Transcript Document
The 5-day Lean Event
Mark Robinson, The University of St Andrews
Numbers
The University
Motto
– AIEN ARISTEUEIN ‘Ever to be the Best’
Tradition
– Scotland's first university and the third oldest in the
English speaking world
– 600 years old (almost)
Teaching and Research
– One of Europe's leading and most distinctive centres
for teaching and research
– Doing well in lots of rankings
Our approach to Lean
‘Can do’
Focus on working with Service Units
– Core processes to enable Teaching, Learning and
Research
– Customer Service, Quality, Efficiency
Embed Lean
– ‘Lean’ is how we do things around here
– It’s everyone’s job to improve everything
Lean Team works itself out of a job
How we do it
8 Step Process
Request
An area of potential work is identified
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By frontline staff, managers, students, ….
Raise issue with Lean Team
1 to 2 hours
Discuss feasibility
The process concerned will not be broken
Evolved to where it is now
Scope
Goals, project team and resources agreed
– 3 to 4 staff
• Process owner/s
• Key stakeholder/s
– Half a day
– Outcomes:
• Goals
• Deadline
• Resourcing
• Who
Plan
Project Team reviews goals & agrees approach
– Half a day
– Outcomes:
• Goals finalised
• Data gathering and stakeholder consultation identified
• How long
• When
• Where
Train
All project team members, incl. those ‘on call’
– Half day (before Redesign)
– Cover:
• History of Lean
• 2 Fundamentals, 5 Principles, 8 Wastes
• Some key Lean tools
• Successes
• What will happen during Redesign
Redesign Part 1
Map how things are done at the moment
– Paper, pens and post-its
Review data about the current process
– Volumes, timings
Generate and analyse ideas about how things
could be done
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Pens and post-its
No conferring
Cluster
Analysis
Redesign Part 2
Design a new process
– Paper, pens and post-its
– Ideal process
– Interim process
Create an action plan to ensure the new
process is put in place
– Excel
Project team presents the new process
– Co-workers
– Management
Redesign Part 3
Working with the right people, the right
information and with the authority to act
Asking lots of questions - 5 Whys?
Two heads better than one
Having fun!
Implement
New process put in place
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All or part may happen during Redesign
Ideally, the new world begins immediately
Actually, takes time: days, weeks or months
Perseverance
Review
Lean maintains a management role
– Momentum stalls
– Reverse gear
Progress is monitored
– Regular meetings with Project Team
• 2 to 3 hours
• 2 weeks, then monthly until new processes proven
– Maintain enthusiasm
– Maintain momentum
– Deal with issues immediately
Feedback
With Project Team
Project ‘signed off’
How was it for you?
– How can Lean improve?
Anything else we can do for you?
8 Step Process
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Request
Scope
Plan
Train
Redesign
Implement
Review
Feedback
Challenges
Perceptions of Lean
– Staff and management buy-in
– Convincing academics
– Link between Lean and staff and cost savings
Ownership/Direction
– Ownership of cross-functional processes
– Strategic alignment
Easy to get the benefits of some Lean tools, but it
takes unshakeable management commitment and
hard work over an extended time to start to become
truly Lean
Successes Part 1
23 x 5, 9 x 4 and 15 x 3 day events
Better service to Students
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Status Letters
Library Services
Society Formation
Self Certification of Absence
Simpler administration for staff
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Gift processing
Finance processes e.g. Cash Handling Policy, AP, Sales Invoicing
Casual staff contracts
Estates job tracking
Successes Part 2
Focus on improving Service Unit processes
– Efficiency
– Effectiveness
Embed Lean
– Bringing staff closer together
– Breaking down silos
More time to do the important stuff
‘He that will not apply new remedies must
expect new evils’
- Francis Bacon