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Business Process Improvement

Business Process Management

How Most Businesses Handle Process Management and Why it Fails

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process management Frankenstein

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I recently helped a company who was struggling with inventory management. The General Manager had a white board full of problems, each representing a hole, and she didn’t know how to fill those holes. She kept trying different processes, but each attempt led to a new leak in the pipeline. Employees were becoming confused and frustrated because it seemed that things kept changing. 

Does this sound familiar? Sadly, this is how most businesses handle process management.

This trial-and-error approach to fixing a problem is something I see all the time. It is what I call a “Frankenstein” process. This activity consists of holding parts of a process together with temporary fixes (Band-Aids) that really only stop the heaviest bleeding. Eventually, all the bandages fall off and I get a phone call to help. 

What do I do in regards to process management that is so different than what management has already done? A few things. 

First, I’m objective. I see situations from the outside and can ask the questions that those internally can’t or won’t. For example, if a company is having space constraints and the owner has his yacht parked in the warehouse that would better be used as a production floor, I can point that out without fear of losing my job. 

Second, I’m specialized. Those working in their respective fields are knowledgeable about their job. Whether that’s operations, HR, sales, or whatever. My specialty and training is in Lean process management. I have unique skills, training and tools that help me hone in on the specific task at hand. This means that I am focused on solving any issues of inefficiency. 

Third, I have the time. Just as these workers have skills in their own area of expertise, they also have the bulk of their working hours full with, well, work. As a consultant and Lean Sensei, I am able to devote specific hours to work on solving a problem at a deeper level. I don’t look for areas to smack on a fix, but rather I do diagnostics for the underlying cause of the problem symptom. 

A doctor would never do a surgery without knowing what they were going in for, but in business I see this happen very often. I slow things down and get to the root. From there, we build a process with buy-in so it sticks, build feedback loops to ensure they are working, and put in place strategies for continuous improvement to prevent the process from coming out of remission. 

 

If you are ready to tackle the Frankensteins in your business, we can help. As a lean sensei and lean management consultant, we provide a complete review and analysis of the business processes that create efficiency and profitability, and the barriers to them. If you are ready for true process management, let’s talk.

Contact me today to learn more. Together, we will create a continuous improvement culture and healthier bottom line. 

Business Process Management

Business Process Modeling for Improved Results

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business process modeling

Psychologist Howard Gardener wrote in his book “Frames of Mind” about 9 types of intelligence. The theory showed us that people can excel in certain areas more than others, and that intelligence isn’t limited to just ‘book smarts’, science, or math. 

This is exciting news because it frees those of us who may not have been good in a particular subject in school from feeling generally stupid. We can now focus on the areas of intelligence where we do excel, and find others to support us in those we aren’t as strong. 

For some, processes come easily, while others over generalize them and then wonder what isn’t working. Often what I find is that people become blind to challenges or problems because they lack perspective. 

How Business Process Modeling Improves Results 

Business Process Modeling helps to overcome this blindness and can further utilize a variety of intelligence in order to improve outcomes. Let me offer an example: 

ABC Manufacturing wants to hire workers who will perform one of five tasks. They need to know their own roles, but also how it fits into the bigger picture. They also need to perform it to a required standard and consistency. 

Using a Business Process Modeling strategy, each position can be mapped in a way to allow every worker to be trained to meet the performance goals and expectations, breaking it down in ways that every person can understand to be set up for success. It also allows each worker to see how the flow of work matters to the whole. 

Furthermore, it helps everyone see how or why bottlenecks can occur and how to adjust for these possibilities if they arise. It gives management to front line the opportunity to discover holes that can lead to waste in time, talent, and materials, and make proactive changes towards greater efficiency. 

My Intelligence is Business Process Improvement

My intelligence, as a business consulting firm specializing in Lean, is in logical-mathematical and spatial understanding. I use tools such as business process modeling to help unearth areas of waste and inefficiency and adjust them for long-lasting and continuous improvement. 

We implement change that positively impacts the bottom line of companies that hire and train, provide a consistent product or service, and who are looking to improve efficiency, production and outcomes. We do this with a number of tools, including business process modeling. 

 

PBEX, LLC provides a complete review and analysis of the business processes that create efficiency and profitability, and the barriers to them. Contact us today to learn more about how a lean consultant can help you, and to schedule your organizational audit with a business process improvement expert. 

Business Process Management

5 Signs Your Company Needs a Lean Audit 

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lean audit

 

A Lean Audit is simply a process where I go to a business per their request and walk through, looking for areas that could be made more efficient. I am often surprised by how often the problem presented seems painfully simple to solve. 

What I found is that these companies have one thing in common: they can’t see what’s going on because they are operating from a place of doing things the way they have always done and have accepted that reality. 

Here are some real-life examples that, if they ring true for you or your company, you could benefit from a fresh perspective and a Lean Audit. 

Owner Storing Personal Equipment 

A problem I see often is that the owner of the business is storing personal property on-site. It is their space after all, but when this is causing a working environment that hinders employee productivity, it is easily resolved – move it. Employees will likely not challenge the owner’s placement of equipment, even if it is a problem, so it usually takes an outside force (such as myself) to show the owner how detrimental it is to employee productivity and offer better alternatives. 

Dead Inventory 

Another recurring issue I see is abundant amounts of dead inventory. It could be that a purchaser tried to take advantage of a bulk quantity deal and is simply storing unused product, or it could be that parts are still being held that will not ever be used. 

It may seem silly to think companies would hold on to obsolete products, but it often comes down to a fear of how to dispose of them – what if they are needed one day? The truth is, just like your closet at home, if you haven’t worn it in the past year, you probably won’t use it next year, and it should be donated, sold or thrown out. A lean audit can help identify what is truly obsolete, and what can be re-purposed. 

No/Little Space 

Some companies choose to move into a new location because they simply run out of space. However, in many cases, I find that they can stay in their current space by making it more efficient. Putting complimentary departments closer together, removing dead inventory, improving processes to move stored goods, and repairing broken machinery are just a few ways companies avoided the costs of moving by becoming more space efficient. 

Chasing Customers for Information 

Sometimes inefficiency comes in the form of poor communication. If you are finding that you are chasing clients for information because it wasn’t complete when it landed on your lap by a salesperson or field rep, or multiple departments are creating vendor or client files rather than sharing information, you can benefit from a Lean Audit. 

High Employee Frustration/Turnover 

Finally, a lean audit is ideal for companies who experience high employee frustration and resulting turnover. Often times this shows a clear hole in a process – whether on the hiring side (are you doing the right things to get the right people?) or with internal policies. Do your processes create frustration? Where is information falling through the cracks? What processes, policies or procedures are killing morale? 

Overall, a lean audit helps to identify holes in processes and seeks to solve them, not just put a bandage fix. If any of the above scenarios sound like a problem you have been facing, I recommend we schedule a phone call to discuss your concerns and potential solutions. 

 

PBEX, LLC provides a complete review and analysis of the business processes that create efficiency and profitability, and the barriers to them, in a process we call a Lean Audit walk through. Providing consulting and lean process improvement training, we are ready to support your organizational goals. Contact us today to learn more about lean business management and to schedule your review with a process improvement expert. 

Business Process Management

Why Automation and Business Process Improvement Must Go Hand in Hand

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automation

Automation is a hot topic in today’s business world. Computerized solutions, mechanized systems, automated processes, auto-generated responses… these are the ways many industries, from banks to fast food to manufacturers, are looking to create a more consistent and efficient customer experience. Many companies are turning to BPM or Business Process Management programs, coaches, software and more to help them implement these automation practices. Some have done so, only to find the solution actually created more problems. Why did this happen?

In my experience, automation is put into place almost in a knee-jerk way for management to try to solve a problem they don’t quite understand. It becomes a ‘band-aid’ fix rather than the holistic approach it should be. The truth is that business process improvement and automation need to be like a hand in a glove, otherwise, it becomes just another failed attempt at efficiency and a short lived “Frankenstein” process.

The Goal of Automation

The main goal of automation is to produce better outcomes through a consistent, reliable end product. Often, this is for the benefit of the end user, or client. When a process works for the company, but not the customer, it ultimately will negatively impact the organization. Automation should enhance the customer experience, not only serve the organization. Here’s an example:

Bob finds the website of a widget he is interested in. He sends an email to the company asking a question about specs to make sure it fits his needs. He gets an auto response that the company has received his email. Within 4 hours, the company chat-bot responds to his email with an automated drip campaign that tells him to buy the widget, yet his original question remains unanswered.

This process appears to be customer responsive, but it really just buys the company time and doesn’t offer value to Bob. Meanwhile, Bob is likely to have shopped around, and maybe even make a purchase with a company who responded more promptly to his question.

Automation should be customer-focused and create real value.

The Role of an Automation Consultant

As a Lean Consultant, I work with companies who want to implement strategies that create true efficiency and add value to their clients, staff and/or vendors. By looking for trouble spots, holes and current processes, we can determine where efficiency is working well and where it could be tightened up. From there, we look at how automation can be implemented and the steps required to achieve the end results in a long lasting and effective way.

It is slowing down and taking a comprehensive look at all the steps and processes to make sure everything is a smooth and logical fit with the business and clients it is designed to serve. Not a one-and-done or quick fix, automation should be a robust tool that works with all the cogs of business to make it a truly holistic fix rather than a band-aid one.

 

PBEX, LLC provides a complete review and analysis of the business processes that create efficiency and profitability, and the barriers to them. Contact us today to learn more about lean business management and to schedule your review with a process improvement and automation expert.

Business Process Management

Good Leaders Don’t Fix Problems, They Solve Them

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problem solving solution

One morning, while leaving the house for work I noticed that the driver’s side front tire on my car was low and unsafe to drive. So, I turned on the air compressor in the garage and waited for it to fill up with air, then proceeded to go to work. To my surprise the next morning the tire was once again low on air. I followed the same process and went to work.

The following morning, while again waiting for the air compressor to fill with air, I used Lean principles to analyze the situation. That evening I put the air compressor on a timer so I didn’t have to wait the next morning while filling the tire. I improved the process, making it more efficient by saving myself time. Or had I?

Problem Solving with Lean Methodology

There is a quote by Peter Drucker that says:

Nothing is more useless as doing something efficient which should not be done at all

I think that everyone knows what I should have done – figure out why the tire was losing air and get it fixed. It may seem obvious, and yet we do this all the time in business. Instead of spending the time to dive into problem solving, we just keep putting a band-aid on it. We believe it just takes too much time to find the root cause and develop a solution that prevents the problem from resurfacing. So, we keep ourselves stuck in a cycle where the problem keeps happening again and again while we overlook it, or create an inefficient work-around.

How many times would I fill the tire before it became greater than the time it would take to have the tire fixed? Truly it is clear to the objective observer that the solution was temporary. Very temporary.

If you were to ask your employees what their biggest issues in their workplace is, they will likely tell you that it’s the same problems not being dealt with, over, and over, and over again. I could bring up several quotes here, like this definition of insanity, but it comes down to doing what is right, not what is easy.

We as leaders have to provide those we work with the best opportunity for success, and that requires us to not just fix problems, but to solve them so that they never come back.

Don’t improve a process which shouldn’t be done in the first place.

PBEX, LLC can provide training on root cause analysis and problem solving to provide the means to prevent problems from reoccurring. Contact us today to learn more about lean business management and to schedule your review with a process improvement expert.

Business Process Management

Why You Should be Using a Process Flow Diagram

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process flow diagram

A process flow diagram is used to visually capture processes and create a standard of operations for anything from manufacturing to marketing campaigns to workflows. Typically used in industrial settings, the concept has grown to be used in a variety of applications in order to document business processes, and therefore make them more efficient.

When it comes to processes, we tend to take them for granted. If you have ever had to put together a training module or operation guide, you understand. Here is a simple example to show how a process can work with and without a schematic such as a process flow diagram.

Doing Dishes as a Process

There is a sink of dishes. Your teenage son acts as though he has never hand washed dishes. Therefore, you create a process for him to follow to get them done. This is not too far off from managing staff to follow specific protocol, agreed? We must simplify things, not because our staff are unintelligent, but because when it is easy to understand and we do our best to communicate well, we have a greater chance of success.

Sadly, most processes are assumed and/or inefficient. By creating a process flow diagram and really digging into the steps, that’s when we discover why we have output errors, productivity stalls, and redundancies. In lean management, these are considered waste and only by discovering the root cause of them can they be corrected with long lasting results (as opposed to a quick bandage type fix).

Back to the teenager with dishes…
Situation: A sink full of dishes.
Desired outcome: Dishes are clean, dry, and put away in their correct places by 5pm daily.
Known gaps between situation and desired outcome: In the past, dishes feel greasy at times; dishes haven’t been put away in the correct areas; it takes too long to remedy full sink of dishes.

In our example, we are going to list the current steps, plus, in parenthesis, expand each with a question to get to better communication.

When sink is full (What does full mean?), or by 4pm Sunday through Thursday:

  • Stack dirty dishes on the counter beside the sink basins. (Is there a way to stack to prevent breakage? Is there a specific area of the counter to use or not use?)
  • Fill one sink basin with hot, soapy water (How hot to get them clean and also keep teenager from burning himself? How much soap should be used?)
  • Fill the other sink with cool, clean water (How cool? When is the water not clean and need to be replaced?)
  • Using a scrubber sponge, take each dirty item and clean every surface. (What tools should be used to clean hard to reach areas? Is there scrubbing involved? How long should he spend on each item?)
  • Place the cleaned item into the cool water basin. Feel the item to check for remaining, stuck on debris and grease. If present, clean again with hot, soapy water. If not, place item in the drying rack.
  • Continue to wash each item, do quality check, rinse and set on drying rack until sink is empty.
  • Drain water from basins. Rinse the sinks so there is no remaining debris.
  • Dry countertop of any water.
  • Using a fresh towel, take each item and dry it and return it to its proper area. (Where are towels located? Where do they go when done? Is there a schematic for where dishes go that is easy to understand so items can be put away correctly?)

In this example, you may think that the questions in parenthesis are like playing devil’s advocate, and in some ways they are. Consider how differing results there could be (inconsistency), when these items aren’t clearly defined with a process flow diagram? This is particularly true when more than one employee is responsible for a task or set of tasks.

Additional Benefits to a Process Flow Diagram

Do you see also how the questions bring up the need for equipment? How about time spent? Quality and inventory control? Safety management? Do you see how it establishes expectations and uniformity? Can you see that some steps will create a sub-process that further communicates expectations and protocol? When it comes creating a consistent outcome, a process flow diagram process (and business process management) are the key.

 

PBEX, LLC provides a complete review and analysis of the business processes that create efficiency and profitability, and the barriers to them. Contact us today to learn more about lean business management and to schedule your review with a process improvement expert.

Business Process Management

Want Better Processes? Start with Value

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process improvement expert looks at value

As a process improvement expert, I am called into a business to help them in a variety of ways, usually all to help the company’s bottom line. Sometimes this looks like reducing inventory spending. Sometimes it is increasing productivity through more streamlined processes. And other times it is less quality defects. While there are a number of methods I use to help us determine how to improve, one of them is to look at value.

Who Determines Value?

Economists have a philosophy of supply versus demand, and anyone who has taken a college level economics course has heard of it. Basically, it says that when something is in high demand and low supply, the costs go up (example: diamonds). Conversely, if a product or service is in low demand and is in high supply, the costs go down (example: fill dirt).

This philosophy then tells us that the market, or customers, determine our product or service’s value, but when we think about process improvement, do we go back to the customer to determine what would add additional value to them? Shouldn’t we?

Value Versus Waste

In Lean philosophy, we look at things as a “value added vs. waste” model. We consider steps or tasks to be value added when it transforms the product or service, the customer is willing to pay for it, and it is done correctly, the first time. When all three conditions are met, the business makes money. Everything else is considered waste and cost the business money.

From here, we break this wastefulness into eight categories of waste, and then, as a process improvement expert, we tackle each to create a truly valuable end result product or service for clients and a healthier bottom line for the company.

The Eight Areas of Waste (Non-Value Added)

When I begin to look at processes through the eyes of value to the customer, here are some questions that I may ask to get to the root of the process wastefulness:

Defects: How much do defects and rework cost?  Are there mistake proofing processes that can be implemented to reduce or eliminate defects?

Overproduction: Do processes meet demands? In which cases does it not match, resulting in piles of work waiting for the next process?  Are there people or equipment that are overburdened?

Waiting: Who is waiting for work to be completed and why? What is causing the “idle”?

Non Value Added Processing: What is being done that isn’t adding value to the end user? Why is it important?

Transportation: Between the processes, are there unneeded steps? Is there a way to simplify movement or transportation through the facility?

Inventory: How is inventory being managed? Is there dead/cold inventory? How are raw materials cultivated?

Motion: What is being moved around and why? Is there a way to lessen any movements, including those done by equipment and people?

Employees: Is the business getting the most out of their employees? Are employees empowered and engaged? Are there skillsets or abilities that are not being used?

 

PBEX, LLC provides a complete review and analysis of the business processes that create efficiency and profitability, and the barriers to them. Contact us today to learn more about lean business management and to schedule your review with a process improvement expert.

Business Process Management

Great Business Management Starts with Efficient Systems

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business managementWhen it comes to managing our businesses, we discover it always comes down to systems. Whether systems for sales, production, administration, inventory, human resources – the more effective and efficient our processes, the better we maintain the consistency needed to produce our desired results. 

Automating these processes becomes the next step in creating, and improving the bottom line goals and outcomes. Often management knows this, but yet somewhere along the line, the linear path from input to output seems to get skewed. It’s bound to happen when machines break, new human error is introduced, consumer demands change, new technology becomes available…and plans aren’t in place to address these constant, yet often unpredictable changes. 

Business Management Consulting 

Business Management consulting allows an expert outside perspective come in and take a look at these changes in an objective way. It helps organizations to slow down in order to course correct for better effectiveness. Lean business management consulting adds the additional benefit of also cleaning up processes, organizing tasks to reduce waste, and systematizing processes that have been pieced together over time, or that have failed to exist. 

What is Lean Business Management Consulting? 

Lean management is a set of tools, tried and true business management techniques that create a culture of continuous improvement. By asking “why” and getting to the bottom of processes with a robust and complete understanding of it, allows for consistency, systematization and, when applicable, automation. 

This in turns creates proven results such as an increase in productivity, increase in work area space, decrease in dead inventory, improved safety, improved customer satisfaction, reduced defects and more. 

An Analogy to Understand Lean Management 

To truly understand how lean management works, it may be helpful to consider an analogy: 

Mannie Facture is experiencing pain in his wrist while working. He goes and sees Dr. Getterdone who recommends he wraps the wrist with duct tape, as it is strong and will reduce the appearance of swelling. He gives Mr. Facture a few pain killers and sends him on his way. 

 

This is like most business operations who see a problem and do what they can to make a quick fix, which works, but it may only be a short term fix. It is far from holistic, unlike the second approach, which is more like lean management: 

Mannie Facture goes to visit Dr. Excellence who takes time to ask Mannie about the severity of the pain, what his daily workload is and his previous health history. Dr. Excellence listens to his heart, as it effects every part of his body, and looks at not only what is causing the wrist pain, but what other conditions may be present. He offers physical therapy to help strengthen the wrist, elbow, and shoulder, which provides a more robust, long-lasting and supportive solution. 

 

Business management that is done as “spot treatments” rather than holistic approaches results in inefficiency and even failure. A business consultant, particularly one who specializes in Lean Management, can help get your business back into shape before a collapse. 

 

PBEX, LLC provides a complete review and analysis of the business processes that create efficiency and profitability, and the barriers to them. Contact us today to learn more about lean business management and to schedule your review. 

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Get New Employees Up to Speed Fast with Business Process Improvement

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business process improvement

In my years as a Business Process Improvement Coach, I have been called in to work with companies who have a new work force. In one particular case, a company acquired another, complete with an unskilled labor force, and needed to train them all quickly. The need for staff training can be created from mergers, acquisitions, seasonal or temporary employment, or a jump in production demands requiring increased staffing. It can also happen when employees are transferred to a new department, or with any big shift in management or restructuring. What if management took a proactive approach to change?

The need for business process improvement is always noticed at times of transition. Fresh perspectives can offer feedback and this feedback should lead to improvements. Whenever new job positions are created, or new employees require training, business process improvement can get everyone on the same page and be more effective than ever before.

Business Process Improvement and Human Capital Management

Human Resources is a highly documented, regulated, and important responsibility. With payroll being the highest expense in most businesses, efficiency and productivity in the area of Human Capital Management can make a huge impact on the bottom line. Overall, employers are seeking business process improvement in the areas of:

Increasing Employment Engagements. There are many distractions that can vie for an employee’s time. How do we decrease these distractions in a way that maintains high morale and improves engagement?

Increased Workflow Productivity. What systems, technology and processes can be put in place, automated, and tightened up? What training is needed to increase productivity?

Reducing Employee Turnover. Some turnover will always be expected, as people, places and circumstances change. However, high levels of turnover, or even turnover above the expected attrition, lead to hidden expenses and loss in productivity. What is frustrating and unaddressed in our workforce? Where can we be proactive, rather than reactive in relationship to staff management?

Reducing Onboarding Time. When we do have employee turnover, how can we shorten the time it takes to recruit, hire, train and get employees to the level of production we require?

How a Business Process Improvement Professional Helps

Business Process Improvement Professionals, such as myself, have an objective, trained eye to see what’s working and what’s missing. Through several assessment tools, we are able to pinpoint redundancies, holes, strengths, weaknesses and more. We can create job descriptions, job instructions, build processes, and improve current workflows to maximize effectiveness and engagement. By creating consistent business processes that take into consideration what the assessments are telling us, we can get everyone on the same page, and quickly up to speed in becoming a successful, productive, and happy member of your work force.

Contact me today to learn more about how I help businesses simplify their human capital management through business process improvement strategies. Cleaner processes create faster results, better productivity and employee satisfaction. Together, we will create a continuous improvement culture and healthier bottom line.

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Dealing with a Frankenstein Business Process? What It Is and How to Fix It

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I have the privilege of working with forward thinking businesses. These businesses know something isn’t quite right, but they can’t always put their finger on it. I’m called in and using a variety of techniques, discover and correct workflow holes and implement process improvement.

Birth of a Process

The first time that a series of steps are performed to complete a task, a process has been born. I use the word “born”, instead of developed, as rarely are processes designed. A business process exists because someone saw the need for something to get done. All of our daily activities are conducted through processes, some are good and some are poor. We recognize the poor processes typically through things that frustrate us. For example, standing in line for hours waiting for a representative to take five minutes of their time to explain the many pages of forms required to fill out. Poor processes can be the state they are in due to something I call a Frankenstein Business Process.

Typical Development of a Business Process

Most processes change many times. They may change in response to changes in technology, changes in products or services and/or changes in customer requirements.  Most often, however, a business process changes for various other reasons, not always in a way best for a business.

One of my responsibilities when working with a business is to ask why they do things the way they do. The typical response is that no one knows why and that it is how they have always done it. One business I was called into found themselves in a state of panic and urgency because the company they relied on for their envelopes had gone out of business. It was an important part of their workflow and they weren’t sure how to manage the change.

It turned out that the specialty envelopes were ordered once because the standard ones were not available, and they continued to order believing there was a requirement for them when there really wasn’t. On the surface, this may seem to be a small issue, but it really created a great deal of problems as a new vendor couldn’t be identified and it was effecting their production to not have this particular and critical supply.

In this case it was envelopes, but in another scenario, it could be a change in adhesive, for example, that effects the final product output. This, in turn could also affect price, skills needed, equipment changes and more.

The Frankenstein Process

Over time, business processes will naturally change. We hire new employees with a mix of education and experiences who change the processes to try to make them better, or in response to poor performance of the business. These changes become a “Frankenstein” process, that is, steps have been added or removed without really looking at how the process works overall. Processes like these are ingrained with wasteful, frustrating and unproductive steps that end up costing a business money, or worse yet, employees or customers.

I believe it doesn’t matter how great your product or service is, your business is only as good as its processes.

Innovation’s Opposite

The biggest curse to innovation is that of “We’ve always done it that way”. When we really look at the need, regardless of how things were done before and independent of the fixes that were put into place, we can discover waste and inefficiencies and replace them with new, improved processes that are long-lasting, rather than quick, Frankenstein fixes that eventually fail.

Contact me today to learn more about how I help businesses to simplify and improve their business process making them easier to understand, perform and manage. Together, we will create a continuous improvement culture and healthier bottom line.