Putting Lean Business Process Improvement in Context Steve Mackereth

About Blythburgh Ltd (i.e. Me). Formed in July by its principal consultant, Steve Mackereth following: – Seven years management consultancy in Financial Services and Public Sector – Five years of commercial development and business process transformation with a major electricity utility. – Seventeen years of manufacturing process development and production management.

Lean is an ‘in’ term in Local Government.... It has taken about two years for ‘Lean’ to come from zero to be an accepted term in the sector’s lexicon. – “Oh yes, Lean, of course” we say without a hint of awkward self-consciousness. – RIEPs commission training in it. – Papers about it can be presented at regional events. – There are some case studies coming through.

The logic for Lean Business Process Improvement is compelling.... The key drivers on the LG sector are quasi-competitive – Customer expectation is driven by Customer-comparison with a ‘service’ economy. Active regulation. – Cost and revenue pressures are ever-increasing. Lean’s focus on customers, customer value and waste removal is totally and elegantly aligned to this agenda.

Lean isn’t new Lean in the manufacturing sector is twenty to thirty years old. It incorporates and ‘borrows’ from even older approaches such as Business Process Re-engineering, right back to ‘Taylorism’. It hasn’t changed much – as you would expect of something that is base on common sense.

So, if it’s so right and so mature..... Why isn’t Lean as natural as double-entry book- keeping? Why has it taken/ is it taking so long to tackle the service sector and LG in particular? Declaration of interest.... – I ask, not as a cynic, but as a bemused zealot!

My hypothesis Lean Business Process Improvement (LBPI) for Local Government is approaching the crossroads – Either A. it becomes central to the design and delivery of public services – Or B. it will become something else we tried that didn’t work and join other such notaries as TQM and BPR in the initiatives graveyard Path B. will be a tragically missed opportunity. I am suggesting LBPI still needs some protection and nurturing to deliver path A.

Firstly, we need to set LBPI in appropriate context..... LBPI can provide.... Clarity about what is required Insight into where and why there is value and non-value Visualisation of improvement and what benefit might result. Objective rationale for organisation and resource deployment. LBPI cannot provide.....  An alternative to tough decisions about resources. The necessary performance drivers for change and sustained improvement. An implementation plan for anything beyond the simplest changes.

LBPI is just one essential component of change leading to sustainable improvement LeadershipLean BPI Performance Management Change Management Sustainable Improvement

To be ready to maximise LBPI benefits.... You should ensure thatSo thatOtherwise the potential will be limited by Focus is on performance accountability, not just resource accountability ‘empires’ don’t count.Hoarding. It is Ok to talk about business problems and what is stopping us We address the most rewarding issues Hiding Be ready and able to take tough decisions based on customer-focused rationale, All tough decisions are objective and defensible Fudging. Have an up-front policy for dealing with the people whose skills and positions are displaced. Uncertainty for individuals is minimised and participation is maximised. Bridling.

Secondly, we need to invest the skills in management LeadershipLean BPI Performance Management Change Management Manager’s Transformation skill-set.

To deploy LBPI effectively You shouldSo thatOtherwise you risk LBPI being Devolve the knowledge and skills It becomes a mainstream activity integral to managing the business. an add-on burden Support minimum standards from the centre There is common terminology and a degree shared technique Non-interoperable, difficult to spread, inefficiently deployed

Summing up Lean Business Process Improvement has powerful potential, but its not a miracle worker. – It is a component capability of Transformation alongside leadership, performance management and change management. – It is challenging, requiring an open culture and it doesn’t substitute for tough decisions Lean Business Process Improvement capability needs to be nurtured carefully to ensure operational ownership efficiently supported.

Contact Us Steve Mackereth Blythburgh ltd. Blythburgh House 2 Langham Drive Burton Joyce Nottingham NG14 5EJ telephone: