Supervisory Core Training

LEAN Continuous Process Improvement

Improving organizational
performance in Minnesota state
government

What is LEAN?
LEAN is a time-tested set of tools and methods
that identifies and reduces waste and defects
within processes while improving productivity,
employee morale, and customer service.
LEAN engages those people who work in the
process, in the effort to improve the process.
It is designed to bring measureable, quantifiable
improvement to your business processes.

Why focus on process?

Nearly every tangible output; service or
product, is created as the result of a
process or series of processes.
Its been shown that over 85% of the
opportunity to improve those outputs lie
within the process itself.

Some definitions
Quality meeting customers key
requirements
Cycle time reducing the amount of work
needed to perform a task
Lead time reducing the amount of time
needed to complete one output
Cost reducing the amount of resources
needed to produce one output

Building a Successful Lean Transformation

Strategy
Leadership
Sustainment
Kaizen
Training
Planning
7 Wastes

5S

Standard Work

Increasing Organizational Value

Lean
Transformation

Fundamentals of Lean

The Seven Wastes

Value vs. Non-Value

Are we adding value, or
just doing stuff?

In the LEAN world, if it is not

value-added,
it is considered waste
-even if it is essential.

Value added
It is an action that a
customer would be
willing to pay for
It transforms a product
or service
It is done correctly the
first time

vs.

non-value added
Its an activity that
consumes resources
without directly creating
value for the customer
It is an activity that is
unpredictable in creating
value
Its an activity that requires
more time, effort, or
resource than it has to.

Value added vs. non-value added

Non-value
Added

Value
Added

Typically, less than 1% of a time that we own a

product or service is spent adding value.

The seven wastes + 1

Defects (poor quality)

Transportation
Waiting
Overproduction
Inventory
Motion
Extra processing
Underutilized creativity

Can you see the wastes?

Defects
Any element of a product or
service that does not meet or
exceed a key customer
requirement.

Fixing defects usually means:

Re-work
Re-inspection
Re-design
More cost,
And unhappy customers

Transportation
The unnecessary movement
of people, information or
materials between
processes.

Follow the bouncing paperwork

Waiting
People, parts, systems, or
facilities idly waiting for a work
cycle upstream to be
completed.

Factoid
About 95% of the time that
is required to produce a
product or service is
because of waiting.

We eliminate the waste so we use our

resources to do the work that our customer
pays us for.

Overproduction
Producing products or services faster than
your customers are using them requires:

more
more
more
more

movement
storage
capital tied up in inventory
resources to track inventory

Office examples of overproduction

We need 54 copies, but we make 60, just
in case.
We print 5000 brochures because the
price per piece is cheaper, we inventory,
store and finally recycle 2/3 of them.
We print and distribute forms that
frequently change.

Inventory
Storing more materials than you
need in the near-term, creating
and storing more products than
are being demanded by the
customer in the near-term

Motion
Any movement of peoples bodies
that does not add value to
product or service

Frequency of Use Analysis

Physical Files
-

Where should this

item be located?

How about
this one?

50

Frequency
of gets
and put-

aways

Times/Day

40
30
20
10
2

10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32

Distance Carried (feet)

Extra processing
Multiple inspections (no quality at the
source)
Multiple signatures/authorizations
Different ways to produce the same
product (no standardized work)
Batching work

Underutilized creativity
People who work in the process, know the
process best (both the strengths and
weaknesses).
Do they have the tools, training, and
permission to systematically improve their
process?

Fundamentals of Lean

5S

What Is 5S?
Methodology for creating a clean, safe,
orderly, high performance work
environment
Some companies have added 6th S for a
Safety focus.

The 5 Ss
Sort
Set In Order
Shine
Standardize
Sustain

1S - Sort
Catch Phrase:

When in doubt, move it out.

Sort What Is It?

Distinguishing between necessary and
unnecessary material, equipment, tools, data,
and information
Sort is done with initial 5S activities, but should
be repeated semi-annually, or as 5S evaluations
expose issues
Items may have accumulated
Needs may have changed

Example - Sort

Set In Order
Catch Phrase:

A place for everything, and

everything in its place.

Set In Order - What is It?

Organizing, arranging, and storing material,
equipment, and information that is currently
being used.
Identifying a specific place for everything.
Arranging physical and electronic information so
that the most commonly used information is
quickest to access
Establishing procedures that will allow items to
be easily found, handled, replenished, and
returned to their original location quickly.

Set In Order Why?

To immediately recognize items that are out of
place, recognize excess inventory, and identify
the need to order more of a particular item
To reduce wasted time spent locating materials
and information
To improve your level of customer service

Set in Order Rule of Thumb

Arrange needed items so that they are easy to use and
label them so that anyone can find them and put them
away.
YOU should be able to find ANYTHING in your office in
30 seconds or less.
ANYONE should be able to find ANYTHING in YOUR
office in 60 seconds or less.
Eliminates many kinds of WASTE in our daily activities

Is this an efficient work place?

Shine
Catch Phrase:

The best cleaning is to not need cleaning.

Shine Why?
To boost morale
To improve the health and safety of employees
To develop a sense of ownership in the
equipment and facility
To identify and eliminate root causes of
cleanliness issues
If a workspace is getting dirty
faster than it can be cleaned,
the root cause of the problem
has not been identified.

Standardize
Catch Phrase:

See and recognize what needs to

be done.

Standardize What Is It?

A method in which Sort, Set in Order,
and Shine are maintained and made
habitual
It is important to achieve buy-in and
consistency from team members as well
as institute the 5S process into a regular
work routine, making it systematic

Sustain
Catch Phrase:

The less self-discipline you need,

the better.

Sustain What Is It?

Effective, ongoing application of knowledge,
skills, and abilities gained from the 5S process in
order to improve organizational wide
effectiveness
Sustaining also involves motivating and
maintaining an ongoing commitment to the 5S
process and obtaining discipline in employees
assigned roles and responsibilities
Sustain is often the most difficult part of the
5S process

Fundamentals of Lean

Standard Work

Standard work is a foundation of

Lean and continuous improvement.
To maximize the performance of any process,
clear definitions of how the task should be
done, and the amount of time provided in the
process must be established and maintained.

What is Standard Work?

A simple, written description of the safest,
highest quality, and most efficient way
known to perform a particular task.
The only acceptable way to do a task.
Expected to be continually improved

What is Standard Work?

1

Includes the amount of time allotted for the

task to be acted on.
Focuses on the employee, not the
equipment or materials
Reduces variation, increases consistency

Kaizen - bringing the tools together

Kaizen
Kai = Change
Zen = Good
Kaizen = Change for the better

A facilitated, concentrated improvement event,

involving those that work in the process.
The focus is on employee-driven improvements

A focus on process can reduce waste

Review Swim Lane Maps

Swim Lane Mapping Metrics

DHS kaizen
Invoicing
Current

Future

Qty.

Time

Qty.

Time

Tasks

18

44 minutes

19 minutes

Waits

52 hours

2 hours

Handoffs

File/Store

Decisions

Totals

52 hrs - 44 min

2 hrs - 19 min

95% Improvement

Don

So whats the supervisors role in

continuous improvement?

Help your people understand what it is

Be a role model
Encourage
Support
Recognize and reward
Repeat

Why LEAN wont work in my unit

We dont have time for this foolishness
Our people wont like it
We tried something like this 10 years
ago and it didnt work
State policy and statute wont allow it

Can it make a difference in Minnesota

state government?
In the Department of Health its reduced the time for
citizens to receive a duplicate birth certificate from 6
days to 1.
In the Department of Human Services it reduced by 89%
the amount of time to process health care premiums.
In the Department of Military Affairs its reduced the
time to process veterans benefits by 50%.

You can think you can achieve

something, or you can think you
cant.
And you will be right
Henry Ford

As of today
Seventeen state agencies currently have
process improvement efforts planned, or
underway.
The goal is to have active, sustainable
process improvement programs in all state
agencies by the end of 2010.
For the latest on projects, participants and
results, visit and bookmark the Enterprise
LEAN website at www.Lean.state.mn.us.

There is help out there!

Training Introduction to Lean One day
customized to your agency or interagency
Strategic direction workshop identifying
priorities for improvement efforts
Kaizen event participate in a facilitated, rapid
improvement event of a specific process or
activity.
There are currently no costs to the
agency for these activities.