In our third discussion on Office Kaizen, we address a type of waste that is extremely important to eliminate, or at least minimize, in any organizational setting. Information Waste is the waste that occurs due to the less than optimum information content in a value stream. There are five types of information wastes, as follows:
Translation Waste: requires effort to correct, change, reassess, and rework data, reports, formats, standards, and process steps. It occurs often in organizations of any size and it consumes managers' time. It can also lead the organization to costly errors and mistakes. In an Office Kaizen setting, the most likely solution to translation waste is to ensure that leadership focuses on factual data that are supported by metrics and simplified in their nature. Less is more here. Standardization (and sticking to it) may also help with the level of translation applied to processes.
Missing Information Waste: this type of waste requires extended efforts to compensate for the lack of information in procedures and processes. Office Kaizen teaches us that a hard look at the value stream to identify key metrics and information flow must be performed in order for the organization to cover all pieces of the puzzle. Visual boards should also be reviewed with respect to flow and cadence of information in the system.
Hand-Off Waste: this type of waste requires the extra effort (effort that the customer does not pay for) to compensate the loss (or improper adjustment) of information due to the hand-off being inadequate. Consider for example, when the next department in the value stream "adjusts" numbers from previous steps without a reason. An Office Kaizen organization would tackle this waste by assigning daily metrics and detailed procedures that are to be strictly followed during the hand-off of information. It may sound like bureaucracy at first, but it will guarantee a better and more accurate value stream in the long term.
Irrelevancy Waste: relates to the energy spent to deal with unnecessary information, or the efforts needed to correct issues that irrelevant information may have caused to the organization's processes. Leadership plays an important role here in supporting the avoidance of unnecessary presentations, revisions, additions, and changes to documentation that are not related to the process (value added). Once again, a good look at the value stream and its steps may be needed in order for the organization to clean up the non-value added pieces of information in the flow.
eZsigma Group offers a highly qualified group of experienced professionals who can help your organization achieve higher levels of productivity, efficiency and employee morale. Contact us to learn more about our programs.
No comments:
Post a Comment