Process Improvement Techniques
An Introduction to Lean
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GOVERNMENT FINANCE OFFICERS ASSOCIATION
What Can Lean Do For You?
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GFOA Lean Training: Module 1
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Irving’s Results
Began in 2007:
• Eliminated 50,000+ hours
•
Saved $44 million
–
Cost savings and avoidances
Businesses & Residents:
• Improved service and satisfaction
• Faster services
Employees’ Increased:
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Productivity
Job satisfaction
Communication
Collaboration / teamwork
Development/leadership opportunities
GFOA Lean Training: Module 1
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Results
Commercial Permit Process
• Plan review time reduced by 76% (15.7 to 3.7 days)
• Maximum plan review time reduced 88% (49 to 6 days)
Street Cut Repairs
• Reduced repair cycle time from average of 14 weeks to <6 weeks
Utility Locates
• Reduced process steps from 32 to 7
• Reduced cycle time by 48% (from 75 to 39 hours)
Animal Services Processes
• Decreased shelter processing time by 50-66%, saving 1,120 hours
annually
• Decreased field officer time by 50-66%, saving 2,330 hours
annually
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GFOA Lean Training: Module 1
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A Brief History of Lean
 What we think of as Lean originated with the Toyota
Motor Company
 Toyota was looking for a way to provide variety with
limited capital equipment
 Popularized in the West and dubbed “Lean” by an
MIT study of the global car industry
 The Machine that Changed the World
 Lean has since spread far and wide
 Now virtually de rigueur in the auto industry and spread to
many other manufacturing industries
 Extremely popular in many industries outside of
manufacturing, from health care to fast food.
 Now making inroads into government
GFOA Lean Training: Module 2
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A Definition of Lean
 Lean is…
 A system of thinking and way of working that emphasizes
providing value to the customer of a service and
eliminating waste found in the workplace.
 Often thought of as “process improvement” and is known
for its expansive toolset.
 These tools are important, but at its best Lean
becomes a way of life for an organization where
there is a continuous journey toward perfection.
Lean is not something that is done once or a few times
per year, rather it is ingrained into the DNA of the
organization.
GFOA Lean Training: Module 2
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In Lean Waste is the Enemy
 Lean postulates there are 8 forms of waste that
occur in business processes
 Lean teaches employees to recognize these
forms of waste
 Kaizen and lean tools are used to make the
waste visible and to eliminate it
 Gradually, employees are able to recognize
waste immediately, so they can continually strive
to eliminate it.
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GFOA Lean Training: Module 3
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What “Waste” Means in Lean
 Waste is where to begin looking for process efficiencies
 It stimulates thinking about new ways to serve the customer
 It helps focus the search for efficiencies
 Lean does not suppose that all “waste” can be
eliminated
 Some steps may be required by law or necessary for
administrative purposes
 It is physically impossible to eliminate 100% of waste
• World-class companies still have 50-75% waste in some of
their processes!
 However, through continuous improvement, we can consistently
reduce waste to move towards the ideal process
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GFOA Lean Training: Module 3
GOVERNMENT FINANCE OFFICERS ASSOCIATION
Examples of Tricky Areas of Government
“Waste”
 Answering the public’s questions
 To what extent are questions related to first-time
inquiries vs. failure to resolve the question earlier?
 Applicant wait times
 Applicants (e.g., permits) are annoyed by waiting,
but… does the wait allow for review by other citizens
impacted by the request?
 Subsidy of services
 A subsidy means citizens do not pay the full cost of a
service, but … does the service have a larger public
benefit?
GFOA Lean Training: Module 3
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The 8 Forms of Waste
“The most dangerous kind of waste is
the waste we do not recognize.”
Shigeo Shingo
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8 Forms of Waste
 Defects
 Over-Processing /
Inspection
 Waiting
 Inventory/backlog
 Transport
 Motion
 Over-production
 Underutilizing
people’s abilities
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GFOA Lean Training: Module 3
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Defects
 Ideally work is performed correctly the first time.
 A defect happens when incorrect or incomplete
work is sent to the next step in the process or to
the customer.
 Avoiding defects starts with understanding the
customer’s definition of service quality.
 Once the definition of quality is understood, the
process must be controlled to consistently
deliver services that are free from defect.
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Defects = Rework
 Examples of defects and rework
 Defective instructions on forms, requiring customers
to call for assistance
 Failure to provide individualized attention to
students-at-risk requiring more costly remediation
later
 Services not performed when scheduled, requiring
customers to call to chase progress
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GFOA Lean Training: Module 3
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Over-Processing / Inspection
 Over-processing is putting more work into a
product or service than is necessary to meet the
customer’s requirements
 Inspection/checking is a particularly prevalent form of
this waste, especially in government
 Over-processing can come in other forms
 Overly elaborate reports
 Collecting too much information
from constituents
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GFOA Lean Training: Module 3
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Over-Processing / Inspection
 You can not inspect your way to quality
 Because work should be done right the first time,
inspection and checking is a form of waste.
 A good process is designed with controls in place
that are judicious and strategic.
 Consider the compliance pyramid as an
alternative (2 slides later)
 When checks are necessary consider if peer
checks or self-checks are an option
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Fun Fact
A global study of automotive
manufacturing showed that it took
one German luxury car manufacturer
more time to inspect and correct for
defects than it took a Japanese
luxury car manufacturer to build an
entire car*
*See: Womack, et al. 2007
GFOA Lean Training: Module 3
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The Compliance Pyramid*
*Teeuwen, 2011
GFOA Lean Training: Module 3
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Waiting
 The idle time created when employees wait for
invoices, copiers, parts, materials, machines,
information from coworkers, help, etc.
 Wait time = downtime
 Causes include:
 Unbalanced workloads
 Too few office machines
 Quality problems or bottlenecks
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Waiting
 Waiting could also apply to customers
 Citizens waiting in line is a waste of taxpayer time
 Other departments waiting is delaying the value
stream the public
 Students waiting is time not spent learning
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Inventory / Backlog
 In an administrative process, the sum of all tasks
waiting to be processed is considered inventory
or backlog
 A primary culprit is batch processing
 Lean advocates continuous flow of work
 Poor housekeeping may also contribute
 “5S” is a simple but powerful Lean tool for improving
the organization of the work environment – from
one’s own work area, to a vehicle, to an entire office
or department
GFOA Lean Training: Module 3
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Inventory/Backlog
 Physical inventory is a waste too
 Must be stored and insured
 Is not a liquid asset
 Physical inventory could be a great opportunity
for hard-dollar savings
 Example: Fort Wayne reduced street light inventory
budgets and actual expenditures by over 50%
($250,000) over three years*
*Richard, 2008
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GFOA Lean Training: Module 3
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Transport
 Transporting anything that does not directly add
value to a final product or service is a form of
waste.
 Documents, materials, customers
 Hand-offs could be a major source of transport
waste
 Improper electronic workflow could be a culprit
 Beware simply doing the wrong thing faster however
 Suboptimal office layout may also play a role
 Consider spaghetti diagrams.
GFOA Lean Training: Module 3
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Spaghetti Chart*
Before
After
*Courtesy of Gwinnett County, GA
GFOA Lean Training: Module 3
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Motion
 Excess motion to complete a task causes waste
 Poor ergonomics can lower productivity
 Searching is another form of motion waste
 Consider 5S to help with this
 Train employees to use computer short-cuts
 Develop standard, easy-to-read formats for
policies and procedures
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GFOA Lean Training: Module 3
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Follow Basic Workplace Design
Principles
 Chairs
 Ergonomic, adjustable
 Consider if chairs are necessary – standing may be better in
some cases
 Storage
 Provide enough so that frequently used items are within reach,
without twisting or turning.
 Avoid excess storage
 Use gravity to move materials
 Avoid requiring jerking motions, excess reaching
 U or L-shaped desks are good
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GFOA Lean Training: Module 3
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Over-Production
 This kind of waste results when a product is
made in greater amounts than necessary
 Root cause is poor understanding of customer’s
requirements
 Common examples
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Distributing information that isn’t read
Creating services or rules that aren’t needed
Information overload!
Producing any service that constituents don’t need
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GFOA Lean Training: Module 3
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Underutilizing People’s Abilities
 The most insidious form of waste is failing to
make use of employees’ full talents and skills
 Big example: Using sworn police officers to
perform administrative tasks that could be
performed just as well by civilians
 Smaller examples
 Lack of cross training to allow idle employees to help
resolve temporary bottlenecks
 Lack of skill monitoring and professional
development
 Not promoting a healthy workplace
GFOA Lean Training: Module 3
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Recognizing Waste
 Taichii Ohno said…
 Eliminating waste is easy, recognizing waste is difficult
 Use tools like value stream maps, swim lanes, or 5S to
make waste visible – or be creative
 One school made student transport waste visible
• Buses were delayed up to two hours trying to get all students
on the right bus
• Instead, all buses left on time, leaving stragglers. This made
the causes of the delay visible and easier to deal with.
• The stragglers were put on a spare bus and even ended up
getting home earlier than usual!
 Now a little practice…
GFOA Lean Training: Module 3
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Exercise for Identifying Waste
 Example: Accepting an application for a
business license
 Instructions
 Identify the non-value adding activities
 For each non-value adding activity, identify the type
of waste
5 minutes to complete
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GFOA Lean Training: Module 3
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Identify Waste
 Instructions. Identify which steps are waste & what kind of waste
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
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8.
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10.
11.
Open envelope_____________________
Review application for completeness______________________
Contact applicant for missing info___________________
File application until info is received__________________
Examine history of applicant for violations, etc._________________
Process application_________________________
Print embossed license________________________
Get city clerk to sign the license*_________________
Get mayor to sign the license**__________________
Mail the license________________________
Applicant receives license______________________
*Legally required to run a business
**Mayor wants to know what businesses are operating in town
GFOA Lean Training: Module 3
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The End
 GFOA Lean Resources
 June 2013 issue of Government Finance Review
• All Lean issue
• Lead article available for free on-line
 GFOA Lean training
• I have attended several GFOA training programs
over the years. In my opinion, this was not among
the best - the "Lean" program was clearly THE
BEST training program I have ever attended!
– Tim Kelso, Douglas County, Nebraska
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