Public Sector
Successive UK Governments have challenged the Public Sector to deliver better education, better health care, better pensions, and better transportation services for an impatient electorate. They know that impatient electorates expect to see change, and fast. But the funds required to meet such expectations are enormous—particularly in the many developed economies where populations are aging, and the Public Sector’s productivity hasn’t kept pace with that of the Private Sector. The need to get value for money from governments at all levels is therefore under the spotlight as never before.
Public Sector leaders are looking with growing interest at “lean” techniques long used in private industry. Lean., as an improvement philosophy, is showing that it can – not only improve public services – but also transform them for the better. Crucially for the public sector, a lean approach breaks with the prevailing view that there must be a trade-off between the quality of public services and the cost of providing them.
We understand the specific challenges of implementing a lean approach in the Public Sector, and have shown an ability to flex to the challenges of bringing change to such environments, where many lean consultancy providers offer only the same toolkit as the Private Sector. (Link to main Public Sector page)
We understand that in the Public Sector there is often resistance to the notion that Japanese automotive language and tools can be applied to its processes. However, our experience suggests that used in the right context, lean can be a powerful enabler in identifying where Muda (Waste) exists in current processes and supporting teams in redesigning processes and solving problems. Helping teams to map the Current State process, often across a number of departmental boundaries, highlights many examples of what John Seddon termed ‘Failure Demand’ – work which only has to be done because something either wasn’t done at the appropriate time (i.e.. It was missed) or that it was done incorrectly. This leads to excessive administration time, backlogs of work and unnecessary cost, which in an environment of increasing budget cuts or the threat of privatisation are extremely undesirable.
Lean FSL Associates have worked in several Public Sector organisations (such as Crown Commercial Service, and National Savings & Investments) to bring improved efficiency, cost reduction and improved outcomes for the taxpayer. For more information on how we can help your Public Sector department or organisation contact us using the details in the sidebar.