A partner in CTWorks

1. Connecticut Department of Labor Connecticut Department of Labor’s Lean Government Services Stephen Dombrowski stephen.dombrowski@ct.gov (860) 263-6517 A partner in CTWorks

2. Lean Government Services “If you don’t manage your business processes,they will manage you.” Adapted from TBM Consulting Group, Inc. © 2005 Department of Labor

3. Lean Government Services Why Lean? Government is under increasing pressure to: • Reduce waste • Reduce costs • Expand services with less • Improve processing time • Increase productivity • Improve quality of services • Meet customer expectations © 2005 Department of Labor

4. Lean Government Services What Is Lean? A customer-driven waste reduction technique that: • Examines a current process • Improves efficiency by decreasing process time • Produces a product or service to the “beat” of customer demand • Initiates organizational change The relentless pursuit of waste. © 2005 Department of Labor

5. Lean Government Services Common Misconceptions • Lean is only for manufacturing businesses • Increasing productivity creates higher stress • Eliminating waste results in job loss • Lean is a “Flavor of the Month” • Internal efficiency focus = less customer attention • Lean is expensive © 2005 Department of Labor Adapted from Lean Behaviors, LLC.

6. Lean Government Services How Do You Lead the Transformation to Lean in a Government Environment? • Obtain support of Commissioner/upper management • Emulate Lean behavior • Empower all staff • Encourage innovation • Think like a for-profit organization The Keyis Management Behaviors © 2005 Department of Labor

7. Lean Government is an Integration of: People Process Lean Technology © 2005 Department of Labor

8. Lean Government Services Employee Centered Change Must Learn to: • Listen • Develop people • Not blame • Encourage innovation Respect for People --- Teamwork © 2005 Department of Labor

9. Lean Government Services How Lean Works • Obtain management commitment • Identify a process to be “Leaned” • Establish a Lean team of people who do the work • Use Brainstorming and Process Mapping • Implement customer-driven waste reduction techniques • Evaluate the results and make improvements • Continue to find additional Lean projects © 2005 Department of Labor

10. Value Determine customer’s values Lean Government Services Value stream Determine the steps taken to deliver the service/product Flow Reduce waste and shorten cycle time Pull Ensure that only those services/products that the customer immediately wants flow through the value stream Perfection Ensure that waste does not creep back 5 Lean Principles © 2005 Department of Labor Adapted from “Lean Thinking” by James P. Womack and Daniel T. Jones

11. Lean Government Services What are Examples of Waste? • Document errors • Document transport • Completing work not needed • Process steps, reviews & approvals • Waiting for the next step • Searching for information • Backlogs © 2005 Department of Labor Developed by Products & Process Innovation, Inc. – following the Taiichi Ohno Model

12. Lean GovernmentServices Customers • Customer is the most important part of our process and drives how we do business • Any step of a process that does not add Customer Value is considered waste • Waste adds costs but does not add value to the customer © 2005 Department of Labor

13. How do we translate customer values into the process? • Constantly ask “is this what the customer wants?” • If a step (or process) does not add value to the customer, ask “is this step (or process) actually needed?” More on the Customer… © 2005 Department of Labor

14. Lean Government Services What is Process Mapping? A visual representation of the flow of work in a series of steps showing the path of a process and the relationship between the steps. Provides a structured approach for thinking through a process. © 2005 Department of Labor

15. Lean Government Services Versions of a Process © 2005 Department of Labor Adapted from Product & Process Innovations, Inc.

16. Lean Government Services Analyzing the Process Map for: • Major delays • Large blocks of time • Complex flow paths • Steps that can be eliminated or re-engineered by asking “is this what the customer wants?” Highlights areas where customer value and waste occur in a process. © 2005 Department of Labor

17. Lean Government Services Brainstorming • Everyone participates • Suggestions made during the process are not evaluated • Ideas can be piggybacked on other ideas • Focus on the idea not the individual Leveraging the strength of many minds. © 2005 Department of Labor

18. Lean Government Services Root Cause Analysis A problem is scrutinized, from a general to a specific perspective, to determine its origin. A person is RARELY the origin of the problem but can be one of the symptoms. © 2005 Department of Labor

19. Must Always Ask: Fundamental Questions • Does this eliminate waste? • Does this create value for our end-use customers? • What’s the root cause of the problem? (5 Whys) • Is this the least-waste way to do the work? Study the process and simplify. © 2005 Department of Labor Adapted from The CLBM, LLC

20. Lean Government Services Process Improvement Examples Manual • Forms • Reports • File locations • Postage & paper • Review/signatures Automation • Standard templates • Forms with calculations • Forms on the Intranet • Microsoft Access, Excel • Electronic documents & signatures © 2005 Department of Labor

21. Lean Government Services What is the “Parking Lot”? Used during the Process Mapping effort to “park”issues that: • Cannot be resolved with the information available (insufficient data, other resource(s) needed) • Team members want to remember to discuss later and not lose focus of the current topic © 2005 Department of Labor

22. Lean Government Services What is the Issue Item Sheet? • Record problems, proposed solutions • Review issues, items and check status • Important to the journey toward perfection © 2005 Department of Labor

23. Why the Department of Labor? • Successful internal/external Lean efforts • Experienced trainers and proven curriculum • Support from U.S. Department of Labor • Knowledge of government processes • Immediate on-site consultation © 2005 Department of Labor

24. Lean Government Services What We’ve Done • Currently working with the Department of Public Health (DPH) and the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority (CHFA) • Apprenticeship • Benefit Payment Control • Board of Education Services for the Blind (BESB) • Business Management • Business Services • Call Center • Claims Examination • Customized Job Training • Delinquent Accounts • Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) • Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) • Eastern CT Workforce Investment Board • Information Technology • Merit Rating • Payroll • Quality Program Review • Shared Work • Trade Adjustment Assistance • Veterans’ Services • Welfare-to-Work • Wage & Workplace Standard © 2005 Department of Labor

25. Lean Government Services Performance Gains and Improvements • 590 process steps reengineered or automated • 14,868 worker hours reengineered or automated • $1,270,626 in worker hours saved © 2005 Department of Labor

26. What to Expect • Repeatable and predictable processes • Increased productivity • Fewer errors • Exceed customer expectations • Improved employee satisfaction • Empowered staff © 2005 Department of Labor

27. Lean Government Services What our Customers are Saying “Thank you for introducing me to one of the most positive experiences for me here at the Labor Department. Now I can’t seem to stop wanting to Lean everything.” “Eliminating waste in government has truly been an enlightening experience. The process gave me a real understanding of the needs of our customers and the way they do business.” “Our commitment to streamlining Business Management’s procurement process was a rewarding and challenging experience that helped us in finding solutions that would benefit our needs.” © 2005 Department of Labor