Lean has often been
looked upon as a methodology for
manufacturing organizations but does not
apply to the office environment. Nothing
can be further from the truth. The basic
philosophy in Lean is to eliminate waste and
leave only the value. The same exact
principle can apply in the office.
Value is simply anything
that a customer is willing to pay for. Think
about your dad. Think about each thing you
do. Then ask yourself – was a customer
willing to pay me to do that? If yes, it is
valuable. Anything else…is waste.
Waste in all its forms is
all around us – in our activities, our daily
tasks, physical layouts of offices and
cubes, legacy and ad-hoc processes,
departmental handoffs, meetings - the list
goes on. Some sources of waste are personal,
but most are due to the existing
environment, processes, policies, and
organization.
