How to Apply Lean Production to the Public Sector

Lean production requires involvement of all stakeholders.

In 1990, James Womack and Daniel Jones packaged the notion of lean production for American and European business in their book, "The Machine that Changed the World." Their source was Japanese manufacturing practices that had successfully integrated quality control and "kaizen" (small incremental improvements by all workers and management) and were notably refined by Toyota Corporation. With lean production's success in the private sector, government at all levels is starting to implement these methods. Total quality control's "Deming Cycle" offers four strategies to lean production applications: Plan, Do, Check, Act.

Instructions

Plan

1. Gather information to pinpoint areas in the organization where lean production will create greater production efficiencies, reduce waste in the workplace, or increase the quality of products and services.

2. Communicate with and encourage the participation of everybody, from management to front-line workers. Top management leaders set the tone.

3. Request feedback from managers and employees to help determine the criteria for process improvements as well as possible obstacles to achieving lean goals. Staff can also help define success metrics and benchmarks such as key performance indicators.

4. Identify which activities within an organization's processes add value with "value stream mapping." "Value" in lean production parlance means giving the "customer" what she or he wants.

Do

1. Design a "value stream" within the processes that maximizes the number of activities that the customer values.

2. Optimize the "flow" by augmenting the number of uninterrupted steps "from one value adding or supporting activity to the next."

3. Secure memoranda of understanding from departments and agencies that are part of the lean production system, recommends John Kuprenus in his article on the City of Los Angeles Bureau of Engineering, "Implementation Of Lean Concepts For Public Sector Engineering Design And Construction: A Case Study."

4. Define the term "customer." There are both internal and external customers.

5. Train management and employees on lean concepts and managing change to help shift workers' assumptions, perceptions and behavior.

Check

1. Confirm that the lean production system is working correctly. One key indicator is that the customer is "pulling" the process. In keeping with the "just-in-time" concept in manufacturing, inventories are not stockpiled, but delivered on customers' request. The "pull" process reduces the risk of being bogged down with paper and process bottlenecks.

2. Be vigilant not to become complacent. Lean production is a long-term solution that utilizes continuous improvement and corrective adjustments as part of the process.

3. Establish small "quality control (QC) circles" or "improvement teams" consisting of lean production management and employees. These teams are useful to direct, "maintain and achieve incremental quality processes." They also identify data that can indicate trends as the process is refined.

Act

1. Practice. In lean production vocabulary, "perfection" is when the lean system is scaled to the exact value the customer wants. This can be achieved when workers become more confident, "competent and proficient in lean production applications."

2. Develop a "closed-loop" communications process whereby information is transmitted and acted upon and feedback is returned to the originator of the communication.

3. Look for more opportunities to apply lean concepts to transform how effectively and efficiently the government organization functions. This is especially useful when faced with economic uncertainties and scrutiny from constituents.

Tips & Warnings

• Six Sigma and Total Quality Management tools can provide structure and enhance the long-term sustainability of lean production applications.

• Lean production is a long-term commitment, and with small, often almost imperceptible changes, it is easy to become discouraged.

References

• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: Lean in Government Starter Kit
• Business.Gov: Lean Manufacturing
• "Xerox Corporation White Paper"; Lean Six Sigma in the public sector; September 2004
• "Oracle White Paper", Lean Performance Management for Public Sector, August 2009
• "The McKinsey Quarterly"; Applying Lean Production to the Public Sector, Nina Bhatia and John Drew; June 2006
• "Proceedings IGLC '98"; Implementation of Lean Concepts for Public Sector Engineering Design and Construction: A Case Study, John A. Kuprenas, 1998

Resources

• Kaizen (Ky'zen): The Key to Japan's Competitive Success, Masaaki Imai, 1986
• "Lean Thinking"; Womack, James P. and Jones, Daniel T., 1996
• "Change Management: The People Side of Change", Jeffrey M. Hiatt, Timothy J. Creasey, 2003