How can the non-profit organization Foodsharing Copenhagen; implement, apply and benefit from different management systems (Lean Six Sigma, Environmental Management Systems, Quality Management Systems, Corporate Social Responsibiliity) while on the same time seeking to optimize the processes and reduce costs?

Development project with Danish and international students in collaboration with an external company.

Possible improvements
In the current value stream, 50 minutes are spent on waiting in between processes. At some points in the total process it is good to have a buffer in the time, for example in case the van shows up later or if there is another factor that causes delays. But 50 minutes is too much, so an improvement would be reducing the waiting time. A mean to do this is to seek for ways to make the entire system more ‘Pull’ instead of ‘Push’.
Another thing that stands out is that handing out the food to the people is very time-consuming.
This is because it is challenging to let 200-250 people pick the food they want in a structured way. The waiting time goes as follows:
1. Once the customers receive their cards, they wait for their group to be called. The waiting time varies between 5 and 60 minutes, depending on when the customers arrive on location and what is the order of the groups.
2. When they enter the room, they have to wait in line to get to the “buffet”, which takes around 5 minutes.
3. Once they get to the “buffet”, the customers have to wait for the person in front of them to be done before it is their turn to take food. From the moment they start taking food for themselves until they leave the room takes about 20 minutes.
Considering the fact that the customer is only 5 minutes busy picking the food he/she likes, a lot of time is wasted here. Therefore, a possible improvement is reducing the waiting time for the customers.