Service production aims to implement added-value processes, with the result being an intangible product. In the event that material goods exist, then the service are not obtained but only used. Service is different from industrial production in several ways, namely:
- Propriety is not transferred in acquisition of service operations, as opposed to industrial products where it is.
- Services are intangible, although they can include the use of tangible goods. Meanwhile industrial products are tangible.
- Services cannot be stored away. Although there can be stocks accumulated in services, either as imbalance between operations accumulating the material goods used or people queuing.
- Services are not uniform and may not work for every client, as opposed to industrial products.
- Productive process can take place with enjoyment of service, and the client can also take part in the process in the form of self-service.
Differences also arise in the way services are carried out, namely services with physical distribution and services ‘in situ’. The former are developed with a physical arrangement and a flow of materials or people. Because of the nature of the distribution, this type of services allows application of the same techniques as the industrial production. The latter case, however, refer to operations that take place where the client is, and which cannot be a physical arrangement.
We can apply the same management approach as in the industrial world to services, both for those needing physical distribution and ‘in situ’, particularly the lean management approach. However some restrictions may arise, especially for operations and timings that is in need of standardization.
Variability of service time and its impact
This section talks about the application of lean production arrangement to a service to eliminate waste and improve efficiency. This is attained by striking a balance between the times of the tasks assigned to each workstation and the maximum saturation capacity. When these times are subject to a certain degree of variability, a work cycle can momentarily exceed the maximum time assigned to that cycle, using up time that could have been spent by idle subsequent workstations. These equations are carried out in the case of telecommunication services (Table 3). The process is broken down into 4 workstations, with the maximum time assigned and the excess time for a cycle per person of 160 min.
What the researcher have done is to divide the operations involved in the service into two tasks, one that corresponds to activities that must be carried out at the planned time (Type A), and the other one corresponds to those that can be carried out when time is available (Type B).
