The Assembly Line
50 cases/week from Paid-to-File → Filed. Every stage has a goal. Every person has a number.
The Goal
File 30 Chapter 7s + 20 Chapter 13s = 50 total cases every week. The assembly line moves left to right. A case cannot skip a stage. The slowest stage controls the whole line — that's the bottleneck FLOW finds and fixes.
Weekly Case Mix
30 Ch.7 (60%) + 20 Ch.13 (40%)
50
Cases/week goal
10
Cases/day (5-day week)
6
Ch.7 per day
4
Ch.13 per day
The Pipeline — Paid to File
5 stages · work flows left → right
Doc Collectors
10 people
5
Completions/week
per collector
1
Completed/day
per collector
Active caseload: 15–25 cases per collector at any time
▶
Full kit
Labelers
3 people
17
Full kits/week
per labeler
3–4
Kits/day
per labeler
⚠ Tight station — each labeler carries a heavy load
▶
Workbook
Petition Prep
3 people
17
Petitions/week
per preparer
3–4
Petitions/day
per preparer
⚠ Tight station — likely the primary bottleneck
▶
To CSM
CSM Review
? people
?
Reviews/week
per CSM
?
Reviews/day
per CSM
Set CSM count on Goals tab ↗
▶
Perfect
Attorneys
4 attorneys
13
Filings/week
per attorney
2–3
Filings/day
per attorney
Mix: ~8 Ch.7 + ~5 Ch.13 per attorney/week
The Bottleneck Warning
The Labeling and Petition Prep stations (3 people each, 17 cases/week each) are the tightest points in the line. If either falls behind, the whole pipeline backs up. These are Stage 1 bottlenecks to watch in every daily stand-up.
Team Goals — Per Person, Per Week
Add your team members by name, set their weekly goal, and track completions Monday through Friday.
How to use this tab
Enter each person's name and their weekly goal. Each day M–F, enter how many cases they completed. The bar fills as the week progresses. Switch weeks with the "New week" button — names and goals are saved.
Week of
Totals update live as you type
📂 Stage 1 — Document Collectors
Goal: 5 completions/person/week · 1/day · Total line target: 50
Stage total this week: 0 / 0
🏷 Stage 2 — Labelers / Kit Builders
Goal: 17 full kits/person/week · 3–4/day · ⚠ Tight station
Stage total this week: 0 / 0
📝 Stage 3 — Petition Preparers
Goal: 17 petitions/person/week · 3–4/day · ⚠ Primary bottleneck risk
Stage total this week: 0 / 0
🤝 Stage 4 — Client Service Managers
Goal: varies by headcount · reviews petition with client before attorney
Stage total this week: 0 / 0
⚖️ Stage 5 — Attorneys (Finalization)
Goal: 13 filings/attorney/week · 2–3/day · Mix: ~8 Ch.7 + ~5 Ch.13
Stage total this week: 0 / 0
📊 Firm-Wide Weekly Summary
0/0
Doc Collectors
0/0
Labelers
0/0
Petition Prep
0/0
CSM Reviews
0/0
Filed
Total filed vs goal this week
0 / 50 cases
0% of weekly goal
▶ DO — Daily Stand-Up
15 minutes · Process Leader + Team · Run through each stage · Capture bottlenecks live · Build SOPs to prevent recurrence
Monday — PLAN
PLAN
Weekly Planning Meeting (~30 min)
- Set each person's goal for the week
- Review backlog — what's ready to move?
- Identify known constraints ahead
- Confirm Ch.7 / Ch.13 mix for the week
Tue–Fri — DO
DO
Daily Stand-Up (~15 min)
- Each person: how many did I complete yesterday?
- Each person: what's in my way today?
- Capture every bottleneck — identify + solve + SOP
- Remove the constraint same day if possible
Friday — REVIEW
REVIEW
Weekly Retrospective (~30 min)
- Did we hit 50? If not — what stopped us?
- Which stage was the true bottleneck?
- What do we do differently next sprint?
- Celebrate wins — client, crew, company
📋 Daily Progress by Person
Enter each person's completions M–F — totals live
🔧 Live Bottleneck Capture — By Stage
During stand-up: identify the constraint, define the solution, assign the SOP owner
For every bottleneck raised: (1) Name the bottleneck clearly. (2) Agree on the immediate solution. (3) Assign the Process Leader to write an SOP so it never happens the same way again.
📄 SOP Tracker — All Stages
Every bottleneck that's been solved becomes an SOP. Process Leader owns the write-up.
Filter by stage:
0 pending ·
0 in progress ·
0 completed
No SOPs yet — bottlenecks captured during stand-up will appear here
📅 Planning Meeting — PLAN
60 minutes · Process Owner + Process Leader · Run at the start of each sprint (Monday)
FLOW — What do we want?
The Planning Meeting sets the goal, identifies the true bottleneck, and assigns individual targets for the week. Every team member leaves knowing their number and what stands in the way.
Sprint SetupFill in before the meeting starts
Goals for This Sprint
Action Plan
Risk Planning — What Could Go Wrong?
| WHAT COULD GO WRONG? | WHAT WOULD WE DO? |
|---|
Individual Goals — This SprintAssign a number to every person
| STAGE | TEAM MEMBER NAME | GOAL THIS SPRINT | NOTES |
|---|
Next Steps — Before You Leave the Room
Saved planning meetings
🔄 Retrospective Meeting — REVIEW
60 minutes · Process Owner + Process Leader + Team Members · Run at end of each sprint (Friday)
FLOW — What did we learn?
The Retro reviews what happened, celebrates wins, surfaces what didn't work, and determines the true bottleneck for the next sprint. Every retro makes the next sprint better.
Sprint Review Setup
Previous Sprint Goals — Did We Hit Them?
| PREVIOUS SPRINT GOAL | REACHED? | IF "NO" — OBSTACLE | WHAT DID WE LEARN? |
|---|
✅ Keep Doing
🛑 Stop Doing
🔧 Improve Doing
Issues List — Rank by PriorityHighest priority = biggest impact on hitting the goal
| PRIORITY | OWNER | ISSUE |
|---|
Next Sprint — True Bottleneck & Triple C Win
Retro Checklist — Before You Leave
Saved retros
🗺 Process Leader — Initial Team Road Map
WorkFLOW Room V1.5 · Use this checklist when launching a new FLOW team or onboarding a new Process Leader
The Process Leader's Role
The Process Leader makes the team flow by providing leadership, coaching, and cheerleading. They clear the path for team members, run the daily stand-ups, identify the true bottleneck, and allocate work to hit the goal. Flow Basics: (1) Must have a GOAL. (2) Identify the TRUE BOTTLENECK. (3) TRY something different.
Starting a New Team — Setup Checklist
Initial team members (up to 9 per FLOW team)
Setup Checklist
Team Kick-Off Meeting Checklist
📅 Planning Meeting60 min · Owner + Leader
▶ Daily Stand-Up15 min · Leader + Team
🔄 Retro Meeting60 min · Owner + Leader + Team
Meeting Schedule — Set Once, Run Every Sprint
Bottleneck Log
In FLOW, the true bottleneck is the #1 thing preventing you from hitting the goal. Find it. Fix it. Move on.
FLOW — What's in the way?
Every day the team asks: what is the single biggest thing preventing us from moving 50 cases through this week? That's the true bottleneck. Log it here. Assign an action. Mark it resolved when done. Then find the next one.
Log a Bottleneck
Active & Resolved Bottlenecks
No bottlenecks logged — great! Or log your first one above.
The FLOW Guide — Miller Miller Assembly Line
"Everything flows." — Heraclitus | Based on the Miller Miller FLOW Leadership Guide by Blaine Oelkers
The FLOW 3's — Applied to the Assembly Line
Process
Plan · Do · Review
Monday plan, daily stand-up, Friday retro
Wins
Client · Crew · Company
Clients filed, team hitting goals, firm hits 50/week
Meetings
Planning · Stand-Up · Retro
30 min Mon, 15 min daily, 30 min Fri
The 3 Questions — Applied Every Day
What do I want?
50 cases filed this week. 30 Ch.7, 20 Ch.13. Each person hitting their daily and weekly number. The line flowing smoothly.
What's in the way?
Ask this at every stand-up. Missing docs? Labeling backlog? Petition prep too slow? Client not available for CSM review? Log it.
What will I do?
Assign the action. Name an owner. Set a same-day deadline. If it isn't fixed today, it backs up the whole line tomorrow.
Roles on the Assembly Line — FLOW Roles
| FLOW Role | Who at Miller Miller | Responsibilities | Meetings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Process Owner | Leadership / Wendy | Sets the 50-case weekly goal and the Ch.7/Ch.13 mix. Ensures the team has what they need. Removes org-level obstacles. Reviews the retro results. | Planning Retro |
| Process Leader | Department Manager / Lead | Runs the daily stand-up. Watches the pipeline for stage lag. Identifies the true bottleneck. Assigns actions and follows up same day. Keeps the line moving. | Planning Stand-Up Retro |
| Team Members | Doc Collectors, Labelers, Petition Prep, CSMs, Attorneys | Show up with their number. Know their daily goal. Report what's in their way — no hiding problems. Offer ideas to improve the process. Every person can surface a bottleneck. | Stand-Up Retro |
Common Bottlenecks on This Assembly Line
📂 Doc collection stalls
Client unresponsive or missing paystubs / bank statements. Fix: Same-day call + text if no response within 48 hours. Escalate to CSM after 72 hours.
🏷 Labeling backlog
Kits pile up before petition prep. With only 3 labelers, one absence causes immediate backup. Fix: Cross-train one doc collector to label. Have a labeling surge protocol.
📝 Petition prep delay
Most common constraint. Ch.13 petitions take 2× longer. Fix: Separate the Ch.7 and Ch.13 queues. Assign dedicated preparer to Ch.13 if it's backing up.
🤝 Client not reachable for CSM review
CSM can't complete the review because the client won't answer. Fix: Pre-schedule the CSM call at the time docs are collected. Don't let it be a cold call.
⚖️ Attorney scheduling crunch
Cases pile up waiting for attorney finalization slot. Fix: Attorney slots should be pre-blocked on the calendar each week. 2–3 slots/day per attorney, protected time.
📊 Workbook incomplete
Cases arrive at petition prep without a complete workbook — missing fields, wrong creditor info. Fix: Labeler checklist gate — no kit moves forward without a signed-off workbook.