Northeastern University

Boloco Work Process Analysis

Brittany Chiang
Principles of Information Science
Professor Martin Schedlbauer
November 18, 2014

Table of Contents
Abstract ... 3

Data Collection Method .. 4

Flow Chart ... 5

Data ..... 6

Littles Law Analysis .. 6

Littles Law vs. Time Study 7

Conclusion ... 7

Abstract
There are many ways that the fast food ordering process can be optimized. This report presents
and analyzes the food ordering process at the popular Boston burrito company, Boloco. By
observing the customers and employees at our local Boloco, it can be concluded that the flow
time of the burrito ordering process is close to optimal. The process model and data are evidence
of these results.

Data Collection Method

On Tuesday, November 11, my group members, Grace, Jenny, Benno, and I made the short walk
to the Boloco on Huntington Avenue. We sat ourselves in a booth where we had a good view of
who was entering and ordering food at the fast food establishment so we could observe the
workers without creeping out the workers.
First, we used a spreadsheet to document what we wanted the steps of the burrito purchasing to
be. Our steps started with placing the order and ended with receiving the burrito. A few of us
got on line to order burritos ourselves, and used the timers on our phones to time the duration in
seconds of each step we had established beforehand. Upon returning to our table with our
burritos, we logged the times we had recorded with their respective steps. Some of us also went
up to order in pairs so our data collection would not be distorted by the multitasking of the
person ordering.
Once we collected the data for 5 people, we calculated the total time in seconds each persons
order took from start to finish. We then calculated the average total time of all five customers.

LEGEND:

Data (Results of Time Study)

Littles Law Analysis

We went back to Boloco at a busier time on Saturday, November 15th to get accurate
measurements for Littles Law. We decided to calculate Littles Law within a span of 20
minutes. In those 20 minutes, 22 people entered Boloco (Cell B21) and 18 left (Cell B22).
Since Littles Law states that I = T x R, we calculated the Time by dividing the Inventory by the
Rate and multiplying by 60 because our data is in seconds (Cell B23).
(22/18)* 60 = 73.33333333

Littles Law vs. Time Study

As you can see, 73.33 is quite close to the average total time of 78.4. The reason for this fivesecond disparity is because we rounded our data, as well as the fact that each persons ordering
experience at Boloco is a little different. There are also variable delay times for each customer.

Conclusion
The provided process model and the time study data clearly show that Boloco has close to
optimal flow time. Our calculation of Bolocos processing time using the Inventory and the Rate
versus the calculated average total time shows that our observations were accurate and that
Bolocos work process is efficient.