Each of us has a nemesis process; that process that we engage regularly and that drives us crazy because of its inefficiency, its guarantee to waste our time or energy, and some variety of reasons that prevent it from being reasonably improved. Some of us have more than one.
Whether your nemesis process is a production or manufacturing process or a transactional/office type of process, I find that simply removing the problem from the environment, putting the process in a laboratory for all intents and purposes, often provides eye-opening perspective. Doing so can show us what efficiency our process is capable of achieving when it isn’t waiting for attention or other processes.
For several reasons, I strongly recommend doing so on both broken, frustrating processes, as well as on those we think we have improved.
- It immediately shows everyone involved how the whole process works
- It immediately demonstrates where the inefficiencies of the process exist
- It shows everyone what the real process lead time should be
- It easily identifies the sources of variation within the process