A brief history of the concept of lean manufacturing. Why Lean Office is Important for any Company Criteria for Lean Office Manufacturing

Project Manager, PJSC "Cryogenmash"

There is a famous example of cost savings: American Airlines saved $40,000 a year just by removing one olive from the salad for first-class passengers. How many such proposals have been implemented? How many suggestions for improvement from employees that affect the company's economic performance did not come to fruition? Wasn't even discussed? How to involve the company's employees in the process of improvement, when each employee sees the point of his influence on the processes in the company? Let's try to answer these questions on the example of the implementation of the Lean Production and Lean Office projects at Cryogenmash.

Implementation of 5C projects at PJSC Cryogenmash began in 2013 with nine "pilot" production sites. This was preceded by the development of a vision for the defining result and the alignment of changes with the strategic goals of the company. The implementation of each "pilot" began with a training seminar and a practical session. The teams of participants, having been trained, began to implement the measures developed by the foremen of the production sites together with the foreman and his deputy, methodological assistance and support was provided by the project office for the implementation of change projects. Then, in 2013, the design and financial divisions of the company were chosen as "pilots". In 2014, the deployment of 5C projects to all divisions took place. At the moment, 100% of the company's employees are involved in the implementation of projects "Lean production - Lean office - 5C" in Cryogenmash.

Before the implementation of the 5C projects, the following goals were set:

Rational organization of the workplace. This means the convenience, functionality and comfort of the workplace, reducing losses in the workplace, timely provision of the workplace with everything necessary to complete tasks;
Workplace safety (risk reduction);
Improving the quality of work;
Additional motivation through the organization of comfortable workplaces.

To achieve the goals of the project, it was necessary to form teams. A team of employees from different departments was formed in the office to deploy the project at the "pilot" site. It was further assumed that they would apply the experience gained on the "pilot" in their units. This tactic worked, reducing the turnaround time for the project. During the year, the team went through all the steps in one of the divisions and proceeded to deploy the project throughout the company, which made it possible to reduce the time for the withdrawal of divisions by the 5th "C" to 6 months. In production, “pilot” sections were organized in each workshop. The process of implementation of the "pilots" was closely followed by all the workers of the shops. Someone expressed doubts, others denied the proposed new approaches to “putting things in order”, but the most daring ones decided to introduce the principles of rational organization of the workplace on their site without any order and launched the project on their site on their own. That is, the success of colleagues has become a motivating factor. This is an example of employee leadership in the implementation of 5S projects, and leadership is the basis and key to the successful implementation of change projects, both in production and in the office.

At the initial stage of the implementation of the 5C projects, a survey was conducted among office and production workers on the losses faced by company employees in order to select a work strategy to minimize them. For the office departments, the result was the development of action plans to reduce waste, and for the production departments, problem-solving meetings became a tool to reduce waste. At the “pilot” production sites, “Problem Resolution Sheets” were placed where each employee can bring in any problem that, in his opinion, affects the production process at his workplace. Further, the foreman or foreman makes a decision on the problem and either solves the problem on the spot, that is, gives feedback to the employee on the problem, or sends a request to the relevant services and puts it on the agenda of the weekly problem-solving meeting. At the meeting, the administration of problematic issues is carried out in order to speed up decision-making. Difficult issues are brought to the level of top managers of the company. In the future, this practice was applied to the office. According to current statistics, from 90 to 98% of problems are solved in the company's divisions. Since the solution to any problem is an improvement, the transformation of problems into proposals for improving workplaces is natural: this is both a motivating format due to the rational organization of the workplace - minor repairs performed or the purchase of additional devices, and changing business processes that give an economic effect within the framework of the entire company.

One of the factors for the successful launch of 5C projects in production and the office was the Large-Scale Modernization of Production project. Until 2015, Cryogenmash renovated the office building and built a new production complex. Now the company's office and production are located on the same site, and not on two distant ones, as before, and three workshops are located in one two-story building. For a successful move to the new areas, it was necessary to complete the 1C stage (Sorting) at the old site. Employees had to change their attitude to the space used, they began to understand that in a new production in a limited area it is necessary to place everything necessary for work in a more compact way. The coordinated actions of the 5C teams made it possible to organize the office relocation in a short time and prevent the transfer of about 10 tons of waste paper and 30 tons of scrap metal to the new site. At the same time, office divisions began to work on the day of the move. For design departments numbering several hundred people, the phased relocation (one department per day) lasted 10 days. The implementation of the project allowed the company not only to reduce the costs of this “total exodus” operation, but also to make a profit through the sale of non-liquid assets.

The completion of the “2C” stage (“Your own places for everything”) resulted in the application of additional markings in cabinets in order to make it easier to find documentation in office divisions and to determine the storage locations for tools and fixtures in production. Here the issue of universal access to documents and information in the office and general access to tools of all employees of production sites is being solved - the transition from personal use of the company's production capabilities to the general one. Since previously all the tools used could be stored by one worker, by determining the storage location of the tool on the site in the public domain for several teams, we solve the issue of reducing the purchase of additional tools and the maximum load of the used small-scale mechanization. For the office, this is the access of any employee of the unit to information on the tasks performed, for example, in the case of a quick replacement of the contractor due to illness of one of the employees or team work on completing tasks. The implementation of the "2C" stage allows using the minimum sufficient amount of the company's resources. Additionally, in order to reduce industrial risks, dangerous places in production were marked at the 2C stage. Previously, together with the department of labor protection and industrial safety of the enterprise, the project team conducted a risk assessment of the new production complex. The risks were classified and entered into the risk register. If a risk reduction measure included the use of labeling, then it was included in the action plan for the implementation of the 2C stage. The implementation of the 2C stage resulted in cost savings due to the optimal and rational use of the company's funds and the reduction of industrial risks.

Opinion of the participant of the project "Lean production - 5S" (Shop manager):

“When we started the first pilot, I remembered an interesting quote from H. Ford: “When it seems that the whole world is against you, remember that the plane takes off against the wind!”. Ultimately, order, and only order, creates freedom, disorder creates slavery. Like any new project, it is impossible to implement it in production “with a swoop”. We need gradualness, involvement, interest and desire to change the existing situation. The goal of the project, as well as the goal of any training, is to teach how to do without a teacher, to maintain order at their workplaces and in the workshop themselves. When implementing the Lean Production project, we will reduce costs at each workplace and, thereby, reduce the time for manufacturing parts and assemblies, which in turn will lead to a reduction in the cost of manufactured products. The most important thing is to regularly monitor employee satisfaction.”

To consolidate the results achieved at the previous stages, workplace cleanliness standards were developed. In order to maintain discipline in the implementation of cleanliness standards, the 5C implementation teams conduct audits of the workplaces of departments. The "5S" teams are formed in each division from the company's employees with minimal distraction from the main activity. Audits are conducted by teams together with managers and crosswise, when team members go to each other's departments for verification. According to the results of audits, the best jobs and the best divisions are determined. Employees who have achieved the best results in their workplaces are awarded “5C Best Workplace” plaques, which is an additional incentive to maintain order. To motivate and inform employees, starting from May 2015, an “Information Sheet” was developed and implemented, which highlights the implementation of 5C projects and other change projects. The "Information Sheet" is necessary for regular and timely informing the company's employees about the results of changes projects in PJSC "Cryogenmash". It necessarily contains photos of the change leader, the best project participants for the month and the best division, and contains information on the implementation of projects in the company's divisions.

“In order to determine how important it is to implement the Lean Office - 5C project at a design institute, one must ask the question - what is the difference between a modern enterprise and a non-modern one? In the history of our company there has already been a period of transition to new technologies. Today it has already become customary that almost all the work of the institute's employees is done on a computer: drawings, calculations, drawing up specifications - everything is done using specialized software.

Electronic document management, archive - this has already become the norm for us, and ten years agojust came to life. It was a necessary transition to keep our company competitive. But today the success of the company depends not so much on what modern computer tools are used, but on the development and application of optimal processes. The workflow is the actions of employees. But actions can be different - there are useful actions that are aimed at creating products, and, ultimately, at making a profit, and there are also actions that are not aimed at creating products and incur losses: walking, agreeing, waiting, downtime. And the fact that now, at our enterprise, the “5S” system is being introduced is a very important step for us. During the implementation, we began to think about our work - what our working time is spent on, how to minimize losses.

At the 4C stage for office divisions, together with the 5C teams, standards were chosen for development that affect the costs of maintaining the office. During the year of implementation of the 5C projects, it was possible to reduce the cost of purchasing paper by 40% by applying the standard for providing departments with paper. An office standard has been developed for each division, which specifies what should be on the employee's desktop and what should be kept in the division's minimum stock. The standard allows the purchase of stationery by Kanban: once a quarter, the responsible employee of the department fills out the Kanban card and enters into it all the accessories that are missing according to the standard at the location of the minimum stock, and sends an application to the material support department for purchase. We assume that the purchase of stationery using Kanban cards will reduce the cost of stationery by 10%. In the plan, together with the teams, develop and implement measures to reduce the cost of maintaining jobs. The task of reducing the cost of maintaining the workplace can also be solved directively, through the compaction of the placement of employees, but then there is a risk of demotivating employees. It is important that these events come from the employees themselves and the teams for the implementation of "5S" in the departments, then it is possible to change the paradigm of fixed costs, "budget development", to the paradigm of "Lean production" - the minimum sufficiency of everything that is necessary for work. The experience gained in the office, we will apply in production in the form of creating a mechanism for completing workplaces with tools and materials. For production units at the stage "4C" cards of "Standard Operating Procedures" will be developed. These cards describe the activities of personnel that they encounter every day, such as checking equipment, changing tools, servicing by the operator, indicating the steps to perform procedures and illustrating in the form of photographs of control points. Standard operating procedures cards serve as a guarantee of compliance with enterprise standards, the correct actions of personnel in the event of hazardous situations and the reduction of losses in the production process. Here, the 5C projects interact with the Total Equipment Maintenance (TPM) and Built-in Quality (TQM) projects, that is, they are the basis for subsequent change projects.

Opinion of the participant of the Lean Office - 5C project (leader of the 5C working group):

“In the new premises, we must meet new requirements. The project allows everyone to instill responsibility for organizing their workplace. I see that the rational organization of workplaces leads to the correct organization of administrative and production processes, because now everyone is thinking about how to do it optimally, and not just randomly.

At Stage 5 C (Performance Discipline and Improvement), departments should use both the Department Leader Performance Management Boards and the Continuous Improvement Boards. The use of such tools has been tested in design departments, as the first to enter the 5C stage. The “Executive Performance Management Boards” include the display of unit performance indicators (KPIs), a weekly action plan with a mark on the status of implementation, employee problems, occupational health and safety measures that need attention, and the status of “5S” audits. The problems of employees, for the manager, are additional opportunities for improvement. In addition to the problem-solving meeting mentioned above, where current day-to-day and maintenance issues are discussed, the manager can transform problems into both small improvement proposals and “small projects” for improving business processes. For proposals for organizational and technical measures and rationalization proposals, "Boards of continuous improvements" are introduced in the divisions. These boards serve the purpose of visualizing measures for the influence of departments on the cost of products. Two design divisions, which showed effects in 2015, became advanced in this direction. The visualization of improvement projects is important, as they are completed in excess of the current monthly task and increased attention to them, by indicating the status on the boards, as well as the payments made for the implemented activities, provide additional motivation for the implementation of the rest of the employees of the unit. In 2016, all office divisions at Cryogenmash PJSC will enter the 5C (Improvement) stage, and the Continuous Improvement Board tool will be introduced in each of them. In production there will be "Boards of proposals for improvement in small steps."

"Boards for managing the effectiveness of the manager" allow you to evaluate the workload of department employees, quickly equalize the workload, track and analyze losses (sick leaves, vacations, downtime). Based on the analysis of the load and losses of the unit, a load forecast for subsequent periods is carried out. This is a tool to reduce the risk of failure to meet deadlines. Thanks are given on the boards by sector and department. Filling up the boards does not take much time, but it allows you to see the real picture of the workload of the unit and the problems that arise.

Opinion of the participant of the Lean Office - 5S project (Head of Department):

“The use of the “Continuous Improvement Board” allows you to systematically approach the solution of the tasks set and bring information to the employees of the unit and managers of all levels on continuous improvements in the unit, as well as display indicators of the planned expected effect and confirmed effect for each improvement. In general, the “Continuous Improvement Board” is a plan for improving efficiency in a department, and is also a means of motivating employees in the form of reward payments from the confirmed effect of a particular improvement.

Projects "Lean production - Lean office - 5C" allow the company's employees to implement mini-improvement projects. It has everything, like a big project: customers, goals, tasks, roles of participants, plan and budget. All project participants, the team and employees of the company, gain experience in lean manufacturing. For example, when solving a task according to the standard of the office, the team achieves an economic effect by organizing deliveries according to Kanban and Just-in-time. Having gained experience in using these tools, apply it when purchasing materials for company-wide production. 5S projects allow you to move from small cost-effective projects to large ones with high financial risks if the methodology is misunderstood and applied. The task of the project manager (trainer) is to show, give a methodology to the loss management team, accompany the changes and focus the team's attention on the planned result.

The implementation of 5C projects in the company's divisions allows solving, in addition to the tasks of the projects, the tasks of forming teams of reformers in each division. The 5C project manager in the company gets the opportunity to get acquainted with the current situation in the company, establish communications with departments, launch the “small improvements” mechanism and prepare the foundation for the implementation of larger projects, such as, for example, “Value Stream Mapping”. Additionally, the task of identifying leaders from among the company's employees, who are supported in the implementation of change projects, is solved. Only by completing all the steps and bringing the units to the 5th "C" ("Improvement") is it possible to get the maximum effect. This effect is expressed both in the economic effect of proposals for improvements, and in the change in the consciousness of the company's employees. For ourselves, we answered the question of the need to implement "5S". We wish other Russian companies to get a positive experience in implementing Lean Production tools through the involvement of employees in improvements.

Anton Markin,Sergey Ognev

The goal of lean manufacturing is to get rid of all waste and non-value-adding activities in the manufacturing process. The work of eliminating waste must continue every day, every hour, every minute. The new approach implies not the reduction of people, but the reasonable use of their labor. Therefore, the management of the company may need to review the content of the work or job responsibilities of the staff so that they meet the principles of efficient (lean) production. This will allow the company to maintain global competitiveness, expand the skills of workers and create a safe working environment.

The main tools of lean manufacturing are used to:

quickly and effectively identify and eliminate losses;
enhance information sharing at all levels of the organization;
reduce costs, improve quality and safety in the production of goods or the provision of services;
to stimulate the improvement of production and give employees the opportunity to implement improvements on their own.

Pay attention to the following important points shown in the illustration.

The car assembly line system, combined with the peculiarities of the Japanese market, economic factors and the situation that developed in the automotive industry in the 30s, all led to the fact that Toyota had to develop new ways to put Ford's ideas into practice (the principle appeared). Toyota could not produce cars on a scale to compete with manufacturers from the United States, so the company needed to significantly increase the efficiency of production while maintaining small production volumes (Japan is a small country that needs a variety of products).
Taiichi Ohno traveled across America in the 1950s. and visited several American automobile factories. But what struck him most was American grocery stores with their restocking system. After studying the principles of the supermarket (where shoppers expect to get what they need, when they need it), Ono returned to Japan, where he created a supermarket pull system that complemented the just-in-time principle.
After many years of refinement and improvement, these ideas came to the US and Europe in the form of lean manufacturing tools - kaizen and value stream maps. The next logical step was the development of general principles for value stream management (Value Stream Management for the Lean Office, Productivity Press, 2003).

From the brief description of the concept of lean production presented here, one important thing to remember is that today the new approach is gaining more and more countries and is being successfully implemented in practice all over the world. He has proven himself in all sectors of the economy when administering processes of any kind.

The leadership and employees of Toyota Motor Corporation have been committed to the principles of lean manufacturing for more than 60 years - but still believe that they are only at the beginning of the journey!

WHY LEAN PRODUCTION?

The concept of lean manufacturing is based on the desire to quickly and efficiently meet customer requirements. The organization, built on the traditional model, was used to constantly raising prices, but in the 1990s. consumers began to demand their reduction. As the cost of raw materials and materials, as well as medical and labor costs, rose, the only way to meet consumer demands and keep the business going was to lower internal costs. To meet the demands of consumers, companies had to implement lean manufacturing methods, adapting them to themselves. The "new" consumer was not ready to pay for losses in production processes and had a very good idea of what the cost of the product should be. Thus, in order to maintain existing business and be as ready as possible for new opportunities, companies had to concentrate on internal costs.

The following illustration shows the traditional and lean manufacturing models:

WHY IS THE OFFICE LEAN?

Business leaders have realized that cost reduction is needed in all aspects of the business. For the first time, new principles were used in production, but more than sixty percent of the costs are accounted for by administrative processes. Lean principles are now being applied with great success in customer service, accounting, finance, and IT departments across a wide range of industries. The principles of lean manufacturing can be used not only in manufacturing.

In essence, there is not much difference between manufacturing processes and processes that are performed outside the manufacturing floor:

receiving an order from a client;
invoicing;
execution of drawings;
admission to treatment or discharge from the patient's hospital;
filling out a form for obtaining medical insurance;
filing an application for payment of insurance compensation;
drafting an offer;
accepting an order via the Internet;
applying for a mortgage;
opening a current account in a local bank;
opening a savings account;
hiring a new employee.

All of these operations involve an interaction in which the organization produces a product or provides a service in order to satisfy the customer and make a profit. Along with the globalization of the economy, foreign companies are entering the local market, offering similar products and services. Therefore, it is extremely important that the company's costs remain the same or even decrease with the same level of service. This can be achieved by applying the principles of lean manufacturing in the office.

Regardless of the field of activity in the organization, there are tasks and processes that can and should be standardized, simplified and made as efficient as possible. The Lean Office concept offers great tools to eliminate variation that results in wastage. For example:

The procedure for accepting an order from a customer, which takes 4 minutes, can be changed to take 60 seconds.
An invoicing process that requires two people (and several days) can be modified so that one person completes an invoice within an hour. As a result, the second person will be able to do some other work in a department that is understaffed.
The procedure for approval of the drawing and its transfer to the next stage of production, which usually takes two weeks, can be accelerated to one day.
You can spend not an hour, but thirty minutes on the preparation of the necessary documents before or after a surgical operation.
The procedure for reviewing an insurance indemnity claim can be changed so that it takes less than eight hours instead of two or three days.
The order in which a mortgage loan application is reviewed can be changed so that a decision is made not in five days, but in less than eight hours.

The most important thing to remember about is that this management technology has proven its effectiveness in all areas of business. The tools and techniques described in this book are the result of our many years of research and practical work. And now you too can use them to make your organization more efficient and achieve impressive results.

SUMMARY

The purpose of the first chapter is to help the reader get a general idea of the concept of lean manufacturing. When everyone in your organization understands the basic principles of the new approach to work, it will be easier for you to implement lean manufacturing tools in practice.

Explain to your employees the simple idea of eliminating waste.
Keep reading about lean manufacturing in various sources. The more you learn about this concept, the easier it will be for you to adapt it to your organization's needs.
Maintain an open dialogue within your organization about lean manufacturing and its purpose.
Lean manufacturing complements other management technologies such as total quality management, etc.
The concept of lean manufacturing combines the principles of operation of enterprises from various countries.
Lean manufacturing needs to be learned.
Perhaps this approach is new to you, so take your time trying to master it.
Create an environment that encourages exploration of this concept.

Don Tapping, Ann Dunn

The Lean Office: Eliminate Waste of Time and Money

translators A. Zalesova, T. Gutman

Editor S. Turco

Project Manager S. Turco

Technical editor N. Lisitsyna

Corrector V. Muratkhanov

Computer layout A. Fominov

Cover design Design Depot

All rights reserved. The work is intended solely for private use. No part of the electronic copy of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, including posting on the Internet and corporate networks, for public or collective use without the written permission of the copyright owner. For copyright infringement, the legislation provides for the payment of compensation to the copyright holder in the amount of up to 5 million rubles (Article 49 of the zoap), as well as criminal liability in the form of imprisonment for up to 6 years (Article 146 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).

* * *

After reading this book, you:

Learn to identify losses and find hidden reserves to improve the productivity of office work;

Master the main tools for reducing losses: kanban cards, 5S system, information visualization methods;

You can always know at what stage each process is and how long it takes to complete it.

I am pleased to present you the book The Lean Office. Over the past twenty years, lean manufacturing has come to play a leading role in reducing the costs of organizations - usually manufacturing - by identifying and eliminating waste (non-value-adding work for which the consumer is not willing to pay). Nevertheless, the same tools are being introduced in non-productive sectors of the economy, including the military, education, healthcare, finance and construction.

The book collects information about the experience of people applying lean manufacturing in a variety of industries. These pioneers of lean manufacturing, sensei, have achieved significant success in a variety of industries over the past ten years, they have done a great job of improving business. The book tells about the successful experience of such pioneers and the tools they use.

Any organizational process - whether it is accepting an order for industrial products, processing a client's credit card, medical care in a clinic - must satisfy the needs of the consumer (patient, client).

Within the pages of this book, the reader will find a complete guide to identifying and eliminating costs through the involvement of all employees in the process. This book is designed to be a compass that will show you the way to a leaner, more productive and efficient office. There are no secrets here. We are committed to systematically disseminating best practices across all industries and would love to have you share your successes with us.

Bon Voyage!

Don Tapping

Thanks

This book is an example of teamwork, partnerships, and learning by doing a group of people who each contributed to its creation.

The book took over five years to complete. Before it saw the light of day, its content was repeatedly revised and corrected.

Many thanks to those who contributed to this work. The names of its members are listed below:

Tom Casassa, CQE/SSBB/PM, Head Office Quality Management, Naval Surface Warfare Center, Panama City, FL;

Curtis Walker, President of GDC Consulting;

Roger Kremer, consultant;

Stu Tubbs, PhD., Leadership Specialist, Eastern Michigan University, author of Small Group Discussion, McGraw-Hill, Inc. 1993;

Debra Hadfield, MSN;

Sheleg Holmes;

We would like to thank you, the reader and our client, for the time and effort you have put into applying and developing lean methods in the area of administrative work. We know that this is not an easy task, and we hope that we will help you in your endeavors. We will be glad if you share your successes and problems with us. Our email address:

Introduction

What is it for?

This book is primarily intended for organizations that want to improve their administrative processes. First of all, it will be useful to managers who are involved in employee training, leaders responsible for the implementation of lean manufacturing, continual improvement coordinators, and all those involved in optimizing workflow to increase productivity and improve bottom line performance.

Business leaders who take organizations to new markets to discover new opportunities and strive to streamline current business processes to become more competitive must relentlessly add value to shareholders. The Lean Office book will do them a lot of good.

This book will help you understand the challenges that workers face every day in a variety of industries. The authors convincingly explain why continuous improvement should become a way of life. At the end of each chapter, the authors provide summaries, questionnaires, and case studies to help you improve your administrative skills.

For executives in healthcare, finance, retail, construction, and manufacturing, this book will help you stay in business in the 21st century and lay the foundation for further company improvement.

What is inside?

The Lean Office provides a comprehensive set of detailed guidelines for building a Lean Office. By following them, you can lay a solid foundation for applying lean manufacturing tools. Office employees who process various requests day in and day out need to know what to do, where to go and who to listen to.

The first part helps lay the foundation for building a lean office. It talks about the main tools and concepts of lean manufacturing, the upcoming changes and the introduction of a number of very useful and effective tools. All this will allow you to make tangible progress in creating a lean office.

Part two talks about building the support systems needed to improve processes. This involves a detailed analysis of current processes, the development of standards to which they must comply, and load balancing to ensure a smooth and uninterrupted flow of work. This is the core of the Lean Office and is the most time consuming part of the project to implement.

Part Three focuses on the visual controls, error protections, and scorecards that will enable continuous improvement in the Lean Office. Choose models to compare, clearly define the distribution of functions in the new organization, find those who will take on the role of leader, ensure that work is without defects. All these are necessary conditions for the formation of a new culture.

You can use this book as a supplement to any other continuous improvement material you already have at your disposal. While this book is comprehensive and contains everything you need, it should be noted that, as authors and continuous improvement practitioners, we do not reject other ways of thinking. No book can help an organization get rid of all the problems. We sincerely believe that our book and the examples it contains will help you find answers to many of the questions you face when building a lean office.

How to get the most out of a book

By applying the concepts and tools discussed in this book, you can create a system that, as part of a lean organization, controls and improves processes (getting rid of non-value-adding activities).

I like

Lean Office, business processes built on the principles of lean manufacturing. The practice of applying the principles of lean manufacturing in the office gives the same results as in production processes. Since 2008, Lean Manufacturing has been implemented by Sberbank. According to their own estimates for 2011. lean technologies saved them about 11 billion rubles.

Experience shows that the process moves much faster and more systematically, and the results are improved where Lean is applied in all components of production and management. Lean offices are also a necessary element of any administrative management. Armed forces, police departments, administrations, hospitals, schools, libraries, banks and insurance companies are mastering lean manufacturing around the world. For the first time, the systemic issues of using the lean office were considered within the Lean Service conference, held in 2007 in Moscow.

Types of losses in the office:

work in progress;
Errors in documents;
Re-working with documents;
Doing unnecessary work;
Extra steps in the processes;
expectations;
extra movement;
Movement of documents.

Lean methods in the office:

Visualization of activities and mapping (mapping) of the customer value stream in office processes;
Standardization in the office;
Goal management;
Office design.

Implementation difficulties:

An ingrained habit of pointing and controlling;
Work cannot be measured and controlled;
The work is creative and personalized;
High educational level of office workers.

Today, when the competition in the market is high and rivals are on the alert, many companies are beginning to look for new ways and forms of cost savings and optimization of business processes. The goal is to get ahead and outrun the competition.

I was actively engaged in searching for answers to questions on cost optimization, as well as the implementation of various solution methods, when I headed the Personnel Management Service at a food production enterprise.

It is widely believed that systems of "lean manufacturing" or, as they are also called "lean management", as a rule, are applied only in the production itself.

Here it is necessary to explain what is "lean manufacturing"? The term is translated from English as "nothing more", its founder is Taiichi Ohno, who created the production system at Toyota in the 1950s. This is a concept of managing a manufacturing enterprise based on the constant pursuit of eliminating all types of waste. The concept involves the involvement of each employee in the business optimization process and the maximum focus on the consumer.

The starting point is an analysis of the value of the created product for the end user at each stage of its implementation. The main task is to create a process of continuous elimination of losses, any actions that consume resources, but do not create value for the end user.

There are seven types of losses:

losses due to overproduction;
loss of time due to waiting;
losses due to unnecessary transportation;
extra processing steps;
excess stock;
unnecessary movements;
release of defective products.

Many tools of the "lean production" system have been developed to solve the problem of cost optimization. It became clear to me that there are methods that help to cope with solving problems not only in production, but also in office work.

Thus, we conducted an experiment on optimizing workflows in the personnel service using one of the “lean manufacturing” tools - 5S.

5S is a method of organizing the workspace, the purpose of which is to create optimal conditions for doing work, maintaining order, saving time and energy, and constantly improving business processes.

The technology for creating an effective workplace consists of five elements:

Sorting (Sorting);
A place for everything (Setinoder);
Keeping clean (Sweeping);
Standardization (Standardizing);
Improvement (Sustain).

As a result of the implementation, we received not only an understandable standardized system for organizing workplaces in the personnel service, but also significant time savings due to the creation of personnel work standards, the reduction of two staff positions due to the reduction of unnecessary actions and the redistribution of duties, as well as savings in stationery and even office furniture .

Let's take a closer look at each element of the 5S method.

1. Sorting

In the workplace, all items are divided into necessary and unnecessary. It is necessary to remove unnecessary items. These actions also lead to improved work culture and safety. All employees are involved in sorting and identifying items that should be:

immediately removed and disposed of;
moved to a storage location;
left as needed to get the job done.

Items in need of storage are moved to the “quarantine” zone. Such space can be allocated in each service in the office or in a specially organized warehouse. All things moved to the "quarantine" zone are subject to marking, that is, they are marked with red accompanying labels, which indicate:

the date;
by whom it is marked;
Full name and position of the employee (owner of the workplace);
information about the item (name, inventory number, quantity);
reason for marking (foreign object, not in use, broken, obsolete, purpose unknown, in need of repair, surplus, etc.).

When implementing the “sorting” stage, it is important to devote separate time to the separation of electronic documents: it is necessary to remove duplicating each other and those that have not been used for more than six months. Particularly important, infrequently used can be moved to a folder named "Archive".

2. A place for everything (Setinoder)

The key concepts in this case are the rational arrangement and putting things in order with the necessary items. Things need to be placed in certain places so that they are easily accessible to everyone who uses them. You should also mark them for quick retrieval. The main purpose of this element is to define a "home" for each item in the workspace.

For this work in the office, I recommend using a sports mat, which is so popular during yoga classes or during hiking trips, it is also called "foam". Such a rug should be cut into pieces according to the area of \u200b\u200bthe desk drawer, two rugs are needed for each drawer.

Next, you determine the items you need to store in the drawer, for example: scissors, pen, pencil, eraser, ruler, etc. Two rugs are placed in a box, and in the upper rug it is necessary to cut out recesses for each item, having previously made a stencil for each item, circling its borders with a pencil.

In each recess of the lower rug, it is necessary to write (on paper in size and secure with transparent tape) the name of the object that will be placed in the recess. This is done so that everyone can accurately determine the place where the item is stored and always return it to a certain place.

When implementing the stage of rational arrangement, it is necessary to create electronic folders of documents in which they will be located in a convenient way for quick search.

Folder names, for example, can be as follows: working documents - "Projects", "In progress", "5S", "Archive", etc.

In order to avoid re-cluttering the workspace, a cleaning schedule is created with a clear indication of the timing of its implementation and responsible persons.

Cleaning by the owner of the workplace is subject, for example:

current documents on the desktop - daily (avoiding the accumulation of documents, sorting, archive);
the contents of the cabinets - weekly (sorting, placing unnecessary items in the red label zone);
office equipment - daily (dust cleaning), etc. according to the established schedule.

Cleaning the workplace, office supplies and appliances, maintaining a rational arrangement of objects according to the created workspace map is the direct responsibility of the workplace owner. Means for maintaining cleanliness and order should always be in close proximity.

During the cleaning phase, it is necessary to sort and delete electronic documents, it is better to do this weekly.

4. Standardization

The most effective solutions found during the implementation of the first three steps must be consolidated in writing so that they become visual and easy to remember. It is necessary to develop standards for documents, work and safety using visual control, develop and implement 5S standards. It is also necessary to introduce visual (visual) control and informing in the workspace, apply "checklists" both daily (5S-five minutes) for self-control and development of self-discipline, and weekly to monitor compliance with 5S standards by external auditors.

When implementing the standardization stage, it is necessary to create a single format of electronic document folders for all employees of the standard service with access to each folder for the manager. In the "checklist", the item on checking compliance with the standard for the location of electronic documents should be singled out separately.

5. Improvement (Sustain)

Goal: to make the implementation of the procedures of the methodology become a habit and an integral part of daily activities in the workspace. It is also necessary to visualize improvement actions: develop and fix proposals for modifications, implement new improved standards.

Sample improvement techniques:

search for the primary problem;
its analysis and solution;
changing the standard of work, taking into account what has been achieved.

Improvement is the pinnacle of the 5S system. Each employee must understand that the creation and maintenance of order is an opportunity to concentrate their efforts for the high-quality and efficient performance of their direct work functionality. Moreover, this happens without unnecessary loss of time and diversion of attention to cases that do not bring profit to the company. Everything focuses on the search for and continuous improvement in work, as well as the implementation of the found proposals in life.

Implementation of the system is impossible without a leader, and, of course, only a leader can be a leader. The work on the introduction of the system is necessarily accompanied by preliminary training and a personal example of the leader. In the course of implementation, employees often have a sharp rejection of the system of order at the very beginning.

We all know what goes on in the desk drawers in the vast majority of offices. In order to find a pencil sharpener, you need to dig through several desk drawers, because they contain a huge number of "necessary things that will definitely come in handy." Employees are indignant, do not understand the purpose of the implementation, sometimes it even comes to the dismissal of individuals who do not want to support the implementation of the system.

Only patient explanations and personal example can move the wall of rejection and mistrust. The hardest part is the “improvement” phase, because it is here that you need to teach each employee to understand that it is his responsibility to make a weekly proposal to improve his work process or the company’s process. It also requires learning how to develop improvements. Of course, this is a very important and voluminous topic, so it needs a separate consecration.

At this stage, it is necessary to teach and consolidate the understanding of employees that each improvement should lead to optimization of time costs, reduction of unnecessary movements, saving resources in order to increase the company's profit, and hence improve the financial condition of the employee himself. Specialists gradually begin to understand that the implementation of the system leads to the stability of the company in the market and to the ability to successfully compete and achieve high results.

I want to add an interesting fact: with the introduction of this system after a pilot experiment throughout the company, many employees had a desire to implement this tool in their households.

Women enthusiastically took out from their kitchen cabinets what they had long been gathering dust on the far shelves and had not been used in any way. They resolutely threw out the unnecessary, and where they doubted whether they needed it or not, they allocated a separate temporary place “red square” and moved “doubtful” items (champagne bottle caps, expired finger batteries, broken penknives, extra bottle openers for bottles stored in excess in each case). Everything that remained after careful sorting was marked and placed in a certain convenient order in cabinets on the kitchen shelves.

The workers shared photos with pleasure, how it was and how it has become, and told how much more convenient and comfortable their life in the kitchen has become, how much time they now spend on taking care of themselves, and not on the kitchen.

Men, looking at women, began to restore order in their workshops and garages. The result was not long in coming: now they are already satisfied during the breaks in the smoking room showing off their results in putting things in order at their home workplaces.