If you are working in or managing an office based or administration based or Government organisation this page will

Business improvement has traditionally been aimed at manufacturing and engineering industries. Our Business Improvement

Programme as described for use in a manufacturing environment simply cannot be used in an office environment in the same way -

it’s a different set of dynamics. Lean Office is the non manufacturing equivalent.

Research has revealed that organisations consider that the application of lean office projects could reduce errors, re-work and lead

times, and boost competitiveness through improved response to customer demand. By focusing on the end-to-end process it can

become clear that, a lack of understanding around the identification and monitoring of value-add makes it difficult to take the

crucial first step on the road to creating a truly Lean and more cost effective operation.

When one gets one’s head around the terminology, the core principles such as the 8 wastes, 5s methodology, Visual Management

techniques and Kaizen are as effective in the office environment as they are on the manufacturing floor. For example, consider the

end to end process from marketing through to sales, receipt of customer order right through to dispatch and then customer service!

There is much open for scrutiny and improvement here.

Introducing a business improvement programme into an office environment has many benefits but most importantly:

1

It identifies problem areas

business improvement principles assist in identifying problem areas and bottlenecks within a business. By using lean tools and

techniques problem areas are identified and can be eliminated.

2

It increases business efficiency

Implementing improvement procedures will have a significant impact on the efficiency of staff. You can ensure that all members

of staff are spending time adding value to the customer experience – and any time saved can be redirected to value added

tasks.

2

It saves money

Reducing the overhead in paperwork means that you may not have to take on that extra person to help with the

administration. The programme allows you to identify where savings have been made.

4

It simplifies processes

During the natural expansion of a business, processes can get bureaucratic, time intensive and ultimately uncontrollable. The

programme helps you identify inefficiencies and remove them.

5

It helps conform to rules & regulations and codes of conducts

If your business has to conform to Rules & Regulations or codes of conduct then through standard processes the programme

can help ensure compliance.

A natural benefit of the lean office is the streamlining of all processes which in turn links in with the identification of problem areas

in other aspects of the business. It is quite common for businesses to not only create a Lean Office but also establish lean

techniques as an improvement activity across the whole business which results in an organisation which is able to service its

customers better and most importantly know that they are doing things right.