stewards were dedicated to a particular kitchen or area during their shift. Each kitchen required stewarding coverage as outlined by the executive chef, so more than one steward can be assigned to an area. Some of this work could be forecast, but there were times when stewards were idle.

Time studies were conducted to determine how far the stewards were travelling through the property, and how long it took to perform each stewarding task. Many inefficiencies were discovered.

1. How can the management specifically improve the stewarding process at The Phoenician? Using the information provided, create a flowchart illustrating the new process.

Starwood management can make several improvements.

• Whenever possible, Stewards should be dedicated to restaurants and kitchens where there is full time work and should not move to other positions.

• Restaurants with dishware that require special cleaning requirements should standardize their dishware to make cleaning more efficient, and reducing the need for a dedicated steward to perform that task.

• Stewards that do need to be mobile should be outfitted with golf carts so that they can travel from point to point more efficiently, saving time and increasing their responsiveness to workload.

• All Stewards should be equipped with walkie-talkies so they