Lean Strategies Create Smart Offices
High performance manufacturers require smart offices just as they require smart production processes. Transitioning to a smart/Lean office requires eliminating non-value activities associated with the administrative process just as they are eliminated in the production process. The tools and training associated with
Lean Strategies for the Office enable companies to streamline that process and create an efficient and dynamic office environment.
One NJMEP client reported reducing its order processing time by 30%, immediately after implementing
Lean Office. Others have successfully cut an average of 20% of the time, effort, or costs associated with their processes.
Ask yourself…- Are customers calling frequently asking when their orders will be ready for delivery?
- Does a process stop when an employee is sick or on vacation?
- Are employee skills underutilized?
- Is poor communication and inflexibility slowing down processes?
- Are you missing on-time delivery?
- Is order processing and billing negatively impacting your cash flow?
If you answered “Yes”, your solution is NJMEP’s
Lean Office.
What is Lean Office?
Lean Office is a strategic business approach to improving the administrative functions associated with running a business. Lean provides improvement solutions for overlooked administrative processes that have an impact on every system, process, employee, and customer.
Lean Office Strategies - Identify what the wastes are and where they exist
- Utilize value stream mappingPrioritize activities that need improvement
- Develop a future state map
- Identify material and information flows for improvement
- Develop and track implementation
A Lean Office…- Increases flexibility and responsiveness
- Reduces lead time
- Reduces errors and extra processing
- Improves utilization of personnel
- Reduces transactions
- Simplifies processes
- Reduces inventory
A Lean Enterprise eliminates waste while producing what customers want when they need it. In terms of the Lean Office, this applies to the administrative processes as they relate to three key areas of your business:
- Enterprise: Processes touching external touch points such as order entry, product design, R&D, purchasing and inventory management, scheduling and production control, cost accounting, and general accounting (invoicing and billing).
- Organizational: Support processes requiring cross functional cooperation such as human resources, IT, engineering, and finance.
- Departmental: Focuses on maximizing efficiencies by clarifying roles and responsibilities, reduceing hand-off break-downs, and reducing tasks that take excessive time,
Lean Office pays close attention to the flow of work as it passes from one hand to the next and identifying and eliminating waste at each point. Lean maximizes efficiencies by streamlining the administrative process.
The
“Eight Wastes” that are either reduced or eliminated in the office are:
- Over Production/Excess Printing, etc.
- Excessive Transportation/Movement of Information
- Excessive Motion/Movement of People
- Defects
- Underutilization
- Waiting
- Excessive Inventory
- Overproduction
- Non-Value Added Processing
How will my company benefit from creating a Lean Office?
Implementing
Lean Stategies for Office will reduce or eliminate some, several, or all of the administrative wastes that impact your ability to grow and compete. Lean Office is a proven, flexible system that leads to:
- Greater Productivity
- Faster turn-around/speed-to-market
- Improved “first-pass yields”
- Increased Sales
- Greater Throughput
- Reduced Costs
- Improved Employee Morale
Many companies struggle to apply Lean strategies for office. Administrative inefficiencies are more difficult to see than those in the manufacturing process. Advances in technology have benefited the office yet information flows often remain stagnant, causing unnecessary delays. Bottlenecks are not as obvious as they are on the shop floor and non-value added activities that occur in the office can drain 95% of a company’s resources.
The Rewards Of Becoming—And Remaining—Lean
How do I get started with Lean Office?
Your journey to success will be executed in four stages; opportunity identification, solution design, implementation, and continuous improvement. NJMEP will help you manage the Lean Office transition every step of the way.
Why work with NJMEP to create a Lean Office?
When you implement
Lean Office techniques with NJMEP, your company benefits our affiliation with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the founder of the Lean practices we utilize, our highly qualified experts and certified NIST Trainers and our 20 years of experience assisting manufacturers. Our sources help us provide your company with the kind of quality leadership in Lean Office practices you can count on.
Whether
Lean Strategies are new to your company, or you are already practicing
Lean Manufacturing Principles, NJMEP can transform your administrative functions though its
Lean Strategies for Office.
Find out how NJMEP’s Lean Office techniques can improve communication and keep your customers happy by
Click here or calling us at (973) 998-9801.