Improving business through education: Lean towards efficiency
THERE is a mounting need for both the public and private sectors to focus on efficiency as organisations gear up for growth in the UK economy, manage tighter budgets and strive to stay competitive.
In the current economic climate, the prospect of achieving efficiency savings of 10-15per cent, while improving customer service, through the relatively low-cost training of key staff, is one that would appeal to most businesses. Those are the estimated efficiencies that can be attained by educating staff in Lean Six Sigma principles.
Essentially, the Lean Six Sigma method seeks to reduce process variations to ensure a consistently high quality product or service that meets or exceeds customer expectations, thereby minimising waste and reducing costs.
To meet the demand from businesses for higher efficiency, Hull University Business School, working in conjunction with global business outsourcing partner, arvato, is delivering a university accredited Black Belt programme in Lean Six Sigma from June this year.
The masters level programme offers delegates access to the latest business research through successful completion of a fully supervised project, focused on their own organisation – ensuring businesses experience the benefits of the Lean Six Sigma programme from the outset.
Commercial Manager of the Logistics Institute at the Business School, Richard Faint, believes Lean Six Sigma principles can be applied to all types of organisation.
“Most enterprises have grown organically and, as a result, are less effective than they could be. Many managers know they need to change; however, few know that the change they are looking for can be realised by training in Lean Six Sigma.
“There are three basic elements to our Lean Six Sigma programme – process improvement, process redesign and process management. Lean Six Sigma seeks to replace rather than repair processes, and introduces a fundamental shift in the way an organisation is structured and managed. Managers, therefore, will be asked to look at their organisations and dissect ingrained practices to ensure they are as efficient and effective as possible.
“The programme is practical, the business benefits are tangible and the long-term cost savings are significant.”
Lean Six Sigma in practice – transforming a payroll service
In 2009, arvato undertook a full Lean review of East Riding of Yorkshire Council’s payroll service, which provides a full bureau service for 34 business units and handles high volumes of transactions. The challenge was to deliver a set of recommendations within one month on improving the efficiency of the service and also increasing customer satisfaction.
The review was led by three arvato Six Sigma Black Belt practitioners, who worked closely with staff and customers to gain a clear picture of the current position of the service and what customers desired from the service, which would help shape the recommendations.
Using a range of robust measurement and analytical tools, such as ‘value stream mapping’, taking the ‘voice of the customer’ into account and engaging with staff, the arvato team developed 16 detailed recommendations, which were fully costed, prioritised and assessed for their investment impact.
The recommendations and improvement measures were embraced and effectively implemented by the payroll service, resulting in operational efficiency savings of 20 per cent and major improvements in customer service.
So successful was the Six Sigma project that five payroll staff have begun Six Sigma training, ensuring a long-term legacy of continuous improvement.
