Lean Service

This blog is going to be about Lean Service. That is, applying Lean Thinking to service environments. I hope it will include links to stories from around the world, tips and tricks, some theory and a few examples. If readers have any of the above I would love to hear from you and will of course give you a mention as the source should you so wish.

The basic principles of Lean are:

• Value
• Value Stream
• Flow
• Pull
• Perfection

First you define Value from your customers’ point of view. Then you track the way that value is created in your organisation, in other words track or map the Value Stream. Womack and Jones often talk of “going for a walk” or “walking the flow”. Once you have identified the steps in the Value Stream that add value you can jettison all the non-value steps. Left with only the value adding steps you now make them flow. Following this you ensure that value is pulled by the customer along the value stream. Pulled, as opposed to pushed, which is the normal method of value creation. And last but no means least you pit your company against perfection and embark on a process of continuous improvement. This is a battle you can never win! But it is much more effective than any benchmarking or comparison with competitors. Copying competitors won’t make you better than them, only striving for perfection will do that.

There will be more on each of the above tenets of Lean in the future, along with lots more.

Stay tuned!

Best,

Rob Worth