Eliminating Waste - unlocking opportunity
The 8 Wastes of Lean—and a 9th—can transform your professional services firm
In the realm of Lean management, waste elimination is fundamental to achieving operational excellence. While Lean principles originated in manufacturing, they are highly relevant to professional services firms - and in fact businesses from all industries. Understanding and addressing waste can lead to improved productivity, reduced costs, and enhanced client satisfaction. Here’s a quick overview of the 8 traditional wastes of Lean, along with an additional, often overlooked waste: Legacy.
The 8 Wastes of Lean
1 - Overproduction
What It Is: Creating more products or services than necessary, or producing them earlier than needed.
Example: A legal firm generating extensive case files or reports that aren’t immediately required, leading to wasted time and resources, and cluttered workspaces.
2 - Waiting
What It Is: Time spent waiting for information, approvals, or resources.
Example: An accounting firm waiting for clients to provide necessary documents. This delay impacts timelines and can lead to inefficiencies and client frustration.
3 - Transport
What It Is: Unnecessary movement of materials or information that adds no value.
Example: A consultancy firm moving physical documents between offices, consuming time and increasing the risk of errors or document loss.
4 - Extra Processing
What It Is: Additional steps or procedures that don’t contribute value to the final outcome.
Example: A marketing agency requiring multiple layers of approval for simple client requests, resulting in delays and inefficiencies.
5 - Inventory
What It Is: Holding excess inventory that ties up resources and space.
Example: A financial planning firm retaining outdated client records or redundant software licenses, leading to wasted resources and inefficiencies.
6 - Motion
What It Is: Unnecessary movement of people or resources that reduces productivity.
Example: Employees at a design firm frequently searching through various systems or files for project details, increasing the likelihood of errors and reducing efficiency.
7 - Defects
What It Is: Errors or defects that require rework and consume additional time and resources.
Example: A management consultancy producing reports with errors due to lack of standardisation, leading to additional work and potential damage to client trust.
8 - Skills
What It Is: Underutilising the skills and talents of employees.
Example: An IT support firm assigning tasks that don’t match employees’ expertise, resulting in lower productivity and missed opportunities for innovation.
The 9th Waste: Legacy
Understanding Legacy Waste: Legacy systems and processes refer to outdated or inefficient practices and technologies that no longer align with modern needs. While traditionally not included in the 8 wastes, Legacy is increasingly recognised as a significant form of waste.
Why It Matters: Adhering to outdated systems can hinder progress and adaptability, making it difficult for firms to embrace newer, more efficient methods. Regularly evaluating and updating legacy systems is essential for maintaining efficiency and competitiveness. Outdated technologies can create bottlenecks, reduce productivity, and limit growth potential.
Discover and Eliminate Waste in Your Business
Identifying and addressing waste is critical for improving efficiency and achieving better results. Of course once you’ve identified waste, you need a plan to implement improvements, and a forum to support ongoing continuous improvement.
Book a wastes workshop with Acumin.io to explore how the 8 wastes, including Legacy, are affecting your operations. Our workshop provides a comprehensive approach to uncovering inefficiencies and offers practical strategies for improvement.
By addressing these wastes, your business can enhance operational performance, deliver more value to clients, drive sustainable growth, and unlock better business outcomes.