The Lean principles and tools utilized in manufacturing operations can also be applied to your office. The efficiencies that Lean methodologies bring to the shop floor can expedite your administrative processes to improve the flow of information and enhance productivity while eliminating wasteful steps.

The typical ways in which wasteful behavior and procedures can be seen in an office include:

• Excess paperwork
• Redundant approvals
• Inefficient work area/design
• Incomplete or inaccurate information
• Complex tracking systems

Accurate estimating, efficient order handling and responsive customer service help to protect your profits, maintain your reputation and keep you competitive.

A Team Effort

The implementation of Lean, either on the production floor or in the front office, begins with a commitment to it by company leadership. They are the ones who empower a front-line team. A Lean office has a continuous improvement culture where everyone believes it is part of their job to reduce waste and make better progress every day.

A Lean office has standardized processes that are followed by everyone. It’s important to have set standards given that people who do the same process often follow different methods to do it. Otherwise it’s difficult to get the whole administrative team on the same page when accomplishing specific tasks around the office.

Better flow also results from a Lean office which enables work to move from start to finish by the shortest means possible. Variations in demand affect not only the shop floor but also the front office. Getting a handle on demand patterns, and understanding all the various tasks of office workers is essential to running a Lean office.

Improve Your Office Processes

CONNSTEP’s process improvement experts can help your business implement Lean office principles to the administrative services function of your front office.

We’ll show you ways that eliminate waste in your office and increase productivity which will result in:

• Shorter response time to customers
• Reduced errors, transactions and costs
• Simplified processes
• Improved utilization of resources
• Increased capacity
• Higher customer and employee satisfaction

Contact us to discuss the merits and benefits of implementing Lean methodologies to create greater efficiencies in the office of your business.