When discussing the implementation of lean processes in school systems, leaders are often concerned with cost and rightfully so.  In many situations, environmental circumstances force schools to spend less and less per pupil.  Every dollar must count.  People must question whether or not their system can afford lean initiatives.  As a small business owner, I understand financial constraints and the importance of investing in initiatives that have a high return on investment (ROI).  I too question salespeople who offer their service or product as the magic potion that will cure all ills.  However, as a lean practitioner who has repeatedly seen the benefit of lean in several industries including K-12 public education, I do not think “How expensive is it to implement lean processes” is the only question a system should consider.  Perhaps some additional questions to consider are “How much are lost resources (time, energy, money, etc.) costing our school system?” and “What does it cost our students for our school system to not be as effective and as efficient as possible?”

If you are in a situation where you have to do more with less, but feel like there is absolutely nothing else you could cut, perhaps you should look at an area in which lean tools are very useful- developing, improving and sustaining processes/procedures.  (Note:  Although there is a technical difference between processes and procedures, the terms should not be considered mutually exclusive.  Since many school districts utilize the term procedures, I will use the terms interchangeably.) Let’s look at the cost of developing procedures vs. the cost of developing lean procedures and let’s compare that with the costs of not developing procedures (and also with the cost of not developing effective processes and not following processes).  Since every school system is different, we will look at “cost” in general terms rather than in dollar figures.  At the end of this blog, I’ll provide some questions so you can calculate costs for your system.

What does it Cost to Develop Procedures?

To be sure, there are costs associated with developing procedures.  Traditionally, a knowledgeable person has to take the time to research information, identify best practices and write out the procedures and corresponding work instructions, forms and reference materials.  Once developed, these procedures have to be reviewed by managers and department heads that are often seeing the process for the first time when it has been brought in for review and approval. In some cases board and/or attorney review is required.  Once approved, the procedures must be distributed to the relevant team members.  Appropriate document revision controls must be put in place to ensure that the team members are utilizing the most up to date version of the process.  Team member training will be required to ensure people understand the entire process and their individual and group roles in the process flow.  Finally, someone needs to follow up to ensure that the established, documented procedures are actually being used rather than simply put on a shelf somewhere and only pulled out when there are audits or other compliance checks.  Researching, writing, reviewing, approving, distributing, training, following up and evaluating all take time and time is money.  This cost can be reduced by using a lean approach to process/procedure development. 

What does it Cost to Develop Lean Procedures?

The cost of developing lean procedures is no more than the cost it takes to develop procedures in the traditional way outlined above.  Both require labor costs.  However, developing procedures using lean approaches usually cost less when done using a Rapid Improvement Event approach.

In a Rapid Improvement Event approach, the people who work the process and the key stakeholders of process inputs and outputs design the standard operating procedures to ensure the procedure works efficiently and effectively for all those who are touched by the procedures (or all those who work an area of the procedure).  Those most intimately involved in the process study it to remove wasteful activities and improve process flow.  Throughout the RIE, managers and department heads receive daily report outs/updates allowing opportunity to correct or re-direct the team if necessary.  These daily updates also promote early buy-in.  Early buy-in saves time, energy and possibly hurt feelings later on in the review/approval stages and helps ensure processes will be followed.  With the RIE approach, team member training is significantly reduced because the team doing the work is the team who designed and documented the entire process.

Once the work team develops the processes, ideally they would be tied to Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that allow for real time measurement and ensure the process is functioning.  If not, improvements can be made if there are issues in the process or if changes in the environment create process inefficiencies.   Taken as a whole, performance, continuous improvement of the process, and compliance can be tied to employee evaluations to ensure that the procedures are being used, to provide a formal mechanism for sharing best practices by those most in involved in the process/procedure, and to help sustain improvements.

Both the traditional and lean methods of procedure have labor costs.  But what are the costs and consequences of not developing and documenting processes either traditionally or using a lean approach?

What is the cost of not developing and documenting procedures?

A process/procedure is a series of actions or steps taken in order to achieve a particular end.  At every stage in the process, one or more resources (time, energy, money, etc.) are consumed as you are working to achieve a particular end, whether it is developing curriculum, purchasing supplies, disciplining students, hiring employees or preparing meals.  Processes help establish clear expectations-expectations about effective ways of “getting the job done,” expectations about appropriate behavior, and expectations about results.  Abuse, fraud and waste can occur without these clear expectations.  Not having clear procedures for procuring supplies, equipment and services can invite fraud or lead to overspending.  Not having clear procedures for disciplining children or hiring employees can invite abuse (abuse of people, abuse of power).  Not removing wasteful activities from the hiring process or in meal preparation procedures can cause districts to lose the best teachers or lose potential revenue.  Even when school systems have formal procedures, if they are unknown, ignored, ineffective and/or inefficient, significant abuse, fraud and especially waste can occur.  The benefit of developing lean procedures is that lean procedures are efficient and effective, making the best use of available resources to maximize student value.

So, how do you answer “Can we afford to implement lean procedures?” or “Can we afford not to implement lean procedures?”  I have provided some questions to help with making that determination.  If you have questions or would like to learn more about lean in K-12 public education, drop us a line at: info@theleanleap.com

Does each department/function in your system have documented, standardized procedures? 

Do staff members or parents struggle to find the correct version of forms, procedures, and reference materials?  Does this lead to re-work or frustration in having to search?

Have established processes/procedures been reviewed by those who do the work to remove wasteful activities or steps in the process/procedure?

Do team members understand their role in the process/procedure and how their role impacts others?

Do the necessary people know and follow established standardized procedures?

How much time is spent training and re-training team members/work groups on procedures?

Do procedures with multiple parties have a clear understanding of who is responsible for ensuring the procedure works efficiently and effectively?

Are the people daily performing the standardized processes/procedures empowered to make improvements to reduce wasteful activities or improve outcomes?

Is there a formal mechanism in place for those most intimately involved in the process/procedure to make improvements and share best practices? 

Are staff members focused on providing effective and efficient practices for students, parents and each other?