Lean Office : Get Your Desk Lean !
The more inventory a company has, the less likely they will have what they need
Applying lean principles in management, business processes, and other organization services is easy to understand, but applying the same principles to you own office environment may be confusing even to those who consider themselves savvy with lean principles.
The Lean Office puts emphasis on business processes that directly impacts the ability of the business to deliver true value to its clients, especially in the fulfillment of their orders. In this set-up, the business will immediately realize the benefits and the clients will obtain positive outcomes fast.
The lean desk lowdown
Like any other methodology, the lean office has its own share of shortcomings. One of which is the fact that it is predisposed to making isolated changes within the functions and departments in the workplace. Remember that the application of the methodology must be done in the context of the overall business process revamp in order to achieve expected positive outcomes.
But, why do many companies have troubles with the application of lean tools and concepts on the office environment? A lot of people point to the variability of the work, the rising demand, multi-tasking, and the creative nature of the work to be the culprits.
Yet another source of demand variability is the batch processing. It also includes the performance of some activities by the work personnel. Batch processing has a direct impact on the whole work processes. This may nevertheless be reduced with the help of Lean Office.
There are four basic concepts you can apply to achieve a Lean Office, here they are:
Visualization
One of the key objectives for an efficient mode of communication is visualization. Lean business organizations always find ways to improve the visibility all throughout their enterprise. Oftentimes, organizations make performance become visible. Goals and procedures could be posted in different areas for everybody to see. Work instruction and techniques that will expedite the rendering of service must be available for everybody that needs to reminder so nothing is forgotten or taken for granted. This is a crucial first step. We can also call this visual management (article in French).
Stabilization
The main purpose of the stabilization step is to establish foreseeable and manageable outcomes. This is especially true with manufacturing processes where regardless of work efficiency; there is an assurance that the product will perform according to the customer’s expectations. In office and service environments, however, the product is not as tangible as in the production sector. It is therefore very difficult to give assurance on the quality of the output. The reason is that in a service environment, the creation and consumption of service, which are done in near real-time, makes quality assurance problematic. Often times, the source of problems is inadequate comprehension of customer needs.
This is the best area to start. Clearly define the needs of the customer, make a simple documentation, create a checklist system, poka yokee and provide training to office or service personnel. Consistency is key and all your lean efforts must start from here.
Standardize
Standardization is very important. Developing practices consistently in the workplace will create a standardized and harmonious workplace. In most cases, there is stability and consistency with improved standardizations. The primary goal is to streamline and simplify all the work. Yet another goal of the standardization is to ensure that nonstandard working conditions are identified and attended to. These are the most important conditions that have to be addressed in order to bring the process to acceptable levels of work performances.
Improvement
The moment you start with your lean implementation, you will never run out of opportunities to improve. You must engage your workforce to boost their overall work performance. You can start implementing changes on a smaller scale first, with this you will be able to lay down a foundation for broader changes. This approach will help you work out your situation.
Notwithstanding the kind of approach you will be targeting, there will be a high level of development for the Lean Desk workplace. In the long run, it will surely benefit the workplace when implemented properly.
We recommend you to watch this brilliant video about lean desks.
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