Methods to Office Eliminates Waste - VRDS

Copyright © 2010 VRDS, Inc. All rights reserved.
Office Waste 101
Darian Rashid
Managing Director, VRDS Inc.
(732) 219-7001
darian.rashid@vrds.com
http://www.vrds.com/
@VRDSinc

Office Waste 101 Topics
• Value
• Waste
• Waste in the Office
• Data and Information Waste
• Workflow Waste
• Employee Waste
• Resource Waste
• Methods to Eliminate Waste
• Questions

3
Value
Main Entry: val·ue
Pronunciation: ’val-(,)yü
Function: noun
a: Something that adds form, feature or function
b: Something that a customer is willing to pay for

4
Waste
Any task, function, item, etc.
that does not add value to the
customers or shareholders
ransportation
nventory
otion
aiting
verproduction
verprocessing
efects

5
Types of Office Waste in the Office
• Data and information waste
• Workflow waste
• Employee waste
• Resource waste
WARNING: Only waste IF it doesn’t add value

Data and Information Waste
Workflow Waste
Employee Waste
Resource Waste
To counter cronyism, Max Weber (1864-1920) created the "rational-legal system"
form of organization - its structure and processes designed to achieve certain goals.
The bureaucracy is designed for optimum functional performance and unity of
purpose, and authority is exercised by rule and procedural systems.

7
• Redundant input and
output of data
• Manual checking of
electronic data
• Missing data
• Unavailable data
• Incorrect data
• Incompatible information
systems
• Data dead ends

8
Redundant Input and Output of Data
• Identical data inputs or outputs occur more than once
without adding any extra (customer) value
• Filling out multiple forms that have the same fields of information
• New patient forms / new school year forms
• Automated call asking you to enter information and then having call rep ask
for same information
• Receiving multiple reports or emails that have essentially the same
information; forwarding of emails
• Distribution lists that included unnecessary recipients
• Generating the same report in different formats
for different internal customers

9
Manual Checking of Electronic Data
• Electronic or electronically generated information is manually
checked for accuracy, completeness, and so on
• Manual checking of data that has been entered electronically
• Manual checking of results that have been computed electronically
• Manually remove incomplete entries
• Removing bogus entries i.e., stores that ask your phone number
• Printing electronic media to check or file
• Software development and validation rules
• No idea that validation rules are required
• No access to developers of the software to write in validation rules
• Legacy systems that cannot be tampered with, even if development
resources are available

10
issing Data
• Required fields are missing which invalidates the entire
record
• Results in incomplete data sets which are analyzed leading to invalid or
suspect decisions
• Data collection methods are suspect or biased
• Analysis performed with an insufficiently
small sample size

11
Unavailable Data
• Data that is needed but not logistically possible to collect
• Data that is available but cannot be obtained for political reasons – e.g.
IT doesn’t have time to run the query for me so I have to wait

12
Incorrect Data
• Wrong, biased, unreproducable, unrepeatable, unstable, or
inaccurate data
• Unsure about data source
• Unknown sampling plans
• No traceability
• Multiple manual entries and hand-offs
• Complicated, redundant, and lengthy input, forms, and screens
• Verbally transmitted data

13
Incompatible Information Systems
• Systems that are used in the same process but require
human intervention to share data
• Manual transference from one system to another
• Literally transferring the same data from one screen to another
• Manual translation of outputs from one system into another
• Reformatting the output into the new input
• 123456789  123-45-6789
• 2345678901  (234) 567-8901
• Delimiting in Excel
• Performing calculations on the output into the new input
• Pivot tables and summary data for the second system
• Transposing columns to rows
• Paralysis – can’t transfer or translate

14
Data Dead Ends
• Occurs when data flows through a system and then stops,
not serving any purpose
• Metrics that are collected but never looked at
• Reports that are run but never looked at
• ‘Write-only’ data
• Downstream process no longer needs data but is still collected upstream
• Call center systems that track every aspect of call but data is never used for
process improvement. i.e., timestamps for individual segments of a call
• Airline asking for passport information for domestic flights

Workflow Waste
Employee Waste
Resource Waste

16
Workflow Waste
• Hand-offs
• Batches, stacks and queues
• Micromanagement and approvals
• Branching
• Extra or over processing

17
Hand-Offs
• Turning over information, data, tasks, etc. to a colleague,
group, department, etc.
• Both horizontal (functional) and vertical (hierarchy)
• Swim-lane map is the best way to see this interfaces
• Dragging bags from check-in over to security check
• Restaurant: different person taking order, delivering drinks, and
delivering food
• Hospital emergency room
• Bank manager approval
• Call center transfers
• Help desk

18
Batches, Stacks and Queues
• Sets of information, requests, people, materials, etc. that are
stalled and building up mid-process
• Data waiting to be processed or refreshed
• Projects, portfolios, or files
in queue
• Data and reports waiting
to be batched
• Unread emails

19
Micromanagement and Approvals
• Supervision, monitoring, checking, auditing, and inspecting
• Supervision and management interactions with employees
• Controls and redundancy
• Approvals for expenditures over budget
• Required waste
• Regulatory and legal
• Business value add

20
Branching
• Deviating from the standard workflow
• Employee inconsistency (nonstandardized work)
• Unbalanced work (bottlenecks)
• Customer demand or order fluctuations
• Supply chain variation
• Audits/checks
• Approvals

21
Extra Or Over-Processing
• Doing more than is required by the customer
• Multiple reports formats, all with the same information
• Creating reports and charts for decision making
• Supplemental manual entry of data
• Use of different software in different departments
• Paperwork and duplicate forms
• Bad design
• Overlapping system capabilities

23
Employee Waste
• Busy work
• Motion
• Ignoring ergonomics
• Underutilization of talent

24
Busy-work
• Assignments and tasks that are time-consuming but
not useful
• Multitasking
• Task interruptions
• Issue resolution
• Firefighting and problem solving
• Outside interruptions (visitors, phone, email, etc.)
• Training
• Low or no investment in training
• Training materials and trainer unavailable
• Wall to wall meetings
• “Meetings to eliminate meetings”

25
Motion
• Human movement
• Reaching, lifting, pushing, pulling, …
• Manually searching and gathering data and files
• Extra clicks, key strokes, and code
• Travelling to other buildings
• Travelling to other sites across town, the state,
the country, etc.

26
Motion

27
Ignoring Ergonomics
• Waste from the interaction of humans with
objects, tasks, jobs, products, systems,
and the environment that lowers
performance, increases errors, and
decreases user satisfaction through
discomfort and poor aesthetics
• Bad design of tasks and work areas
• Operator fatigue and discomfort
• Also called biotechnology, human engineering, and
human factors engineering
• Safety, time and motion, workplace design …
• Keyboards, mice, pads, chairs, handles, displays, …

28
Underutilization of Talent
• Not using people’s creative and
analytical skills to their potential
• Low or no investment in training or cross training
• Unclear qualifications, roles, or responsibilities
• Old guard thinking, politics, the business culture
• Not providing opportunity for growth
• Start using software without prior training
• Poor hiring practices
• Low pay, high turn over strategy
• Politics and corporate culture
• Cronyism

30
Resource Waste
• Hoarding and Stockpiling

31
Hoarding and Stockpiling
• Holding on to more material, information or resources
than what is needed
• “Just in-case”
• Supply closets, cabinets, and drawers
• Sales literature and materials
• Unused databases, data, and software
• Raw materials

32
How Many Do You have?
• Data and Information Waste
 Redundant input and output of data
 Manual checking of electronic data
 Missing data
 Unavailable data
 Incorrect data
 Incompatible information systems
 Data dead ends
• Resource Waste
 Hoarding and stockpiling
• Workflow Waste
 Hand-offs
 Batches, stacks and queues
 Micromanagement and approvals
 Branching
 Extra or over processing
• Employee Waste
 Busy work
 Motion
 Ignoring ergonomics
 Underutilization of talent

33
Methods to Expose Waste
• Process mapping
• Spaghetti diagrams
• Value add analysis
• Eliminating non-value add
• Eliminating or reducing business value add
• Reducing value add “time”
• Value stream mapping
• 5S initiatives
• Resource leveling

34
Methods to Eliminate Waste
Copyright © 2007 VR Data Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.Copyright © 2007 VR Data Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.
• Flow control systems
• Work-in-process (WIP) caps
• Visual management / information radiators
• Cellular groups
• Push vs. Pull systems
• More advanced methods appropriate on some
occasions
• Kanban and supermarkets
• Time trap analysis (bottlenecks)
• Order entry levels, safety stock, service levels, demand
intervals …
Beaver Dam

35
Summary
• Value – Something a customer is willing to pay for
• Waste – Any action, task, function, etc. that doesn’t add
value to the customer or the shareholder
• There are different types of waste in the office
• Data and information waste
• Workflow waste
• Employee waste
• Resource waste
• Process mapping and Value-Add analyses are powerful
ways to expose these wastes

36
Questions?
Eliminate the ‘Re’s
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Methods to Office Eliminates Waste - VRDS

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