Implementing a lean, continuous improvement project in an effort to cut waste and improve efficiencies in a business can he harmful and just make things worse.
That's according to Emma Harris, operations director at UK-based process improvement company Triaster, who says that one of the most common reasons for the failure of improvement projects is that cuts that are made to seemingly wasteful processes can result in additional costs elsewhere in the organisation.
"These can outweigh the initial savings. It is therefore essential when striving to create a lean organisation, that everything is handled carefully and correctly and to utilise techniques like process mapping and process management," she adds.
Harris says there are 10 essential steps every organisation should follow to improve business processes and reduce wastage.
1. Understand how the business works. The only way to identify inefficiencies in an organisation is to adopt a process management approach. This includes developing a process map - a diagram that provides a visual representation of all the processes within the organisation. She recommends that a full business process management system - rather than a process mapping tool - is used for this complex task.
2. Focus on outputs. Harris defines a process as the transformation of inputs into outputs. However, there are many things done within an organisation do not produce an output. She recommends that when undertaking process mapping to keep asking: "What is produced?" This makes it easy to identify wasteful processes.
3. Ask the person who does the job. The person doing the process (or the job) usually has a pretty good idea of where the inefficiencies are - and what should be changed to make the process more efficient.
4. Look at the handover points. These are where most business waste occurs. Examples include one department producing something that is not in the format used by the receiving department, or is not used by the receiving department at all.
5. Look for bottlenecks. Anything that has to wait to be dealt with is not delivering value during this time. Identifying and dealing with bottlenecks can go a long way to addressing and cutting out waste quickly.
6. Involve the person who owns the process. People with the authority to change a process should be involved at the process mapping stage so that they can quickly approve any changes that need to be made.
7. Implement best practice. Very often the same process is delivered in different ways in different parts of the business. By identifying and adopting the best practice process - one that is the most efficient - will improve processes throughout the organisation.
8. Capture key data at the process level. This should be done using a BPM system as it allows less obvious inefficiencies to be identified and addressed.
9. Model potential improvements. Once the process model of how the organisation currently works is in place, this should be regarded as the starting point for modelling future options. A BPM system that allows for the modelling of different improvement scenarios and allows for the understanding of potential impacts before they are made can help to prevent unnecessary upheaval in the future.
10.Continually look for ways to be more efficient. Identifying inefficiencies cannot be regarded as a once-off exercise but as part of an ongoing improvement process.
Source: Triaster
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