Examples of Efficiency through the Reduction of Inputs Not Producing Output

Example 1:

Publix teaches its employees flexibility. An assistant manager fills in at the registers at a moment’s notice and virtually any employee may be called upon to do spot mopping of spills. (
Year 1995 – SIC 5411)

Explanation: The Company has high Efficiency of its People Input as they are cross-trained to do multiple jobs (ICDs).

Example 2:

Despite years of poor snow fall, the ski industry makes money with expensive snow-making and snow-grooming. This maximizes the use of limited snow. (
Year 1991 – SIC 7011)

Explanation: The industry has increased its Efficiency of its Capital assets by minimizing the time when the asset can not be used.

Example 3:

Instead of continuing to buy and add new storage devices dedicated to each computer, companies are using techniques called “storage area networking” and “network attached storage” that concentrate resources on one or a few locations. (
Year 2002 – SIC 3572)

Explanation: This is an example of the consolidation of an asset in order to reduce the unutilized portion of the Input, Capital.

Example 4:

Truckload carrier J.B. Hunt pays driver incentives when drivers achieve fuel economies of more than six miles a gallon. (
Year 1998 -SIC 4213)

Explanation: This is an example of the Company seeking better Efficiency in its use of Input, purchased fuel (gallons per mile driven), by reducing wasted fuel.

Example 5:

The company undertook the essential work of documenting the procedures in standard operations that were in place in its model cell. These procedures could then be transferred to the new work cells that the company would set up. (
Year 2003 – SIC 6300)

Explanation: The company developed new procedures in a test facility for use by all employees. These new procedures reduced the amount of time that an employee was under-utilized. This increased the Efficiency of the People in the organization.

Example 6:

Square D cut 760 rules down to 11 policy statements. (
Year 1990 – SIC 3600)

Explanation: The reduction in rules increased the Company’s Efficiency of People Input because it allowed employees to spend more time working and less time consulting rule books.

Example 7:

Cummins offers as much as 100 hours of training to workers annually. Its factories operate on a team system that puts power in the hands of those who work the assembly line. (
Year 1994 – SIC 3519)

Explanation: The Company seeks to improve its Efficiency of People Input by reducing the unproductive time employees must spend in seeking management approvals and in figuring out how to do the job properly.

Example 8:

RLX’s servers use just 15 watts of power instead of the 120 watts most rack-mounted servers consume. As a result, RLX can cram more blade servers into a standard rack than can its competition. (
Year 2002 – SIC 3571)

Explanation: The advantage that RLX offers its customers is greater Efficiency on its square footage dedicated to computing power. The Company helps its customers improve the Efficiency of its Capital Input (square feet of space per server location).

Example 9:

All gate employees have pre-assigned roles as soon as a plane gets within a calling-in-range to ensure that the plane can be turned around within the established metric. (
Year 2004 – SIC 4512)

Explanation: The company seeks to improve the Efficiency of its Inputs, Capital and People, by training the people to avoid unproductive time and by increasing the time that a plane spends in the air rather than on the ground. This is an example of improving Efficiency by reducing unproductive time.

Example 10:

FedEx has a service called FedEx Custom Critical that uses five different types of vehicles to cover all the services the customer might need. In addition, the customer’s cargo is the only one carried in the truck. Some deliveries arrive the same day as the pick-up. (
Year 2004 – SIC 4513)

Explanation: FedEx has separated high service customer needs from those for the average customer. This reduces the delay for both types of customer. The Company has increased its Efficiency of People and Capital Inputs by reducing the amount of unproductive time.