Written by Lean government. The very idea sounds implausible. Even to the seasoned Lean practitioner, the idea of a Lean government sounds far fetched. Governments are traditionally seen as the epitome of bureaucracy, and the guardians of red tape, incomprehensible forms and endless queues. But there are workable Lean strategies for governments seeking to reduce waste and become more efficient. Eight are outlined here. Perhaps considering the eight ideas can spur government change agents to study Lean literature for potential improvement applications and in the longer run, start a Lean revolution in governments.
The idealized goal of Lean is “one-piece flow,” also known as continuous flow. One-piece flow is achieved when all waste is eliminated from the value stream and all that remains is value-added work from the perspective of customers. In manufacturing, one-piece flow is an ideal and will always be an ideal because of fluctuations in customer demands plus the customer requirements for ever shorter delivery time forces the manufacturer to create partially completed or completed inventories. This type of manufacturing strategy actually creates waste because there is a need for storage and management of storage.
Here are the 8 strategies:
- Synchronization to Customer Demands
- Understand Variations in Customer Demand
- Create Work Cells
- Eliminate Batching Work and Multi-Tasking
- Enforce First in, First out
- Implement Standardized Work and Load Leveling
- Do Today’s Work Today
- Make the Value Stream Visible
Read more about the 8 strategies at: https://www.isixsigma.com/methodology/lean-methodology/eight-workable-strategies-creating-lean-government/