Process Efficiency Score
Measures the efficiency of a business process by comparing value-added time to total elapsed time, identifying waste categories, and prioritizing improvement actions. Produces a composite efficiency score on a 0-100 scale.
Operations - Process Efficiency Score.xlsx
Excel (.xlsx) — No macros — Works in Excel, Google Sheets, LibreOffice
What This Spreadsheet Solves
- No quantified measure of how efficient a process actually is
- Waste embedded in processes but not visible or categorized
- Improvement efforts spread thin instead of targeting the highest-impact areas
- Process changes made without baseline metrics to measure improvement
- Stakeholders disagreeing on which processes need attention most
Who This Is For
- Process improvement specialists conducting lean assessments
- Operations managers setting efficiency targets
- Quality assurance leads tracking process performance
- COOs benchmarking processes across departments or locations
Inputs
- textProcess step name
- #Value-added time per step (minutes)
- #Total elapsed time per step (minutes)
- textWaste category (wait, rework, transport, etc.)
- %Error rate per step
Outputs
- Process efficiency score (0-100)
- Value-added ratio (value time / total time)
- Waste breakdown by category
- Top 3 improvement priorities
- Projected efficiency after addressing top waste areas
How Calculations Work
Value-added ratio is calculated as total value-added time divided by total elapsed time. Waste time (the difference) is categorized into types: waiting, rework, transport, overprocessing, etc. The efficiency score normalizes the value-added ratio and error rate into a 0-100 composite. Improvement priorities are ranked by waste magnitude times ease of elimination. A what-if projection shows the new score after removing the top waste areas.
Example Use Case
Scenario: An order fulfillment process has 8 steps. Total value-added time: 45 minutes. Total elapsed time: 180 minutes. Waste: 60 min waiting, 40 min transport, 20 min rework, 15 min overprocessing. Average error rate: 4%.
Result: Value-added ratio: 25%. Efficiency score: 31/100. Top priority: waiting (33% of total time). Eliminating waiting waste would raise efficiency to 56/100. Addressing all top 3 wastes projects a score of 78/100.
What You Get — 5 Sheets
Technical Details
Frequently Asked Questions
What is value-added time?
Time spent on activities that directly contribute to the output the customer pays for. If the customer would not pay more for the activity, it is non-value-added.
What efficiency score is considered good?
Above 70 is good for most industries. World-class lean operations score 80+. Below 40 indicates significant waste and improvement opportunity.
How do I categorize waste?
Use the standard lean categories: waiting, transport, overprocessing, rework/defects, motion, inventory, overproduction. The CONFIG sheet includes definitions and examples for each.
Can I compare processes against each other?
Yes. Enter multiple processes and compare their efficiency scores. This helps prioritize which process to improve first.
How do I measure value-added time accurately?
Time-study the process: observe or record each step and classify as value-added or waste. Use averages from at least 10 observations for reliability.
Download Process Efficiency Score
Ready to use immediately. Enter your data in the INPUT sheet, see results in OUTPUT.