Improvement of store manuals for business standardization and support for platform implementation

Background

Japan Restaurant Enterprise Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Japan Restaurant Enterprise, honorifics omitted) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of East Japan Railway Company, operating 313 stores primarily offering dining and retail services such as restaurants and bento within train stations.
In light of future business expansion, there was a recognition of the need for further improvements in the development of manuals utilized at each site.

Services Utilized

・In-house manual support (evaluation, analysis, interviews, guideline creation)

・Implementation support for the centralized management tool "AiLingual" (operational design, template creation)

・Training Seminar (Manual Creation, How to Utilize AiLingual)

Customer Requests

At Japan Restaurant Enterprise, we are actively working on the development and operation of manuals to improve the operational quality of each store.

In order to further expand our business in the future, you had the following challenges regarding the standardization of on-site operations and quality improvement.

・I want to make better use of manuals to promote chain expansion.

We want to develop a system for manuals that are easy to maintain in-house.

・I want support and advice for manual creation

In such circumstances, in October 2018, you visited our website, made an inquiry, and a selection process was conducted among several companies.

Solutions of Human Science

We proposed a comprehensive solution that not only supports the creation of manuals to achieve standardization and quality improvement in on-site operations but also includes the introduction of systems that consider manual operation methods aimed at business standardization.

Business manuals used in locations such as Japan Restaurant Enterprise, which are expanding as a chain, not only require high manual quality but also emphasize the importance of "manual management and operation" to ensure that the latest version of the manual is utilized at each store.

In this project, in addition to supporting manual improvements for efficient management and operation of manuals aimed at standardizing business operations, we proposed the centralized manual management system "AiLingual" from our partner company Konica Minolta, and assisted Japan Restaurant Enterprise in designing the optimal manual operation system.

In addition, to ensure that the intentions of the headquarters creating the manuals and the staff at each store using the manuals do not diverge, we focused on conducting interviews with individuals at all levels of the organization.

Solution Highlights

- Analysis of Current Issues

・Support for the introduction of a centralized manual management system

<Schedule>

Approximately 4 months of collaboration

Evaluation of Human Science Co., Ltd.

- The work process was clear.

・They were flexible in accommodating schedule changes.

By conducting educational seminars for employees involved in the actual manual creation, we were able to thoroughly communicate the policies for future improvements.

Customer Feedback

We have made the inconsistencies and usability issues of the manuals that each person in charge had been creating independently apparent, and we have started to create manuals from the perspective of the manual users (store employees).

- You proposed a systematic framework regarding what the issues are and what should be done, clarifying the roadmap for improvement.

We received support in implementing a system that allows for centralized management of manual creation and sharing, making the management process of manual creation significantly easier.

・Until now, complex tasks were communicated in text format, but by linking with AiLingual, we are now able to provide manual information in a clearer way.

・The introduction of AiLingual has made it easier to find manuals, which in turn has made it easier to find answers to unknown operations, leading to the prevention of operational errors.

From Human Science representatives

This is a solution for in-house support of operational manuals in the food and beverage chain industry.

The key point was how to thoroughly communicate the business operations designed at headquarters to each store through the use of manuals, thereby forming the foundation for standardizing operations.

If there is a gap between the manual users and the manual creators, creating a manual that is difficult for users to use can lead to errors in business operations.

The important thing is not to "pack information about operations," but rather to consider "what kind of manual would be easy for the users on-site to utilize." First, we conducted focused interviews from the perspective of the on-site personnel to the headquarters.

We supported the implementation of the system and operational design to easily and smoothly utilize the "manuals that can be effectively used on-site" obtained from the hearing.

In the future, it seems that you are also considering improvements to manuals and the introduction of centralized management systems in other business types, so we would like to continue supporting you in standardizing operations from our position as a manual creation company.

Related Services

Creation of Manuals and User Guides