Transforming Finance and Facilities (F through Lean Winter...
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1 Transforming Finance and Facilities (F2) through Lean Winter 2013 Welcome to the Lean Newsletter! By V’Ella Warren Senior Vice President Welcome to our first ever edition of the Lean Newsletter! This is an exciting time in Finance & Facilities (F2). We have made tremendous strides since the introduction of Lean in 2010. We started out with two pilot areas with the idea that Lean would help us rethink the way we do business and build an engaged, highly motivated, and positive workforce. We are over two years into this, and I’m more firmly convinced than ever that—for us—it’s working! With over 100 formal teams launched, we have had many opportunities to engage the campus in our improvements, and we have impacted about 150 individuals so far by inviting them to actively participate on our teams. Their insights and willingness to share personal experiences of how our broken processes have impacted their work are “gifts” that we acknowledge as what’s termed ‘customer voice’— a core tenet of Lean thinking. In this issue we will recognize our incredible progress and highlight some insights coming from F2 leaders in areas where Lean has really taken hold and matured quickly. We will also take a look at our Lean transition from the perspective of our Lean program sponsors. In future issues we will get to the heart of Lean – the people who implement critical changes, and those who benefit from them. Thank you all for your Lean efforts, and for your meaningful contribution to F2’s success. We invite you to learn more, and look forward to your continued participation! What would you like to see in this newsletter? Please send your story ideas or comments to [email protected]. Lean streamlines day-to-day work activities and processes for an organization. It engages the staff and encourages everyone to identify and solve problems… Lean stimulates employees—Our people are energized. Jobs are becoming more fruitful and fulfilling. Lean facilitates collaboration— We (faculty, administrators, and students) come together in collaborative partnerships that solve problems for the greater good. Lean fosters responsibility—Our organizational culture is more positive and interactive. It fosters ownership and responsibility among employees. Lean helps us reach our goals—Our Lean journey is intended to remove the friction and barriers that too often prevent us from getting things done and reaching our goals. Lean removes complexity—Our Lean journey is designed to make things work more efficiently in an increasingly complex university. Lean expands transparency—Our work in Lean is transparent; it tracks progress, ideas and roadblocks as it untangles the knots of the work environment. DID YOU KNOW ? Governor Jay Inslee cited Lean as the proven methodology for driving out waste (e.g., waiting, excess processing, services and products that don’t meet customer expectations) from agency programs.
Transcript of Transforming Finance and Facilities (F through Lean Winter...
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Transforming Finance and Facilities (F2)through Lean Winter 2013
Welcome to the Lean Newsletter!By V’Ella WarrenSenior Vice President
Welcome to our first ever edition of the Lean Newsletter!
This is an exciting time in Finance & Facilities (F2). We have madetremendous strides since the introduction of Lean in 2010. We started outwith two pilot areas with the idea that Lean would help us rethink the waywe do business and build an engaged, highly motivated, and positiveworkforce. We are over two years into this, and I’m more firmly convincedthan ever that—for us—it’s working!
With over 100 formal teams launched, we have had many opportunities toengage the campus in our improvements, and we have impacted about 150individuals so far by inviting them to actively participate on our teams. Theirinsights and willingness to share personal experiences of how our brokenprocesses have impacted their work are “gifts” that we acknowledge aswhat’s termed ‘customer voice’— a core tenet of Lean thinking.
In this issue we will recognize our incredible progress and highlight someinsights coming from F2 leaders in areas where Lean has really taken holdand matured quickly. We will also take a look at our Lean transition from theperspective of our Lean program sponsors. In future issues we will get to theheart of Lean – the people who implement critical changes, and those whobenefit from them.
Thank you all for your Lean efforts, and for your meaningful contribution toF2’s success. We invite you to learn more, and look forward to yourcontinued participation!
What would you like to see in this newsletter? Please sendyour story ideas or comments to [email protected].
Lean streamlines day-to-daywork activities and processesfor an organization. It engagesthe staff and encourageseveryone to identify and solveproblems…
Lean stimulates employees—Our peopleare energized. Jobs are becoming morefruitful and fulfilling.Lean facilitates collaboration— We(faculty, administrators, and students) cometogether in collaborative partnerships thatsolve problems for the greater good.Lean fosters responsibility—Ourorganizational culture is more positive andinteractive. It fosters ownership andresponsibility among employees.Lean helps us reach our goals—Our Leanjourney is intended to remove the friction andbarriers that too often prevent us fromgetting things done and reaching our goals.Lean removes complexity—Our Leanjourney is designed to make things workmore efficiently in an increasingly complexuniversity.Lean expands transparency—Our work inLean is transparent; it tracks progress, ideasand roadblocks as it untangles the knots ofthe work environment.
DID YOUKNOW ?
Governor Jay Inslee cited Lean as the provenmethodology for driving out waste (e.g.,waiting, excess processing, services andproducts that don’t meet customerexpectations) from agency programs.
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Lean Has Given Us a CommonStandard and a Way to Meetthe StandardBy LuAnn Stokke, Director of OperationalExcellence
“We have a common standard and acommon way to meet the standard.Initially, we thought people would rallyaround performance metrics, but notevery employee connected with that.Lean is a more emotional and personallyrelevant experience. It’s about where ithurts. It impacts people directly. It’s abouthow they work, and their hearts andminds. Now, we’re trying to connect Leanimprovements and culture with metricsand results. It’s not like it was at first,when we tried to just focus on metrics. It’sabout people working and achievingbetter things every single day.”
Lean Has Given Us a Much-Needed Common LanguageCharles Kennedy, Associate Vice President,Facilities Services
“Lean enables our organization to havea much-needed common language. Weare such a diverse and largeorganization, and executing in similarways and sharing a vision just pulls ustogether. We now have a greaterunderstanding and appreciation of eachother’s work. It’s great!”
Lean Has Gotten Us Ahead ofthe CurveSue Camber, Associate Vice President, Researchand Student Fiscal Services
“For the first time, everyone in F2 is usingthe same approach and has the same goals.We’re not moving at the same pace, andwe’re all at different stages of the journey,but we are speaking the same language.
We’re starting to talk about improving theorganization in the same way. We arebuilding an organizational culture together,using the same framework.
Our colleagues like what we’re doing. Theysee our success, and they want to do thethings we’re doing.”
Lean Has Helped Us StayStrong in Tough TimesV’Ella Warren, Senior Vice President
“When you face change or cutbacks fromthe outside, it’s very easy to feel asthough you have no control over yourprofessional life. It’s no fun to cut quicklyand unwind what you and others haveput together over time.
Lean has allowed us to take ourprofessional lives into our own hands.We are not just waiting for the nextbudget cut while our people becomestressed by increased workloads. We areengaging the creativity of people from allparts of our organization, and it’senergizing. Great ideas are coming fromeverywhere within F2. And I meancustodians, painters, accountants,designers—everyone.
Our customers increasingly feel they cancount on us for a good job and theyrealize that we’re using resources wisely.I think that our people feel more valued,and they’re more likely to stay with us. Ilike that idea a lot.”
“Lean is a more emotional and personallyrelevant experience. It’s about where it hurts.It impacts people directly. It’s about how theywork, and their hearts and minds.”We asked our Lean program sponsors to share what they see across the dozensof teams and hundreds of employees engaged so far. Here are some of theirresponses…
Leading with LEAN
“From the moment we arrived at UW,I knew the trip was going to cement in ourminds how to use Lean in a universitysetting: the Lean room at F2 blew me away.Then, V’Ella, Charles, Doug, Ruth, and Sue beganto share with us the high-leveloverview of Lean at UW—needless to say, I was impressed.”
Jess D. CiscoStaff Development CoordinatorCornell University
CORNELL UNIVERSITY VISITSUniversity ofWashington
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Learning to LEANLean changes day-to-day work and the
services delivered to Campus in a positiveway. We asked several unit leaders how their
jobs have changed as a result…
What’s the Best Part ofYour Lean Job?“It’s really being able tostep back and see whathappens when the energyand creativity of the teamare unbridled.”~Josh Kavanagh
Transportation Services
What’s the Best Part of Your LeanJob?“The best part is the excitement thathas occurred. Three years ago, thedepartment was under threat of ashutdown. Then we started to do Lean.People felt there had to be a changethat was quick and thorough. One ofthe most amazing things was that allthe higher-ups came in to see us. Thatwas a big deal that spoke volumesabout the opportunity we had and thesuccess we could achieve.”~ Katy Folk-Way
Copy Services
How Has Lean ChangedYour Team?“There were managers whoused to do things the oldway. That has changed.They appreciate listening,collaborating and sharingwith the teams much morenow.”~ Mariann Woodland
Parking Enforcement
What’s the Most ChallengingPart of Your Lean Job?“We are trying to make everybodyready, to cross-train oneverything. With a heavy workloadon one team, we’ll pull from ateam with less work. We changepriorities in real time.”~ Meg Russ
Grant and Contract Accounting
What’s the Most ChallengingPart of Your Lean Job?“We’re learning about a new wayof working. But it’s hard to getover the hump when it comes toactually making the change andreally transitioning. There aremany tough moments. But thenyou realize you have controlover the process, and you keepgoing forward.”~Mark McKenzie
Citation Appeals
How Has Lean Changed YourTeam?“People communicate moreeffectively... Before Lean, people wereprotective of their stuff and whatthey liked. Now we have an effectiveteam effort. We have broken downand neutralized silos… They arecustomer focused. We run like abusiness, not like a state agency fromthe 1970’s.”~Steven Roberts
Mailing Services
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Since Finance and Facilities’ Lean journey began, Lean has helped us to save both timeand money. Significant improvements and savings from Lean projects conducted to dateinclude…
SOLE-SOURCE PROCUREMENTS—The process for sole-source (noncompetitive) procurement is now20% faster.
(RESEARCH) EQUIPMENT INVENTORY—The process for transferring out equipment has beenreduced in time and complexity by 66%.
PROCUREMENT REFORM—UW’s Controller Ann Anderson is leading a group of procurement expertsfrom Washington’s colleges and universities to assist the State Department of Enterprise Services toreform statewide procurement. The goal: to develop a risk-based matrix that will allow Washington tobetter utilize limited resources.
GRANT & CONTRACT ACCOUNTING—A backlog of 1,129 budget set-ups is now at zero; Federal-sponsor reporting backlogs have been reduced by 90%; the backlog of unbilled research is down to$2.6 million, from a high of $15 million; and the backlog of budget closings has dropped from 5,478 to700.
UW MASTER CONTRACTS—Purchasing Services achieved savings of $84 million from January 2009-June 2012 via purchases made through university-wide contracts.
MATERIALS MANAGEMENT—The Facilities Services Stores/Shops Materials Management ProcessLean team has improved “materials delivered by the date needed” from 46% to 90%.
DIRECT-DEPOSIT—The Payroll Office improved direct-deposit participation, saving $10,000 per month.And, for the 6 months ended July 2012, the Travel Office and Procurement Services made 25,467 directdeposits, yielding $50,000 in savings.
COPY SERVICES—Overtime costs are down by over 44% in the printing and copy production areas ofCreative Communications.
CITATION APPEALS—The Commuter Services Citation Appeals Lean team reduced the cycle time forresolution of parking citation appeals from an average of 56 days to 3-10 days.
CAMPUS PARKING OPERATIONS—The Commuter Services Parking Enforcement Lean team hasworked in conjunction with Parking Operations staff to reduce parking citations dismissed due to officererror by 58%.
INVOICING SUPPLIERS—The UW’s Accounts Payable unit now delivers on-time payment in 95% of allcases; and invoice discrepancy-resolution, which used to average 45 days, now averages 14 days.
Have an Idea?We encourage all employees to share ideas,
big and small, for improving efficiency.If you have an idea, please share it with usat [email protected]
Want to See Lean in Action?Contact us via email at [email protected] for a tour of “Lean Central”.
Cutting Out the Fat with LEAN
