Frank had been in the tire business for $18$ years. Recently, his son, Dean, a business major in

college, had suggested Frank look into implementing lean practices to improve his shop.

Frank$$s customers had a variety of reasons for visiting the store. Some wanted to replace tires or

get new wheels, while others needed tire repair or to get their tires filled. The amount of time

required varied substantially depending upon the type of service requested.

The shop was divided into a retail lobby, a repair shop with eight service bays, and a tire and

parts storage room $($see exhibit $2-1$ on the following page$).$ In the retail lobby, a service advisor

greeted customers when they first arrived, and then discussed their problem or concern, began

the paperwork, and received the key for the vehicle. For most repair jobs, customers waited in

the retail lobby, which had a waiting area with two couches and a TV set. After the service

advisor had checked in the customer, they assigned the job to one of the shop$$s techs. The

advisor discussed the issue with the tech, who then pulled the vehicle into his bay and began

work. The service advisor monitored the progress of the techs. If something unexpected was

found $$ for example the tire was too badly damaged to be repairable $$ the service advisor

contacted the customer and presented them with options and estimates. Once the repair was

finished, the service advisor obtained the paperwork and key from the tech, contacted the

customer, and prepared the final bill. He then explained the work done and the bill to the

customer, received payment, and sent the customer on their way. An assistant service advisor

helped the service advisor on simpler tasks.

Dean had occasionally helped out at the shop and was familiar with the processes and the shop

layout. He noted that the service advisor was almost always busy and moved around a lot. The

techs were sometimes idle even when there were many customers waiting. Dean had also

noticed techs searching for tools or parts. Occasionally, it took some time for them to locate the

correct set of new tires in the storage room.

$2-1.$ Using lean terminology describe opportunities for improvement at Frank$$s shop using

lean methods $/$ lean thinking. What concrete benefits might result from successful

improvements in these areas? Answers should be concrete and detailed, but no longer than

$1$ single spaced page. $(30$ points$)$