Process improvement project - Measure -
tally sheet
Tally Charts turn Opinions into Facts !
Also known as Check Sheet or Gate Chart.
It is a simple counting sheet, and is used to record activities, actions, errors or missing items. It measures frequency of occurrence.
They are used to identify trends. For example, computer downtime, lack of response from another department, missing information on customer orders.
You can have the same person record data repeatedly over time, or the same office location with multiple persons completing the tally chart.
Here is below an example of a tally chart
Do not add more than 10 categories or it becomes complicated and time consuming for an administrator to fill in. Use a Pareto chart to help identify the top categories to populate.
What can you do with the data once it has been measured?
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Histogram / Bar chart - to view the final data more clearly
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Pareto chart - to see the highest category totals
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Brainstorming - based on results of histogram and pareto charts to work on solving the issues
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Fishbone diagram - analyse more widely the issues
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5 Whys - to look at a particular category more deeply
Some examples of how a Tally Chart may be used in a Lean office environment:
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To see which countries or regions produce the highest number of inquiries
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Which customer market generates the highest number of orders
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What products constitute the highest number of complaints
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How often a computer reacts slowly, preventing an administrator from performing his/her task
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How many times an administrator is distracted from their tasks
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How many urgent meetings are called per week