"The Complete Lean Enterprise: Value Stream Mapping for Administrative and Office Processes"

Beau Keyte and Drew Locher

New York: Productivity Press, 2004

The authors of this book contend that ninety percent of the waste-reduction opportunities in manufacturing firms are actually located outside the manufacturing process-in administrative and office procedures. The book chapters include:

• Applying Value Stream Mapping Throughout the Enterprise—The authors focus on the order-to-cash value stream. Recommended steps are:
  • Identify the need to change the organization from top-level management to one driven by strategic needs
  • Understand and support the basics of a lean strategy at all levels of the organization
  • Identify and select a value stream manager for each major value stream
  • Create lean metrics that drive and support lean behavior
  • Implement future-state value stream designs
  • Communicate top-level management's continuing commitment to using lean tools and techniques in its operating strategy
• Mapping Office Value Streams—The three key elements here are:
  • Select a service family ("a group of products and/or services that share similar processing steps")
  • Determine a manageable boundary
  • Choose the value stream team, including a value stream manager and cross-functional team members
• Identifying Office Waste—Eight general types of waste are identified, including overproducing, inventory, waiting, extra processing, correction, excess motion, transportation, and underutilized people.
• Assessing the Office Current State—Steps here are:
  • Document customer information and need
  • Identify main processes (in order)
  • Select process metrics
  • Perform a value stream walk-through and fill in data boxes, including inventory and resident technology
  • Establish how each process prioritizes work
  • Calculate system summary metrics
• Thinking Lean at the Functional Level—This chapter includes questions designed to facilitate lean thinking in the following functional areas:
  • Sales, marketing, and operations
  • Order processing
  • New product design
  • Inventory control
  • Purchasing and inventory management
  • Scheduling and production control
  • Quality management
  • Cost accounting
  • General accounting
  • Human resources
• Designing a Future State—This chapter provides seven questions to help guide design of the future state:
  • What does the customer really need?
  • How often will performance be checked?
  • Which steps create value and which generate waste?
  • How can work flow with fewer interruptions?
  • How will work be controlled between interruptions?
  • How will the workload and/or activities be balanced?
  • What process improvements will be necessary to achieve the future state?
• Achieving the Future State—Three critical success factors are identified:
  • Organizational leaders must understand and embrace lean concepts
  • Value stream managers must have the authority and time to coordinate and facilitate the implementation
  • Appropriate team members must develop detailed implementation plans for each kaizen, which are then used to manage the implementation

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