The Ten Step Process for Doing Laundry

Step 1: The Mission

The mission for our team is to decrease the amount of time it takes to do one load
of laundry. Our goal is to reduce the load time by ten minutes, or thirty minutes for three
loads of laundry. We intend to improve our entire laundry process time within three
weeks after the final observation, which is on Nov. 6. It would be impossible to reduce
the actual machine time, so our obective is to focus on decrease the amount of time spent
during the process of sorting, folding, and putting the clothes away.
Step 2: Analyze Symptoms
!uring this step of the ten"step process, three team members# $rica, %ristina, and
Theresa, collected data twice a week. On &onday and Thursday we each did three loads
of laundry disregarding an attempt to control our e'periment. $ach observation
accounted for the amount of time it took to complete one load of laundry. The visual
representation of the data can be found in the figure below.
Laundry Process Time
75.00
85.00
95.00
105.00
115.00
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Sample
T
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m
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Figure 1
Data Collect By Erica Jackson, Kristina Zeek, and Theresa Sebree Oct.6-No.6
We have estimated the average machine time for doing a load of laundry is ()
minutes *+) minutes for washing and ,) minutes for the dry cycle-. The current average
for the three operators participating is ./.,/ minutes. We have included the upper and
lower control limits on the line graph to display the natural variation of the process within
01" + sigma. 2s illustrated by the graph, our process is out of control.
Step : Theorize a!out the causes
In order to theori3e about the causes, we need to understand the process of doing
laundry. The variation of the process could come from the inputs, outputs, or the actual
process itself. 4ee the figure below#
Inputs 5rocess Outputs
6aundry !etergent 4orting 7reshly washed
7abric 4oftener 8athering 9lothing
Water 4oaking
Washing &achine Washing
!ryer !rying
&anpower Ironing
:amper 7olding
5utting clothes away
In this step, we brainstormed the possible causes for what we consider to be an
e'cessive amount of time spent performing the process of doing laundry. We chose to use
two statistical tools for theori3ing about the causes, a fishbone diagram and a 5areto
chart. The 9heck sheet below is a table of the results from interviews we conducted on
family members. We asked the ;uestion, <Which activity would you consider adds the
most time to your laundry process=> ?ased on this data, we constructed a 5areto chart
also found below.
6aundry 5rocess
9heck 4heet
@easons for e'tra time spent#
@eason A of Occurrences
B. 7olding 4ocks reason A + 1111
C. 5utting 9lothes 2way reason AC 1111 111
+. 4orting 1 8athering reason A B 1111 1111
/. 4oaking 1 5rewashing reason A / 111
,. ?ed 6inens reason A, 11
6aundry 5rocess
5areto 9hart

Pareto Chart
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
Sorting/
Gathering

Putting
Clothes
Awa

!ol"ing
So#$s

Soa$ing/
Pre%&ash
'e"
(inens

#

O
F

T
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E
S

We were able to come up with additional causes that were possible during the laundry
process in a fishbone diagram. The team was able to obtain these ideas by analy3ing the
process inputs, process, and outputs. These causes are not as easily measured as the vital
few displayed in the 5areto chartD therefore, we will focus our attention on those in order
to reduce the total amount of time spent performing the entire laundry process.
Materials 6aundry !etergent, Washer and
!ryer, Water, 7abric 4ofteners, :ampers
Methods 4ort while doing
6aundry. Es. 5re"sorting
"n#ironment
!istractions# T.E.,
Telephone, other
cleaning.
Man Po$er 6a3iness,
e'haustion, illness.
Machines Water Temperature,
9apacity, &aintenance, !ryer
7ilter clean vs. clogged.
4ettings# One rinse 9ycle vs.
Two. Timed !ry vs.
2utomatic settings.
%auses
&f
'ariation
&f
Time Spent
&n
Laundry
Fish!one Diagram
We analy3ed the possible causes and determined from the 5areto chart that the
vital few consisted of e'tra time for sorting and gathering clothes as well as the time
spent folding and putting the clothes away.
Step (: Test Theories of the %ause
Fpon deciding on what causes to test, we determined we would need additional
materials to help decrease the amount of time spent sorting and gathering. 2ll three
operators purchased a ;uick sorter, which is a basket divided into three sections in order
to pre"sort the clothing prior to the actual laundry process. We decided to test whether or
not the e'tra time spent sorting caused an increase in the total average as a whole for the
complete laundry process. We ran a preliminary e'periment to decipher whether or not
this possible has an effect on our process average. The e'periment was conducted during
the week of Nov. B) " Nov. B+ *for si' loads of laundry- and the results are as follows.
Initial !ata#
Laundry Process Time
75.00
85.00
95.00
105.00
115.00
0 10 20 30
Sample
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!ata after e'periment#
Sorting Eperiment
89.00
89.50
90.00
90.50
91.00
91.50
92.00
1 2 3 4 5 6
Sample
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!i"#re $
Data collected !y "rica) *ristina) and Theresa
Fsing .,G confidence we used a t"test to decipher whether there was a significant
difference in the average time spent performing the total laundry process from beginning
to end. The average before the e'periment was ./.,// minutes and the average
precluding the e'periment was .).(/ minutes.
The test results are as follows#
t"Test# Two"4ample 2ssuming $;ual Eariances
%ariable & %ariable '
&ean ./.,//// .).(++++
Eariance B)B.(/6+ B..6H6/H
Observations .) B(
5ooled Eariance ((.66(B+
:ypothesi3ed &ean !ifference )
!f B)6
t 4tat B.,C6+.B
5*TIJt- one"tail ).)6/./,
t 9ritical one"tail B.6,.+,,
5*TIJt- two"tail ).BC.(.B
t 9ritical two"tail B..(C,.(
2ccording to the data, there is very little difference in the means. We tested using
.,G confidenceD therefore, on a two"tailed test we would want our p"value to be less than
.),. 9urrently the p"value is .BC.( leading us to the conclusion that our problem with
sorting the clothes may not be the root of the cause for spending additional time doing
laundry.
Step +: Agree on the %auses
!uring step four, we determined that the possible causes for e'cess time spent on
laundry were e'tra time sorting and gathering and e'tra time putting laundry away. We
agreed the maority of e'cess time was most probably caused from the sorting and
gathering process. Therefore we have constructed a table, found below, to identify the
root cause of this.
Ta!le T$o:
The ,Fi#e -hys. Process
K=
When we do laundry, we spend too much time.
L -hy/
K=
We need to sort clothes based on colors and type and we need to get the
laundry into the laundry room.
L -hy/
K=
4o that we can put the loads through ;uicker.
L -hy/
=K
4o we can get done with laundry faster.
L -hy/
K=
4o we can move to the ne't house chore.
L -hy/
K=
?ecause we do not focus on one chore at a time.
Table Two illustrates some of the problems encountered during the laundry
process. The first problem as identified above is the time spent sorting. The second is the
time spend gathering. The root cause for the e'tra time spent on doing laundry appears to
be correlated with the fact that we do not have enough allotted time to concentrate on one
chore at a time. We often do laundry while cleaning the rest of the house in order to save
time.
Step 0: Propose 1emedies
2fter brainstorming all of the possible causes to our problem, we composed a list
of potential remedies to resolve them. These actions, if implemented, might allow us to
become more efficient while doing laundry and ultimately save us time.
9ause 5roposed @emedy
B. We spend too much time trying to
sort and gather
B. 5urchase a ;uick"sorter to
distribute the clothing in the
appropriate bin for washing *e'. @eds,
eans, darks, towels, delicates, whites,
etc.-.
C. We hapha3ardly place the clothing in
random drawers instead of having a
designated place for each type of
clothing because we are in a hurry.
C. 4et aside drawers that
correspond to each type of
clothing *e'. One for eans, one for
reds, one for whites, etc.-
+. We have busy lives so we try to do our
chores all in one day.
+. 2llot a short period of time each day
for different chores. This will allow us
to focus on one chore at a time.
Step 2: 3mplement the 1emedies
2fter implementing the remedies only the three operators will benefit from the
improvement in the process. We will reduce the amount of time spent doing laundry, and
therefore, rewarding ourselves with more free time for other chores and personal
activities. 2fter purchasing the sorter and rearranging the drawers, we will begin to
reali3e the benefits.
We will also conduct another t"test to evaluate if the remedies made a significant
difference. If the t"test reveals that the remedies made a significant difference, we will be
able to not only reali3e our initial goal but also be able to understand the possibilities for
further improvement in the process.
Step 4: Analyzing the "ffecti#eness of the 1emedies
This set of data represents our process after the purposed remedies were
implemented on the week of November BH through November CC
nd
. The figure below is a
chart that represents our new process averages.
7igure 6
!ata 9ollected by $rica, %ristina, and Theresa
The remedies which we implemented caused the process to be in control. The new
average is (,.)6 minutes ust about . minutes lower than the original average. The goal
of a reduction of B) minutes was not achievedD however, there is ample room for
improvement. The goal may eventually become reali3ed after we make this new process a
routine.
The figure below is our second t"test. We conducted this test as we mentioned in
step seven in order to reali3e the significant difference the remedies made or did not
make. 7urthermore, we hope to use this data to further recogni3e opportunities for
improvement in the laundry process.
t%)est* )wo%Sa+,le Assu+ing -.ual /arian#es
Variable 1
Variable
2
0ean 94.54444444 85.05556
/arian#e 101.8463171 5.825397
12ser3ations 90 36
Poole" /arian#e 74.74363799
4,othesi5e" 0ean 6i77eren#e 0
"7 124
t Stat 5.56564469
P8)9:t; one%tail 7.6871-%08
t Criti#al one%tail 1.657235771
P8)9:t; two%tail 1.53742-%07
t Criti#al two%tail 1.97927875
7igure H
2ccording to the test, we can conclude that the data is significant because the
two"tailed p"value is less than .),. Therefore, we accept our hypothesis that the means
are in fact different with .,G confidence.
Step 5: %ontrols to ,6old the 7ains.
In figure 6 above, the process is shown to be in control. The new upper control
limit is set at (../B minutes and the lower control limit is set at ().HB minutes. 2ll data
points lie within this range. 2gain, the mission has not been completed entirely, however
over time, this process can become routine, in turn lowering the average time by the full
ten minutes.
7igure (
We feel that by saving . minutes per load of laundry we can save on average CH
minutes per day if we do three loads of laundry. This time savings will give us more time
to allot for other chores. ?y simply purchasing the sorting basket, we will continue to
e'perience a time savings of at least . minutes. We also believe we will have additional
consistent time savings by setting up a carefully organi3ed arrangement of drawers.
We will continue to use a control chart to monitor and control our process on a
regular basis. $very week after collecting the data we will analy3e the process and check
for special causes. We will troubleshoot if any arise again and use the ten"step process to
eliminate them. 5eriodically, we will recalculate the control limits to satisfy our new
averages and improve our process even more. Over time, we will deliberately e'pand our
;uality control program for doing laundry to include other process variables that could be
improved.