Lean processes add methods that use only the resources necessary to carry out a task, step, or action. In this way, they avoid waste and provide continuous improvements that add value to a company’s products/services.
Have you ever stopped to think about how much of your work is really dedicated to activities that add value to your organization? Often, people assume that everything they do is important.
However, only when they start to observe the processes from the perspective of the Lean method (Lean processes), do they realize that several of the activities they perform end up only consuming time and resources.
Keep reading and find out how lean processes can help you reduce waste, optimize your efforts, and add more value to your activities!
Learn more: 14 best lean manufacturing tools for productivity
What is lean processes
The Lean methodology and processes emerged from the Toyota Production System. It aims to improve the quality of deliveries, reduce deadlines, and reduce costs by eliminating any type of waste that may exist.
To help identify waste points, a very common practice is the decomposition of the process. Thus, its activities are grouped into three categories:
- Value-Added Activities;
- Activities without Added Value, but necessary;
- Waste.
Thus, it is easy to identify which activities are really necessary to meet the customers’ desires, and which of them simply consume resources. Once this classification is made, companies can work towards improving the lean process itself, seeking to eliminate activities that do not add value, reduce those that generate waste, and maximize those that generate added value.
Better understand what each of these categories means to facilitate their implementation in your company.
Value-Added Activity
To be considered value-added, an activity must meet the following criteria:
- Work that the client is willing to pay for;
- Work characterized by transformation (of a product or information);
- Work that is done correctly the first time.
Non-Value-Added Activities, but necessary
This type of activity does not add value to the product or service, but it needs to happen for a reason. Some of the most common are:
- Contract or customer specification;
- Government regulation;
- Outdated working method;
- Obsolete equipment.
Waste
Finally, waste is represented by activities that involve work that consumes resources but does not add value to the product or service.
Examples of activities from the main categories of lean processes
Imagine an industry that manufactures smartphones. Value-added activities are those that transform the raw material (plastic, lithium, copper) into the finished product (smartphone) for which the customer is willing to pay. Some examples include shaping, cutting, drilling, or assembling a part.
In administrative proceedings, this could also be characterized through activities such as the preparation of a report or a technical specification for a customer.
In the case of Activities without Added Value but necessary, there would be the inspection of finished products, for example. Although this activity does not add value, it is necessary because the customer expects to receive a smartphone within the technical specifications and quality standards.
In an administrative proceeding, an example of this type of activity would be filling out forms and documents required by a regulatory agency. In many cases, this does not add value to the product or service, but it generates work that needs to be done.
The activities that represent Waste are those that consume time and resources, without adding anything to the product. Some examples are unnecessary transport or movements, or defective products that require rework. In an administrative process, Waste can be characterized by the copying and archiving of documents.
How to apply lean processes
Even knowing how the categorization of activities according to lean processes is done, is not enough to bring this methodology up to date. Applying these processes involves following a series of steps that help optimize activities and eliminate waste.
The practice of breaking down a process, classifying, and analyzing all its steps helps your company to be more efficient, in addition to saving resources and increasing customer satisfaction. You need to ask yourself: is this activity adding value?
To help you discover this answer, see below the steps you need to know to implement the lean methodology in your company!
- Identify Value: Determine what is valuable to the customer. This helps to focus efforts on activities that really add value.
- Map the Value Stream: Analyze all stages of the process, from the acquisition and treatment of raw materials to product delivery. This allows you to identify and eliminate activities that do not add value and are not necessary even without adding value.
- Create Continuous Flow: Organize processes so that work flows without interruptions. This may involve reorganizing the production layout or implementing new technologies and tools — for example, a Quality Management System (QMS).
- Implement Pull Production: Produce only what is needed when it is needed. This way, you avoid excess inventory and reduce waste.
- Strive for Perfection: Promote a culture of continuous improvement, where all employees are constantly looking for ways to improve processes, activities, and tools.
To help put all this into practice, you can hold a Kaizen, which is a continuous improvement event to quickly identify areas of improvement and implement changes. Also, use tools like 5S for desktop organization and Kanban for visual task management.
Conclusion
Now that you understand the concept of Lean processes, learn about SoftExpert BPM. It is a solution that facilitates and guides the modeling, automation, analysis, and improvement of your processes according to the Lean concept.
Contact our experts to learn more about the advantages and benefits of a BPM solution for your company. They can help you identify the best strategies for your company with SoftExpert solutions. Contact us today!
