Learn how to apply value stream mapping to office and services and how to adapt the tool to handle the highly variable nature of office and service processes from Drew Locher. For more information about this topic, be sure to check out our 2017 International Conference in Boston http://bit.ly/2oHMiTh

1. Change Management Associates
The Complete Lean Enterprise
Value Stream Mapping for Office & Services

2. Change Management Associates
§ Quoting
§ Order Processing
§ Purchasing
§ Hiring
§ Shipping
“Whenever there is a product (or service) for a customer,
there is a value stream. The challenge lies in seeing it.“ (Womack,
Jones)
Physical Transformation - Manufacturing
Problem Solving - Engineering
Information Management
§ Accounts Receivable
§ Accounts Payable
§ Inventory Management
§ Invoicing
§ Receiving
What is a Value Stream?

3. Change Management Associates
Purpose of Value Stream Mapping
v Two ‘types’ of improvement
Ø Incremental, process level (‘kaizen’)
Ø Radical, system level (‘kaikaku’)
v Several improvement methodologies exist
Ø All are variations of ‘P-D-C-A’ (A3, VSM, etc.)
Ø Each have different ‘social’ implications

4. Change Management Associates
Purpose of Value Stream Mapping
v Visualize work as a “system”
Ø Activities, Pathways, Linkages (the “DNA” of Lean)
v Point to problems (from a system perspective)
v Focus direction (so the system benefits as a
whole)
v Not to examine a specific function or
department, but the information process that
cuts across functions or departments

5. Change Management Associates
Initial
Customer
Contact
PROCESS
VALUE STREAM
Customer
(Internal or
External)
PROCESSPROCESS
Sales
Value-Stream Improvement vs.
Process Improvement
Order Entry Process
PROCESS
Customer
Service
Engineering Purchasing
Value Stream = ALL steps, both value-added and non value-added,
required to complete a product and/or a service from beginning to end.

6. Change Management Associates
How Does “Office & Service” Differ?
v Many office & service value streams are not well
defined, nor does much data exist
v Many office & service functions support several value
streams without clear boundaries
v Harder to identify customer, product or service, and
customer value
v Waste in office & service processes is much harder to
see - more entrenched and hidden

7. Change Management Associates
What to Map? Mapping to Meet Business Objectives
v What is the strategic direction & key
objectives of the organization?
v What systems, business processes, or
value streams impact the ability of the
organization to meet its objectives?
v What specific performance goals or
targets must be met?

8. Change Management Associates
What to Map? Product/Service Families
Product/
Service
Design Quote Enter
Order
Create
Docs
Standard X X
Custom X X X X
Determine product or service families based on
similar processing steps
Process Steps

9. Change Management Associates
Preparation
Current State
Future State
Planning
Agreeing on what process/service to study,
how to map it, who will participate,
planning logistics, collecting data
Agreeing on a well understood map of the
current situation
Agreeing on a shared vision of a Lean
future state
Agreeing on how to implement the future
state vision
The VSM Process
2 – 4
days

10. Change Management Associates
Customers
S/U
Customer Bill
Review
Order
Install
& Test
Dispatch
Technician
Make
Appointment
Schedule
Service
IN
IN IN
Srvc
Req
Srvc
Order
Srvc
Order
Srvc
Order
Srvc
Order
Bill
Request for
Installation
P/T=15m
C&A=100
%
4 Techs
CS DispatchDispatch
Dispatch
Dispatch CS
P/T=15m
C&A=90%
2 d
BizSys
P/T=10m
L/T=1d
C&A=95%
P/T=30m
C&A=100%
1-5 d
P/T=4h
L/T=1d
C&A=80%
P/T=15m
C&A=90%
1 d 1 d P/T=15m
C&A=100%
Demand = 8 requests per day
Lead Time = <=5 days
Billing Disputes = 20%
15m 15m 10m 30m 240m 15m 15m
2d 1d 1-5d 1d 1d 1d
Cabbie’s Cable Service
Current State Map – June 2008
Total Request to Install L/T = 5 - 9 days
Overall L/T = 7 - 11 days
Total “Office” P/T = 100m/request
Overall P/T = 340m/request
First Pass Yield = 49%
SS SS

11. Change Management Associates
Mapping Icons
Electronic Information Flow
In Box
(Queue)
IN
Wait-Time
Information Flow
Data Box
P/T
L/T
%C&A
Supermarket
XOXO
Load
Leveling
F I F O
First-In
First-Out
FlowStandard Work
Kaizen
Lightning
Burst
Iterations
Process Box
Technology Used
Receive Order
Fax
Outside Resource
(Customers, Suppliers)
Worker
Weekly
Schedule
Information

12. Change Management Associates
Tips for Current State Mapping
v Determining the appropriate level of detail
Ø Creating ‘eyes for flow’ and ‘eyes for waste’, but…..
v Ranges in the data are acceptable
Ø Just watch for ‘outliers’
v Map together as a team
Ø It’s about the learning
v ‘Show and tell’
Ø ‘Go see’, engage more senses

13. Change Management Associates
Designing the Future State
v Is guided by pre-determined business goals and
objectives
v Is a thoughtful re-design of the current system
based on the key lean concepts
v Is not a ‘waste war’ and should not result in ‘drive-
by’ kaizen

14. Change Management Associates
Designing the Future State
v Must be achievable in a ‘reasonable’
timeframe
Ø Elements within 3 months, 3-6 months, 6-9
months….
Ø Fully within one-year
Ø Uncertainty is OK
l “Do you have a 70% chance to implement that
idea in the next 3 months? 3 – 6?....”

15. Change Management Associates
Future State Questions
v What does the customer really need?
v Which steps create value and which are waste?
v How can we flow work with fewer interruptions?
v How will interruptions in the flow be controlled?
v How will work load and/or activities be leveled?
v How will we manage the new process?
v What process improvements will be necessary?

16. Change Management Associates
What Does the Customer Really Need?
v What “service level” does the customer
need?
Ø Desired response or turnaround time
Ø Expected quality level of the output
v What is the demand for the process?
Ø Expected demand rate
Ø Expected variation in the demand rate
Ø Required resources to meet demand rate(s)

17. Change Management Associates
What Steps Create Value and Which are Waste?
v Consider the objective(s) for the value stream
re-design & the response to the first question
Ø Focus on the key wastes that are obstacles to
those objectives – don’t focus on all the wastes
It’s about selecting the ‘right’ wastes to address
“Quality not quantity”
Focused improvement rather than ‘drive by’

18. Change Management Associates
IN
Process 1 Process 2
IN
Process 3 Processes 1,2 & 3
versus
How Can We Flow Work with Few Interruptions?
IN
Process 1 Process 2
IN
Process 3 Processes 1,2 & 3
versus
‘Concurrent’ or ‘parallel’ processing is another approach to flow

19. Change Management Associates
Important:
Eliminate all reasons to “batch”!
Discipline to flexible processing!
No Good
Better: Every Type Every Day
Paperwork Processing
Monday 40 A
Tuesday 10 A, 30 B
Wednesday 20 B, 20 C
Thursday 40 C
Friday 20 C, 20 A
Monday: 14 A, 10 B, 16 C
Smaller Batches of Work = Doing Things
More Frequently
Even Better: Every Type Every Hour
8AM: 3A, 2B, 3C
9AM: 4A, 2B, 2C
Why such a “routine”?

20. Change Management Associates
How Will Interruptions in the Flow be Controlled?
IN
Process A / B / C Process D / E / F
Ø Elements of every Pull System
l Visibility of a queue of work
l Limits defined for a queue (standard work-in-
process)
l Defined rules for the queue when the limits are met
l Use of visual signals that are worker managed

21. Change Management Associates
How Will Interruptions in the Flow be Controlled?
v How will work be prioritized?
Ø Examples:
l Enhanced decision making tools (e.g.
governing the release of work)
l Define desired sequence (e.g. FIFO, due date)

22. Change Management Associates
How Will Workload and/or Activities be Leveled?
v Does the “volume” (e.g. demand variation)
impact the system in any way?
Ø Example: Month-end phenomena
v Does the “mix” (e.g. order type) impact the
ability of the system to flow, or impact the
responsiveness of particular steps in any
way?
Ø Example: Rush vs. Standard Orders

23. Change Management Associates
How will we manage the new process?
v Changing the workflow is insufficient, the
manner by which we manage it must also
change
Ø What frequency will we review performance of the
process?
Ø By what visual means will performance be
monitored?
Ø How will we engage team members in the
management and improvement of the process?

24. Change Management Associates
What Process Improvements Will Be Necessary?
v Identify all process improvements that will be
necessary to implement the future state
Standard
Work
Paperwork
Redesign
Change
Authority Levels
Eliminate
Hand-offs

25. Change Management Associates
Achieving the Future State
v Learning your way to the future state
Ø The future state is not ‘cast in stone’
Ø Achieving the future state represents a series of
‘experiments’ and PDCA cycles
Ø Based on what has been learned, the future state
and the implementation plan will be revised
accordingly

26. Change Management Associates
Cross Train
Sales
Check-list
Office
Cell
Establish
FIFO Lanes
Standard
Work
Where to begin?!?!
Achieving the Future State

27. Change Management Associates
Prioritizing Office & Service Kaizens
v Eliminate NVA steps first that don’t require new IT
efforts
v Address information quality issues first
v Establish standard work to reduce variability
v Implement flow (e.g. reduce hand-offs)
v Simplify steps that require minimal IT effort (e.g.
minimize transactions entering and within the Value
Stream)
v Implement IT solutions (e.g. e-business)
v Identify “loops”, as appropriate

28. Change Management Associates
v Value Stream Mapping when properly used is a
powerful improvement methodology
Ø Is an ‘enabling’ tool (to apply Lean Thinking)
Ø Is an excellent collaboration tool
Ø Can provide breakthrough results
Summary

29. Change Management Associates
Contact Information
Ø Website: www.cma4results.com
Ø Email: drewlocher@cma4results.com
Ø Twitter: @DrewLocher

30. For more about lean and value stream mapping, be sure to check out the
2017 AME International Conference in Boston this fall! For more information,
visit the #AMEBoston website, www.ame.org/boston.