How McDonald’s used Lean Six Sigma to Reduce Customer Wait Time (Use Case)

Let me ask you something. Why do you go to McDonald’s?

Do they have the best burgers? Probably not.

Do they have the best fries? Maybe that’s a topic worthy of a debate.

So why do people go to McDonald’s?

You wanna know the most common answer I’ve heard so far?

People go to McDonald’s because they’re in a rush.

And people know that when they’re in a rush and they go to McDonald’s, they know what to expect – familiar tasting food, at a reasonable price, and served as fast as possible.

In continuous process improvement terminology – measurable, repeatable, and predictable.

McDonald’s has this down to a science, and they use the appropriate tools where applicable, such as Lean Six Sigma, Just-In-Time / Pull System, Batching, Kanban, Visual Management, Poka-Yoke Mistake Proofing, you name it, they’ve either experimented with it or are already using it somewhere in their process.

As Carmen, who works at McDonald’s said:

“I work at McDonald’s. Also a Green Belt Lean Six Sigma. The drinks, desserts, are pulled. A little batching on basic ingredients like grilled meat and fried chicken. A lot of Kanbans and Visual Management to pull dry stock and fresh or frozen food stock. It’s a fascinating world!!!”

If you want to find out how, then you’re in for a treat, as I’ve compiled several use cases and studies that show how McDonald’s applies Lean Six Sigma and other continuous process improvement tools.

As the saying goes,”If all you know is how to use a hammer, then you start looking at everything as a nail.”

The idea here is that McDonald’s learned how to use a screwdriver, a vice grip, pliers, a drill, basically the entire tool shelf, so they can apply a specific tool for a specific purpose.

McDonald’s continuous process improvement use cases:

• McDonald’s Total Quality Management
• Lean Production at McDonald’s
• Just-In-Time for McDonald’s
• McDonald’s Lean Pull Process
• Kanban and McDonald’s

Hope you find these to be of value.

Now if you want to learn how to use these tools, and transform your career to take it to the next level, then here’s how you can take action:

• Get Lean Six Sigma Certified. Go to https://robbieagustin.com/courses for more information
• If you haven’t yet, download a copy of my book for FREE (for a limited time only) – The Business Optimization Blueprint, and learn how you can improve your business process and take it to the next level.