Many service related process (e.g. Insurance claims, processing a tax return) can be quite complex and cumbersome. It is only when these processes are mapped and clearly understood that opportunities to eliminate NVA steps and simplify a process become apparent. In many cases, the ‘As-Is Process’ involves navigating, through a maze of screens of different databases and information sources.
To redesign the ‘To-Be Process’, the Sort and Store elements of the 5S can be very useful to improve the process layout and flow e.g.
- Simplify work screens in a software application or database by removing the unused or non-required work fields (Sort)
- For those that are left over, create icons or shortcuts that are easy to see and access (Store)
Submitted by Éamon Ó Béarra, SQT Lean Six Sigma tutor