University of Central Oklahoma

UCO Process Improvement

Lean Is The New Skinny

Third time’s a charm

By Jandy on July 9, 2012

How many of you have been leaning with it and rocking with it? I expect all of you to be raising your hands. If you have absolutely no clue what I’m writing about, refer to my previous post.

Just what does “third time’s a charm mean?”  It is the belief that the third time something is attempted is more likely to succeed than the previous two attempts. Voila! This being my third blog, you should have high expectations of it being a real charmer, knock your socks off, isn’t this a dandy kind of blog.

Hold on and get ready for me to lay on the charm. (For those of you who know me, just humor me and keep reading.)

I last left off with talking about waste.  The trash you have in your work processes – the waste that, often, no one wants to take out, so it in essence lays around stinkin’  up the place. You have a few of those don’t you?

As promised, today, we will discuss MOTION and INCORRECT USE OF STAFF.

Let me pause for a moment and say, it’s been a pure joy for me to get to write this blog to all of you lovely people who have so selflessly put your lives on hold to read what I write. Thank you! Charming of me to say I know, but so very true!

Now, on to the crust of the cherry pie.

Allow me to illustrate:

This picture is a bit concerning on many levels, but, what I want you to get out of it is, the MOTION it takes to get the critical supplies in order to complete the process.  How often do you find yourself in unnecessary MOTION?  Whether it be due to ineffective office layout, ineffective business processes that have you trekking all over campus in the rain on a perfectly sunny day, all to find out the person you needed to sign this that or another had been moved to the same building as you. The last bit might be a stretch, but at least on some level, I’m sure you can relate.

How does one eliminate MOTION waste?

  • Simply by recognizing the everyday motion throughout your day will help you determine if you are in motion TOO much. How often do you go to the printer to pick up a piece of paper, only to print out something again and get up 2 seconds later? What about going to a building for a meeting and then getting back to your desk to realize that you need to go BACK to said building to drop off paperwork?
  • Once the extra motion waste is recognizable, find ways to reduce it.  Move tools closer to you in order to eliminate several trips, combine walks across campus to take care of several “to-do’s”. Remember to take your cell phone IN to work rather than left in your car. The last one I may or may not do, just to get in some extra steps.
  • Not sure how to reduce extra, useless motion in your day? Give me a call, give it a shot. Two brains are better than one!

This is good stuff folks! Want more?

Let’s switch gears and talk about INCORRECT USE OF STAFF

 “Putting people first has always been America’s secret weapon. It’s the way we’ve kept the spirit of our revolutions alive — a spirit that drives us to dream and dare, and take great risks for a greater good.” – Ronald Reagan

Would you agree with this statement? You may forget that you’re human at times in a world of constant automation, but truth is, the world and our company would be SERIOUSLY hurting and struggling without YOU. If we don’t have humans doing their job to their fullest potential, it’s easy to see increasing waste, which increases cost, decreases productivity and negatively affects our end product – OUR STUDENTS! Let’s be honest, they’re the reason we’re all here right?

Not quite buying my charm yet? Time for a video!

Copy Machine (<—- Click here)

Something tells me that Richard isn’t being used effectively even though he has a huge amount of creativity. Sandarino….

Are you sitting around thinking of creative ways to improve your job, but not speaking up? Do you often want to try something new in your position or around campus, but are too scared to try?

 Let’s work on that, here’s a few ways:

  • First, speak up! If you feel you need more of a challenge, a different aspect to your job, tell someone (preferably your boss).  They won’t know if you don’t speak it. If you aren’t given much extra freedom, then…
  • Look for areas on campus where you can volunteer, join/start a committee, take a class (may I suggest the Learning Center?), etc., etc., etc.
  • And lastly, remember the value of YOU.  YOU have amazing, unique abilities – USE them for a better you and a better UCO.

Alright, folks, we are halfway through examining WASTE.  Thank you for sticking with me! Do you feel smarter and better equipped to identify WASTE? What questions do you have? I’d love to hear your feedback.

Next blog, we’ll take a break from waste and talk about ACCOUNTABILITY….get ready for some finger pointin’, blamin’ it on the rain, good ol’ fashion fun!

Until next time, it’s her fault if you weren’t charmed by this blog.

 

Posted in | Tagged , | 3 Responses

Take two – So you wanna be lean?

By Jandy on May 29, 2012

Please be aware – I’m NOT talking about going to the gym or even exercise. Whew! Now you’re probably wondering what I’m talking about right? Good, continue reading and eat a cookie or two while you’re at it.

Lean and process improvement go hand in hand in my world.  They’re like two best friends playing tag at the park, like peanut butter and jelly, like a big bowl of ice cream on a scorching hot Oklahoma day…You see where I’m going, they just GO together.

Just what is lean and why does it matter at UCO?

This definition fits best: “Lean is a passionate belief that there’s always a simpler, better way……continuous drive to identify and eliminate WASTE.” 

What waste do you have in your job? In all there are 8 types of waste when talking about lean. I feel compelled to show you 2 of those, since this is, of course, take two.

Alright – I will give you all 8 but only go into detail on two. Deal? Done deal.

 

 I’m sure some of these, you can understand VERY quickly how they fit into your everyday world, but wouldn’t you like to know more? And how to eliminate them? I’d be happy to share with you.

Today I’m focusing on WAITING and OVER-PROCESSING.  In an educational institution, these seem to be batting the highest average, and in this instance, highest batting average = no bueno.

Drum roll, please! A few illustrations:

Is this you? No, I’m not asking anyone to actually admit to falling asleep on the job. But – do you find yourself WAITING for someone’s signature, WAITING for a returned phone call, WAITING for that one email that will solve all of your woes? If you answered YES, to at least one – keep on reading. Good stuff coming your way.

Often, WAITING is the outcome of an unbalanced or unreliable process. Take a look at the times you wait in your job.  Is this process efficient? Even more so, is this process even effective? Here are some pretty easy and doable solutions.

  • If the process is unbalanced, look for where and seek improvements. Ask the questions! It’s okay, I give you permission.
  • Consider the time it takes to complete a process that keeps you waiting.  Present that information to your Supervisor with solutions on how to improve.
  • Collaborate with people in and/or out of your department to see where or if they are waiting within the process. (Often, this will result in how effective or ineffective a process is)
  • Call your Process Improvement liaison (that’s ME!) – I’ll rally the troops and get a team working together to reduce waiting times within a process. (and any other waste, for that matter)

Alright, now that your mind is spinning, let me give you one more illustration.

Does this illustration hit home? WHY so many signatures and methods of communicating? Why do we need to double check, double confirm and over-process? I’ll refer back to my previous post and say, more often than not, it’s “just the way it’s always been done”.  NO ONE has ever questioned its ineffectiveness.  Whether it’s disorganization of a document (i.e. many touches, many copies, many “just in cases”) or purchasing software or tools that are really much more than you or a department needs, over-processing comes easy but costs greatly. Challenge: ALWAYS question ineffective processes because I can guarantee, you aren’t the only one scratching your head.

Solutions to eliminate OVER-PROCESSING:

  • Open your eyes, observe and think about where the over-processing occurs.
  • Use a “one-touch” rule – File it, Finish it, Discard it, or Delegate it.
  • Consider the costs of over-processing. Track it. Show it to your Supervisor, colleagues, and anyone else who will crusade with you to make improvements.  
  • Use your resources: Hint, ME! This is what I do for my salary – work with areas needing to eliminate waste!

As brutal as it sounds, every person, department, division and company has a tremendous amount of waste.  The question is, are you willing to do anything about it? Can you identify waste in your area and take necessary steps to eliminate them? GO FOR IT! Everyone in any role on campus has the responsibility to better this University, so why not let it be you?

Up next…Motion and Incorrect Use of Staff.  In the mean-time, I suggest you….

 

 

Posted in , | Tagged , | 1 Response

Hello Blogworld!

By Jandy on May 22, 2012

I’m new to this…so, go easy on me.

Ah, the first blog. It must not only draw your interest but also make you laugh and leave you wanting more.  Kinda like a brownie fudge sundae.  At the end of eating one, I always want more.  Okay, maybe it doesn’t make me laugh, but you get the idea. Here goes nothing!

You probably are wondering what this blog will be about. Allow me to introduce myself.  I am Jandy Newman and I am a Process Improvement Coordinator here on campus.  I began working at UCO in August of 2011, so I’m still a “newbie”.  I was told I could call myself that up until a year of being here, so I’m totally sticking with it.  In an effort to market what I do, I thought I’d start this fabulous blog.  I know what you’re thinking…WHAT a fabulous idea indeed.  What do I plan to use this blog for? Great question!

I’m pretty sure I have one of the coolest jobs here at UCO.  Let me tell you why. First, I get to work with faculty and staff all over campus facilitating process improvement projects.  Second, the sole purpose of these teams is to work together to come up with a more effective and efficient way to do their jobs. From office organization to finding ways to improve a defunct process, it’s fascinating to see the teams brainstorm new ideas and collaborate to come to a consensus on how to improve a process. Seeing a collective mindset working towards the same goal in order to gain positive change is pretty inspiring!  I plan to utilize this blog to keep the UCO community aware of the process improvement projects going on throughout the campus.  From office organizations tips and tricks to inspiring the masses to think outside of the box, I’m hoping that I can be a source of information and a resource for YOU.

Need more information? Let me show you a few illustrations.

 

 Do you ever feel like this at work? Too much paperwork, too little time, too much waiting, TOO MUCH!!  Are you asking yourself….WHY is this the way this process is done? WHAT can be done to improve this process? WHERE do I even begin? WHEN would be a good time to address this? WHO could help? If you are nodding your head north and south, let me just say, you’re not alone friend.

What about this one?

 

In a society that is pretty much in constant state of change, for the most part, people DO NOT like change.  What’s comfortable to them is easy to them.  Even if it means keeping meaningless paper files, traveling across campus 19 times a day to get signatures, or making packets of training materials that inevitably end up in the trashcan or on the floor.  The truth is, people do not realize the inefficiencies of their ways simply because, “that’s the way it’s always been done.”  Have you ever heard or even better, actually said that phrase in your job?

If you can relate to the above illustrations, there is an opportunity for change and improvement.  Do you know who to contact when a process “just isn’t working” or you’re “spending WAY too much time on something so simple”?   I’ll give you a little hint….ME!

If you want change, be it.  LOOK for opportunities to improve not just in your department but across campus. CHALLENGE things that have “always been done that way” and last but not least, USE me and my services. I am just a phone call or email away and I am be happy to assist in any way I can.

Until next time….

Posted in , | Tagged , | 2 Responses