Lean in Public Services: Is
it just for Efficiency?
OR
Can it only ever be just
for Efficiency?
Dr Zoe Radnor
Associate Professor (Reader) in
Operations Management
Warwick Business Schoool
AIM Management Practice Fellow
Lean not just for the Private Sector…
Plus Local Government, Fire and
Rescue Services………
A Brief History of Lean
Who “invented” Lean?
Taiichi Ohno
Vice President of Manufacturing,
Toyota Motor Corporation
Toyota Production System
1950s, after WW2
External factors; small market,
culture and difficulties in
equipment purchase.
Inspired by USA
supermarkets
Understand Value
Value-Stream Thinking
The SA processing lead time for documents received during January was 15.4 days, of
which 14 minutes was spent processing (0.05%)
Time to process an SA return
•
Processing time
Document
arrives
•
Activities
•
Waiting to be sorted
•
1 hour
•
Post sorted into SA
•
0.5 min*
•
Returns sorted into SA floors
•
0.5 min*
•
Returns wait for collection
•
E2 Collection from post room
•
10 min
•
Pre-log checks
•
1.5 min
•
Log/batch
•
0.5 min
•
Waiting to be captured
•
E1 capture
•
E1 code
•
Overnight data back-up
•
2nd day actions
•
0.7 min
•
Refilling
•
0.5 min
•
Total lead time
•
15.4 days
•
•
Waiting time
•
Physical location
–
Post Room
–
E2 section
–
In shelf on the
floor
–
E1 section
–
Cabinet
1 hour
•
14 days
•
8 min
•
4 min
•
1 day
Return
processed
Patient
arrives
Patient is
booked in
Treatment
by nurse
WAIT
Patient is
seen by
doctor
WAIT
Patient is
booked in
WAIT
Patient is
triaged
WAIT
Patient
arrives
WAIT
Flow: The Process for assessment, minor treatment
discharge was redesigned to achieve lower waits
Patient is
discharged
by doctor
Patient is seen, treated
and given advice by
doctor or nurse practitioner and discharged
Reduction of Waste
1
Over-production - 60% of
4
Over-processing -
computer generated post
Sorting post in 21
printed in the post room was
categories when 4/5
discarded
were enough
2
Waiting - Post delivered by
5
Royal Mail did not always
Inventory – 15+ days of
work on shelves
arrive at 7:45 am
3
Transport - Post moved
6
Rework - Post transferred
500 metres before any
between offices; Frequent
value-added work was
redirection due to mis-
performed
sorting
7
Motion - In post room the
operator moved from desk
to scales to measure a
single item of post
Use of Tools and Techniques within Lean in
Public Services
Assessment:
• To assess the processes at organisational level e.g. value stream
mapping, process mapping
Improvement:
• Tools implemented and used to support and improve processes e
Monitoring:
• To measure and monitor the impact of the processes and their
improvement e.g. control charts, visual management,
benchmarking, work place audits
• Measures in terms of quality, time, costs, satisfaction levels e.g.
5S, structured problem solving
Assessment: Reviewing the work
From
Current
State
to
Future
State
Improvement: Structured and systematic use of
problem-solving
Day-to-day problem solving: 3Cs document
Version
Originator
Date
Problem Solving - 3Cs
2.1
Project Office
17-Sep-06
Team
Causes identified
Concern
Countermeasures identified
Cause
Implementation started
Implementation completed
Countermeasure
Resp
Date Due
Status
This is the basic method of Problem Solving used by teams to address
day-to-day issues affecting performance. The process has 3 steps:
Concern:
Define the Problem clearly – doing this is essential, as it will help
to ensure that you don’t try to put the whole world right in one go.
Cause
Think carefully – try to get to the “ROOT CAUSE” of the problems,
rather than just dealing with the symptoms.
Countermeasures
Try to fix the problem once and for all, but if that’s not possible,
then do everything you can to mitigate the impact on the customer.
More challenging problems: Structured Approach
These are some of the Problem Solving tools
that are available, but there are many more
1 - Problem
WHAT DO WE WANT
TO IMPROVE AND
WHERE DO WE WANT
TO BE?
2 - Causes







3 C’s Document
Brainstorming
Kipling
SMART
Open Questions
5 Why's
Timing Plan
Fishbone Diagram
 Web Chart
 Like & Must
 Check Sheet
 Action Plan
 Pareto Analysis
 Interviewing

WHAT'S STOPPING US
FROM ACHIEVING OUR
DESIRED STATE?
3 - Options
WHAT CHOICES DO
WE HAVE ?
6 - Results
HOW GOOD WAS
THE SOLUTION ?
5 - Implementation
WHAT IS OUR
ACTION PLAN ?
4 - Solutions
WHICH IS THE BEST
WAY TO SOLVE OUR
PROBLEM ?
Improvement: 5S
SEIRI
Sort
SEITON
Set in order
SEISO
Sweep and Shine
SHITSUKE
Standardise
SEIKETSU
Sustain
Monitoring: Visual Management
Team Board
Team Communications Hub
Resource Planning
Lean Transformation – A Two Pronged Attack
Understanding
Demand and
Capacity
Understanding
Value
Strong
committed
Leadership
Linking
activity to
the Strategy
Training and Development
Steering Group and Project Team
Regular Structured
Problem Solving
Leadership Challenging:
Go, See and Do
Workplace Audits
Identifying and managing
variation and demand
Monitoring of end to end
Service/Process Delivery
Developing Local/ Internal
Champions and Facilitators
Visual Management:
Managed by the front line
staff
Rapid Improvement Events:
Process Mapping and 5 ‘s
House of Lean for Public Services
©Zoe Radnor
Whole system view
Embedded improvement behaviours
Focused stable robust processes
Having a
Communication
Process
Strategy
View
HM Court Services Case Study
Conducted between November 2009 and April 2010
Site visits to 15 courts across England and Wales, the Central
Programme Office
Individual interviews and focus groups with 191 individuals
across all sites.
A quantitative analysis of specific responses to the interview
questions
Informal discussions with 20 change agents
A survey of all change agents across all HMCS regions (71%
response rate)
Informal discussions with 11 legal advisors
Radnor ZJ and Bucci G (2010)
“Evaluation of the Lean
Programme in HMCS”, HM Court
Services, London, May 2010.
Lean in HMCS
“We were talking about how we do [Lean] for ourselves….
how we build up our own capacity via the Lean Academy
style approach and manifest it for ourselves and then take a
step back from consultancy”
Lean event led by Change Agents
Lean reviews leading to ‘tipping point’
• "The point at which a court has fully grasped the concepts of Lean
and is able to extend such thinking to all areas of their work without
external direction.“
Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)
Team Information Boards (TIBs)
Daily Meetings
Key Achievements
Lean Programme has created significant impact within HMCS
• Key element has been the dedicated leadership of the programme,
programme team and the support of a Programme Board
• Vehicle in meeting the efficiency challenges
Staff now have an understanding of the need to change, revising processes
and practices which had been untouched for years
• Three quarters of the sites visited there was enthusiastic support for Lean
Engaging the workforce to the point where there is now an enthusiasm for
challenging
SRO and the Chief Executive showed a good understanding, high engagement
and recognition of the work related to the Lean programme
The pace of the Lean programme over the last eighteen months has been
relentless and has touched nearly 50% of locations and staff.
Exceptional impact with the project breaking even within 6 months.
No differences across the courts, location and size
Key Findings
The biggest impact staff highlighted was more efficient revised processes
and, visual management.
The continuing role of change agents was critical for the future of the Lean
programme.
There was a correlation between court manager enthusiasm and drive
towards Lean and positive experience of Lean.
Staff acknowledged that the working environment had improved for them
but could not quite see the impact this was having upon the delivery of the
service to the customer.
Many staff used phrases such as “when Lean was here” or “after Lean had
gone” giving the impression is that Lean was being seen by staff as
something external to the site done by the change agents.
There was very little recording of performance over time to identify trends
or to predict the workload.
There was a lot of variability in problem solving both within and across all
sites.
Case Studies: Lean in Higher Education
Organisation
Type of Project
Tools and
Techniques
Project Management
Outside Facilitation
Welsh University
Project Name
and Start
Lean University
Started
September 2006
University Wide with
input from Business
School academics
RIWs
Process Mapping
Value Stream
Mapping
5Ys
Fishbone Diagrams
Visual Management
TIBs
Dedicated central
University team
leading and running
the project
No
Nottingham
Business School
Lean @ NBS
Started 2008
Business School led
with input into central
University processes
A3s
Visual Management
Value Stream
Mapping
Root Cause Analysis
Fishbone Diagrams
Dean led project
Business School
Executive oversees
project with budget
allocation
Add on to existing job
Yes – external
academic acting as
consultant.
South Coast
Business School
CLeanUp
Business School with
some discussion into
central University
admin processes
No
RIWs
No dedicated team or
budget
Two individuals
running Lean and
RIWs
Add on to existing job
RIWs
Process Mapping
Project Steering
Group oversees
project with budget
allocation
Add on to existing job
Yes – external
organisation initially
undertook RIWs and
trained internal
facilitators.
Midland Business
School
Operational
Excellence
Started
November 2007
Business School led
with some input into
central University
processes
Foundation: Training and Development
NBS:
• ‘Blanket training’ approach for all 250 staff in Lean techniques. NBS is
trying to enable every member of staff to work in a Lean environment.
• Three day training programme in mixed groups consisting of academic,
administration and clerical.
• “If staff are trained, they become more familiar with Lean and are more
willing to become integrated with it”
Wales University:
• Lean Skills for Leaders Programme for middle and senior managers.
• To equip managers with the ability to apply Lean thinking and to give
them the skills to do continuous improvement work.
• “We need key skilled managers and key senior admin staff with good
Lean knowledge and understanding to help …keep the momentum of
Lean going.”
Building Blocks: Organisational
Readiness
Senior Management Commitment:
• Lean at NBS is being led by the Dean.
• This involves initial set up for the programme, specifying the
training required for staff, reviewing the projects on a weekly basis
(A3) and setting a direction to the rest of the school that this is
how business is done at NBS (‘unblocking’).
• “To become a Lean school, the top management needs to be on
board and drive it. This is not an add-on. Its about getting the
entire operation of the school adopt Lean.”
Link to Strategy: Wales University has a Strategy map.
Communication Strategy: Two of the Universities had an area of their
web sites detailing the purpose of Lean, projects and achievements.
Pillars: Tools and Techniques
3 Business Schools using Rapid Improvement Workshops.
Developing Internal Facilitators: Midland Business School
• To equip its own staff with the skills to be able to lead on improvement
work.
• External company X run the RIWs, staff shadowing, followed by training
for staff and, then running workshops themselves.
• Staff have volunteered to become facilitators and at the moment there is a
waiting list for staff to be trained.
• Lean is still over and beyond the normal duties of staff and is a real
commitment.
Process Mapping/ Value Stream Mapping used by all organisations.
Problem Solving tools used by 2 Business Schools.
Sporadic use of visual management in two organisations to make Lean
information visual in public areas.
Target = 20 days
2008 cycle - as % of total
2009 cycle - as % of total
4%
PG Admissions
Process Review
2%
0%
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100110120130140150160170180190200210220230240
To communicate all initial decisions on postgraduate applications within 4 weeks of receipt.
Why?
• Volume increasing but fixed resource (67%
increase in applications since 2005)
• Pressure from stakeholders to increase
pace of decision-making
• Analysis variation
• 5 whys
• 7 wastes
• CTS Tree
• Improve flow
• SIPOC
• Run charts /
• Opportunity Statement
• Map process (3 walls of post-it noteshistograms
and brown paper!)
How?
Additional benefits?
• ownership
• team building
• continuous
improvement
• challenging what we do
• control
• greater understanding from a
wider perspective
• reduced paper
• scope now extended
• better awareness and use of
data
Before
From submission to
creation of student
record
After
6%
99%
same day
in 2 hours
From SITS
to form sent
to
department
2%
93%
same day
(post)
same day
(electronic)
Department
decision
25 days
20 days
mean
mean
11 days
9 days
mean
mean
Quality
assurance,
transmission of
decision
Emails
at peak
7000
emails
10 weeks+
200 emails
3 weeks+
Publication Progress Board
WORKING PAPER
Level 1 – Abstract / written idea
Level 2 – Work in progress
Level 3 – Full working paper
CONFERENCE PAPER
Level 4 – Abstract submitted & accepted to conference
Level 5 – Paper submitted & accepted to conference
Level 6 – Paper presented at conference
SUBMITTED PAPER
VISUALIZING THE STATUS OF THE PUBLICATION PROGRESS
1. Print the front page of the paper (A6 format)
2. Attach a birthday sticker and write the date when level 1
was reached (date when you started to work on the paper)
3. Attach progress stickers given the current level of the
publication progress
UPDATING THE STATUS OF THE PUBLICATION PROGRESS
- Update the progress sticker to the new level
- The birthday sticker indicates the freshness of the paper and
its publication progress
- The progress stickers indicate the current and reached level
of the publication progress
Level 7 - Submitted
Level 8 - Revise and resubmit #1
Level 9 - Revise and resubmit #2
PUBLISHED PAPER
Level 10 - Published paper
Birthday sticker
OTHER
Presented at internal seminar (independent of level)
© Niklas Modig, Stockholm School of Economics
Progress stickers
= level 7
© Niklas Modig, Stockholm School of Economics
© Niklas Modig, Stockholm School of Economics
Approaches to Lean Implementation
‘Rapid Improvement Events/ Workshops (RIE)
• “RIW provides a way of making improvement manageable by
cutting problems into bite-sized chunks. RIW works because it is
a process which delivers quick and visible wins.”
Full Implementation is embedding the principles through a broad
use of the tools.
• “Lean gives an opportunity to give suggestions and question
why? The days of ‘the way things are done’ have gone”
RIEs Vs. Full Implementation
CULTURE CHANGE
Improvement
Opportunity
Greater, sustained
results achieved
Lost and repeated results
due to no sustainability
Short term
gains made
Improvement levelled off and
eventually stopped due to lack
of realizing “true” lean
opportunity
Kaizen Blitz
Rapid Improvement Events
Time
Source: Chris Craycraft, Whirlpool
Awareness, education,
organization structure
created to support lean
Defining Lean
Lean as a management practice based on the philosophy of
continuously improving processes by either increasing customer
value or reducing non-value adding activities (Muda), process
variation (Mura), and poor work conditions (Muri).
Some key assumptions of Lean:
1.It is possible to determine ‘value’ and ‘waste’ from a customer's
point of view, so that wasteful activities in the process can be
defined.
2.There is a defined and measurable benefit to the organisation
in reducing non-value adding activities; in the private sector this
has been a reduction in cost, or an increase in competiveness
against the peers
3.Freeing up resources helps the business grow and flow of
material, customers or information.
Public versus Private Sector
Issue
Private Sector
Authority

Public Sector


Authority is generally invested in
one CEO
Can operate in any sector / market
Authority is often shared between Senior Officers/
Mangers and professional people (politicians,
lawyers, doctors/ surgeons, academics etc..).
Overall Goal

Profit



Create and sustain citizen satisfaction
Economic, efficiency and effective
Value for Money
Accountability



Through clear objectives
Owners, shareholders
Legal reporting requirement


Central Agencies, Parliament/ politicians, citizen
Information generally ‘acquirable’ (e.g. Access to
Information laws)
Role of media

Primary stakeholder

Shareholder is dominant
stakeholder



Budgets


Flexible, based on expected Profit,
ROI, EVA
Budgets subject to significant
changes


Conflicting and shifting stakeholder interests and
dominance
Potential with conflict with government policy
Public media opinions influence decision making
Relatively fixed, stable budgets
Frequently budget based on previous year plus
inflationary adjustment
Conclusions
Although there are initial efficiency gains of Lean in public
services, there is a question whether the - unadapted - transfer
of Lean tools and techniques will continue to deliver further
gains at the systems level.
Two crucial assumptions are violated when directly transferring
Lean, at the systems level, into public services:
Clear understanding of who the customer is: Defining value
Reinvestment of released capacity: Developing flow
Lean in Public Services currently focused on efficiency and
cost cutting: Reduction of waste
Lean is not context-free
Not manufacturing to service but private to public