Abstract
The primary objective of this study is to measure the current service time at a U.S. automobile service center, with the aim of reducing waste and optimizing service operations through time study and simulation modeling. Inefficiencies in those service centers increase service time and labor costs, reduce service quality, and reduce workshop productivity, thereby increasing customer waiting time. In this study, real-world shop floor data were collected from a single service center, namely Jiffy Lube. Over the course of ten working days, 205 vehicle data points were acquired. Service time, bay time, and overall process time were computed and examined using this data. The company's 15-minute target was nearly met by the average service time of 15.60 minutes. But during the entire procedure, the average time was 29.18 minutes, which was much longer. This gap indicates that customers are spending far more time interacting with the system than the actual service requires. Additionally, a significant amount of time is devoted to non-value-added activities, according to the report. Approximately 46.5% of the entire process time and 24% of the bay time do not add value from the customer's perspective. To better understand the system behavior, a simulation model was developed using Python. The simulation results were close to the real data, confirming that the model represents the system properly. When a small improvement was applied in the model, the total cycle time was reduced by about 3.3%. The findings of this study show that the main issue in the system is not capacity, but inefficiency in the process. Reducing unnecessary activities and improving workflow can help reduce total service time and improve customer experience.
Advisor
Pawan Bhandai
Committee Member
Kuldeep Agarwal
Committee Member
Shaheen Ahmed
Date of Degree
2026
Language
english
Document Type
Thesis
Degree
Master of Science (MS)
Program of Study
Manufacturing Engineering Technology
Department
Automotive and Manufacturing Engineering Technology
College
Science, Engineering and Technology
Recommended Citation
Sarker, R. H. (2026). Lean service system optimization in U.S. automotive maintenance centers: A time study and simulation-based approach to reducing service cycle time and increase efficiency [Master’s thesis, Minnesota State University, Mankato]. Cornerstone: A Collection of Scholarly and Creative Works for Minnesota State University, Mankato. https://cornerstone.lib.mnsu.edu/etds/1600/
Included in
Automotive Engineering Commons, Industrial Engineering Commons, Mechanical Engineering Commons, Operational Research Commons
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