Sector: Process Industry – Support services/Office
Key Tools or Services; Office Lean, IDIF mapping and waste elimination
Results:
- Not right first time reduced by 68%
- Lead time reduced by 86%
- Documentation distance travelled reduced by 86%
- Number of people involved in the process reduced by 70%
- Number of handovers of responsibility halves
Project Overview
Following significant improvements realised within the manufacturing facilities this client was determined to roll out the lessons learned in manufacturing into the services side of the operation and to develop an ‘office lean’ standard. The client applied the lessons by engaging Picme to facilitate improvements in order to help assist administration and workflow effectiveness.
A senior Manager from the client says that ‘yet again Picme has shown us that our teamwork through the masterclass process can succeed in tackling the issues set before it. In this case, and for the first time, we succeeded in an administration area. We are also now seeing how this improvement work brings direct benefits to operational functions in the Human Resources area and thus also to the users of the HR services.’
Much of the detailed work in the office focussed on improving the documentation and the actions involved in personnel transfers. The work therefore focussed on changes in shift pattern, job roles and departments and the associated impact on shift clockings, holidays, pay and pensions. The team succeeded in improving the measure of Not Right First Time actions in this transfer area by nearly 70%.
After making detailed work analysis ‘maps’ of the time taken to perform various actions and the distance travelled by a number of related documents, the Innovia office team succeeded in implementing improvements:
- The documentation distance was reduced seven fold
- The overall time taken on transfer work was reduced by 86%
- The overall numbers of HR people involved in the process was reduced by 70% (freeing time for other tasks)
- The rate of handovers – ie moving responsibility from one area of supervision to another – was halved.
The office team overcame many of the issues found within a process that crosses numerous functional departments and have gone on to produce significant improvements to that process. The team effectively engaged the relevant personnel to design a system that works for all.
The office team is now currently assessing various extensions and refinements to its new ways of working, including rolling out a number of techniques into the HR department as a whole, and also into the company’s R&D building. A ‘plan do check act’ cycle is now in place in the office and the new systems are regularly updated based on empirical measurement and observation.