Lean for Service / Office / Transactional Lean
Lean for Service / Office / Transactional Lean
Lean for Service, Lean Office and transactional Lean are all terms which have been developed to enable companies to think about the use of Lean principles in a non manufacturing environment. We have been helping companies to deploy Lean since 1999 in both the public and private sector in banks, insurance companies, call centres, customer services, online companies, retail, sales and marketing companies, logistics, warehouses, consultancies, financial services, legal, etc. Lean is applicable in these areas as it is in a manufacturing world.
The difference in a service or office environment is that you need to adapt and think about the principles of Lean in a slightly different manner however the underlying principles are exactly the same. In manufacturing it is easier to implement the thinking due to the complete repeatability of the processes you are dealing with and the fact that the staff have been used to working in a Lean way for many years even if they didn’t know it. In our transactional service world we have numerous customers and employees who are facing a massive change to undertake Lean principles.
Remember that Toyota and other Lean pioneers have been in some form or other been applying Lean principles and Lean Leadership for decades. If you are new to the use of Lean to improve your business as many service and transactional office based companies are then you are not going to get dramatic change overnight. Lean is about changing the culture of your organisation to one of customer focus, process focus and identifying and removing waste or non value added steps.
We help companies in the service sector to understand Lean principles, to understand how to deploy and lead Lean in an organisation and to up skill and train staff in the principles of Lean applicable for their company. There is not a one approach fits all when it comes to Lean or any form of continuous improvement. You need to design a program that fits your culture, aspirations and timescales which is where we can help. Talk to us about how we can help train your staff and design your deployment of Lean.
Lean in a service world means slightly different things than in the manufacturing world the principles of engaging all staff in identification and elimination of waste, looking at everything through the eyes of your customer, doing everything in a quality manner, standardising processes and simplification are still true however. The complexity of having multiple customers with varying needs can make it a little harder and require a bit more thought. The tools which have been used for decades in manufacturing such as 5S, TPM and SMED need to be re focused and explained in new ways. Their principles however can help you develop your business no matter who you are. When we look at the 5 key principles of Lean they also need to be changed in their explanation and approach.
Value – means understanding who your customers are and what is important to them. It means knowing what parts of your service actually are valuable to your customers.
Value Stream - understanding the steps in your process and being able to identify and eliminate the non-value added or wasteful steps. In an office or service environment this is not as straight forward as it would first appear. You must be able to apply discretion and understanding of the customer and the current situation. So standardisation is not always easy
Flow – once you understand all the steps in your process you need to make them as simple and easy to follow as possible. You need to design the fewest number of hand offs as well as shortest route to solve problems or provide services for the customer. This might mean increasing responsibilities or roles as well as taking out steps in the process.
Pull – make sure that the customer always obtains what they need in the easiest way. This means removing queues or making things available when the customer wants them. This might mean changing opening hours or staff hours or working methods.
Perfection – once you have everyone on board understanding waste then you must try to get them to constantly look for ways to improve. They must engage in solving problems and reducing waste.
Ultimately Lean for Service, Lean for office or any transactional Lean activity is all about changing the culture of your organisation. That means different leadership, different engagement and different ways of looking at the world. We have helped companies to develop and understand their deployment needs since 1999 so please get in touch to see how we can help.
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