Jump to main content.

Lean in Government Starter Kit

« Back to Starter Kit Homepage

Chapter 2. Getting Started with Lean

As your agency considers getting started with Lean or begins its Lean journey, you will likely encounter questions from managers and staff. This chapter discusses some of these common questions and topics, including:

What Is Lean?

Wastes Examples
Inventory Backlog of work (permits, plan approvals), excess materials/info, obsolete databases/files/folders
Defects Data errors, missing info, errors in documents, confusing instructions or requirements, typos
Overproduction Unneeded reports and copies, excess e-mail messages, doing work not requested
Complexity Unnecessary process steps, too many signature levels, unclear job descriptions
Waiting Time for approval cycles, waiting for information or decisions, waiting for people in meetings
Excess Motion Trips to printer and copier, unnecessary movement to find files or supplies, travel to meetings
Moving Items Report routing, transport of documents, document storage

Lean refers to a collection of principles and methods that focus on the identification and elimination of non-value added activity (waste) involved in producing a product or delivering a service to customers.[1] While Lean process improvement approaches were developed originally for use in the private sector to target manufacturing processes, there has been steady progress towards adapting these approaches for use on service and administrative processes. The adjacent textbox lists examples of Lean wastes relevant to administrative processes. Public sector interest in Lean is increasing rapidly, fueled by strong improvement results and in some cases, economic hardship. Lean methods include value stream mapping and kaizen events; Six Sigma refers to a set of tools that is increasingly used in conjunction with Lean. It is often said that Lean is “common sense uncommonly applied.”

Value Stream Mapping (VSM). Value stream mapping refers to the activity of developing a high-level visual representation, from start to finish, of the process flow involved in delivering a desired outcome, service, or product (a “value stream”) to customers. In the context of environmental agencies, a value stream could be the process of enabling redevelopment of brownfield sites or attracting and hiring new agency staff. The typical products of a two to five day VSM event are two maps—a “current state” map of the targeted processes (see photo below) and a “future state” map of the desired process flow—and an implementation plan for future process-improvement activities. Because value stream maps help people see not only waste but the source of the waste, they enable an agency to target future kaizen improvement events on specific processes or process steps in the value stream to help move the agency towards its desired “future state” value stream map.

RESOURCES

Kaizen Events. Kaizen is a combination of two Japanese words: kai meaning “to change” and zen meaning “for the good of all.” Kaizen is founded on the belief that small, incremental changes routinely applied and sustained over a long period result in significant performance improvements. Kaizen events—also called rapid process improvement events or kaizen blitz events—focus on eliminating waste in a targeted system or process, improving productivity, and achieving sustained improvement. Though sometimes kaizen events are as short as two days, they often last about five days. Whereas VSM events focus on the big picture and future directions, kaizen events dig deep into the specific steps of a process to identify sources of waste and implement process changes.

Current State Map

Current State Map

Six Sigma. Six Sigma is often used in conjunction with Lean, but is a distinct process-improvement methodology that uses a collection of statistical tools to analyze causes of variation in a process and to identify and test improvements. Trained Six Sigma experts, called “black belts” and “green belts,” typically support teams in using Six Sigma tools in a project context. While this Starter Kit does not focus much on Six Sigma, Lean and Six Sigma methods can be effectively combined (often called “Lean Six Sigma”). Lean eliminates unnecessary time and process wastes, while Six Sigma targets quality improvements and variation.

What Other Tools Are in the Lean Toolbox?

Along with value stream mapping, kaizen events, and Six Sigma, agencies are using a variety of other Lean tools, such as the following.

HOW TO LEARN MORE ABOUT LEAN

Why Do Lean?

BENEFITS OF LEAN

By using Lean tools, an agency can expect to:

Lean can dramatically improve the performance and effectiveness of agency processes in a relatively short timeframe (see textbox for a list of typical benefits from Lean). The impressive results from environmental agency Lean efforts also speak for themselves. Here are a few examples:

States achieved these results by using value stream mapping, kaizen events, and other Lean methods. Because of their initial success with Lean, these agencies have also conducted Lean events on a range of other processes.

Example Improvements in Air Permitting Timeframes Resulting from Lean Events
State Agency Specific Air Permitting Process Permitting Timeframe Before Lean Event (in days) Permitting Timeframe After Lean Event (in days) Total Decrease(in days)
Idaho Department of Environmental Quality Permit to construct 270 97 173
Indiana Department of Environmental Management Title V permit modifications 164 144 20
Iowa Department of Natural Resources Standard air quality construction permits 62 6 56
Iowa Department of Natural Resources Air quality complex permits 214 180 34
Michigan Department of Environmental Quality Major air construction permits 422 98 324
Michigan Department of Environmental Quality Minor air construction permits 143 50 93

Distinguishing Lean from Other Improvement Initiatives

Lean is different from past improvement efforts in several key ways. Lean:

By eliminating non-value added activities, environmental agencies can redirect staff time to higher-priority activities related to their core mission of environmental protection.

RESOURCES

Using Lean to achieve process excellence is a growing trend among state and federal government agencies, including those focused on environmental protection. The 2006 Working Smart for Environmental Protection primer looked in depth at the Lean experiences of five state environmental agencies, all of which have continued with Lean implementation efforts. In addition, as of April 2009, there are about 20 state environmental agencies that have conducted Lean events or are planning Lean events in the near future (See “Inventory of State Lean Events” at ECOS website: http://www.ecos.org/content/project/detail/2292/). The map below displays state environmental agencies that have conducted Lean events or shown interest in using Lean methods to improve government processes as of February 2009.

Lean and State Environmental Agencies

Lean and State Environmental Agencies
* Events EPA is aware of as of April 2009.

 

ISN’T LEAN JUST THE LATEST “FLAVOR OF THE MONTH”?

If your agency is typical, most management trends that have come around in the last fifteen years have been tried. Total Quality Management? Continuous Quality Improvement? What makes Lean any different? Isn’t this just the latest way for consultants to line their pockets? There are some key differences.

Remember TQM? After several days of training on what seemed like obtuse principles, staff were sent back to their regular duties and told to improve the quality of their work process. No one typically thought their process was broken so there wasn’t a lot of incentive to change anything and besides, they were already behind from all those days in training. Once a TQM team was formed, they likely met once a week for six months or until they forgot why they were meeting. If the team ran into conflict about what the “problem” was or how it might be solved, there was a good chance team members started dropping out and the team dissolved. Kaizen teams receive a half-day of just-in-time training and learn how to improve their process by actually making changes directly to the process. Events never last for more than five days (including the training time) and kaizen events can be as short as one or two days. Kaizen team leaders push the team through the cycle of change, and conflict if it arises, to ensure a successful conclusion.

TQM teams developed a list of recommendations and sent them up the chain of command. If they were lucky, they heard back from the powers that be and some of their recommendations might be implemented–-eventually. Kaizen teams are empowered and actually change the process during the course of the event. Management is kept abreast of what is happening in the event but the team has the authority, and the expectation, to change the process. (Sound scary? Letting a team change things on their own? Remember, the team is changing process, not policy.)

Another significant difference is that TQM focused exclusively on quality while Lean addresses quality, cost, and delivery simultaneously and all in the context of time. All of these components play a crucial role in the success of our work and are inextricably linked. Additional distinctions include kaizen team composition (ensuring that the customer is part of the team), standardized follow-up to the event at 30, 60 and 90 day intervals, and gathering data as pre-work rather than during the improvement process.

TQM wasn’t bad in theory but it lacked in execution. Lean is all about execution—getting good improvement ideas implemented in a rapid timeframe and then making adjustments to continually improve. The implementation results experienced by government organizations using Lean suggests that Lean will become a core improvement strategy for many agencies.

How to Select a Lean Project

Most agencies begin their Lean implementation efforts with a pilot project (a kaizen event or value stream mapping event) to improve an existing agency process. If this is your agency’s first event, it may be useful to start with a relatively simple permitting process (e.g., air construction permitting for minor sources or a permit modification process) or even an internal process (e.g., audit action tracking), to get a feel for Lean methods. The selected process should be sufficiently important to capture organizational attention. It is critical to start with a process area where there is a high level of management support and commitment to ensuring a successful Lean event. However, other circumstances may dictate which process is the best candidate for a Lean event. For example, it may make sense to hold the Lean event in conjunction with another major change within the agency during the implementation of a new rule or major staffing changes.

Although each agency weighs its own criteria to select a target process for a Lean event, agencies often focus initial Lean events on processes that have the most “pain,” that is, the greatest perceived problems. Problems could include backlogs, bottlenecks, complaints, funding constraints, and quality and performance concerns. It is also important to consider improvement projects that could free staff capacity to address mission-critical work, address stakeholder concerns, or alleviate budget or fiscal pressures. Once an agency has conducted several events, it often makes sense to take a more strategic approach to selecting events that is linked to the agency’s strategic plan and workforce development goals.

Potential criteria for project and process selection include:

When selecting areas to target with Lean, it is also important to keep in mind that there are different types of government processes. While all processes can benefit from Lean implementation, the types of Lean results—time, quality, and cost—can vary depending on the type of government process that is targeted. Quick, impressive process improvement results are often important for building organizational support and momentum, while freeing resources and time to focus on more mission-critical work. While applying Lean to more complex processes may not yield quick time and cost savings, sustained focus on Leaning complex processes may yield dramatic improvements in the agency’s ability to achieve its mission. The textbox below discusses how different government process types can affect Lean results.

GOVERNMENT PROCESS TYPES AND IMPLICATIONS FOR LEAN RESULTS
Government Process Types and examples

Government processes can vary both by frequency and variation. Process frequency refers to how often a process is executed. Process variation refers to the degree of change or difference among outcomes or products produced by a process. These attributes can have important implications for the types of results—time, quality, and cost—that can be achieved and should be expected from Lean implementation. For example:

Another Dimension that Can Affect Lean Results: Multi-Agency Processes

Processes that involve hand-offs among multiple government agencies or offices pose unique challenges and opportunities. Each agency has its own internal process that interfaces with other agencies’ processes. These agency-specific processes may not be well-aligned and process “ownership” boundaries may not be clear. Value stream mapping can be a powerful tool for building cross-agency understanding, trust, and alignment. Kaizen improvement events can help improve internal agency processes that interface with the multi-agency process. Leadership and political will across the participating agencies is typically needed to navigate obstacles arising from differences in agencies’ missions, goals, and organizational cultures.

Think carefully about which processes types you want to target first and set realistic expectations for results.

How to Find Technical Assistance for Lean Efforts

All Lean events are led by a Lean facilitator who organizes and manages the discussions. Most agencies have sought outside technical assistance for their initial Lean implementation efforts; even agencies that have developed in-house capacity for lean training and facilitation occasionally seek additional assistance, especially for larger or more complex projects. There are a range of technical assistance providers that facilitate Lean events, including private consultants, non-profit National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) centers, and university-based training programs.[2] Private sector companies who are using Lean have also provided technical support to agencies by allowing agency staff to attend industry trainings and providing Lean facilitators for agency events.

When evaluating a potential Lean facilitator, it is important to consider the facilitator’s past experience, areas of expertise (e.g., supporting Lean in government and office settings), price, and availability. In general, the cost of an experienced Lean facilitator ranges from approximately $2,000 to $3,400 per day. The cost of having an experienced facilitator is typically well worth it to ensure a successful Lean event. The next chapter provides additional guidance on how to select a Lean facilitator.

[1] James Womack, Daniel Jones, and Daniel Roos coined the term “lean” in their 1990 book The Machine that Changed the World to describe the manufacturing paradigm (often referred to as the Toyota Production System) developed by the Toyota Motor Company based on principles pioneered by Henry Ford.

[2] A directory of NIST MEP centers is available at http://patapsco.nist.gov/mep/centers-near-you/index.htm Exit EPA Disclaimer.

« Back to Chapter 1 | Continue to Chapter 3 »

Top of page

Lean Home | Top of Page

Local Navigation

Jump to main content.