Press Releases

August 2004

For Immediate Release

NEW SYSTEM FOR UNLOCKING PRODUCTIVITY IN OFFICE ENABLES ORGANIZATION TO BECOME TOTAL LEAN ENTERPRISE

New York… Most companies implement lean only in the production areas of their organizations and ignore non-production areas. But lean success in manufacturing areas may be limited to a productivity increase of only 35 to 40% over several years. What manufacturers fail to realize is, with 90% of waste eliminating opportunities to be found outside of the shop floor, their lean goal should really be a 400% improvement in productivity over 10 years.

In Productivity Press', The Complete Lean Enterprise --Value Stream Mapping for Administrative and Office Processes, authors Beau Keyte and Drew Locher contend that much of the untapped potential for improvement in an enterprise's productivity lies in non-production areas where the enterprise has yet to understand or embrace lean thinking and principles. One of the major obstacles in applying lean principles to non-production areas has been the inability to apply systems thinking in identifying value, waste and flow in non-production or support areas.

With The Complete Lean Enterprise, however, Keyte and Locher expand the use of the proven Value Stream Mapping (VSM) tool to administrative and office operations — the "order to cash" value stream. This expanded VSM helps users "see" administrative waste, identify its sources and develop a future state that eliminates it. The outcome is that available resources can be targeted toward those activities completely necessary to create value, making it easier for manufacturers to leverage their lean efforts throughout the entire enterprise.

In The Complete Lean Enterprise, Keyte and Locher expand the VSM tool with:

• Discussions on office waste.
• Definitions and discussions of office performance metrics.
• Functional lean perspectives.
• Case studies representing two levels (altitudes) of mapping. The first level is the main case study discussed throughout the book; an appendix presents the second level.
• Examples of companies applying lean thinking in the office throughout the book.

List price is $45.00. Complimentary review copies are available to media contacts by calling (212) 216-7865 or by e-mailing: leon.carter@taylorandfrancis.com.

About the Authors

Beau Keyte, founder of Branson, Inc., a management consulting firm specializing in the application of lean manufacturing strategies and techniques, began his lean career in the mid-1980'-s at the Ford Motor Company. Clients span a wide array of industries including automotive, pharmaceutical, chemical, healthcare, financial services, consumer products, industrial goods and transportation. While focusing his lean implementation efforts on and off the shop floor, Keyte has successfully adapted many lean techniques to the front office. He is also a faculty member and instructor at the Lean Enterprise Institute, Ford Motor Company, the University of Michigan, Ohio State University and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

Drew Locher is Managing Director for Change Management Associates (CMA), a firm that provides Lean Enterprise Consulting and Organizational Development services to industrial and service organizations across industries as varied as healthcare, transportation, distribution, education, financial services and manufacturing. He first became involved in the development and delivery of innovative business improvement programs while working for General Electric in the 1980'-s. Locher is a member of the American Production and Inventory Control Society (APICS), American Society for Quality (ASQ) and the Association for Manufacturing Excellence (AME).

About Productivity Press

Founded to provide world-class guidance for every level of an organization, Productivity Press is unrivaled in publishing high-quality material on lean manufacturing and business improvement.  Our books, learning tools and newsletter, Lean Manufacturing Advisor, are designed to help educate and support organizations in their efforts to implement the advanced management and manufacturing methodologies required to compete in today’s global business environment.

ADVANCE PRAISE FOR:

The Complete Lean Enterprise — Value Stream Mapping for Administrative and Office Processes

By Beau Keyte and Drew Locher

"The Complete Lean Enterprise is an excellent tool to guide the enterprising manager to a new lean process solution. The step-by-step instructions are easy for the beginner to follow, and the lean examples, team exercises, and mapping tips add a credible voice of experience to the manuscript. And, best of all, 'It works!' "

Kent Sears, Vice President
Manufacturing Processes and Lean Implementation
General Motors Corporation

"Keyte and Locher have provided a valuable contribution for identifying strategic operational value streams for administrative and office processes. They demonstrate that the next generation of waste identification and elimination is in the business support functions."

Dr. Ross E. Robson
Executive Director
Shingo Prize for Excellence in Manufacturing Utah State University

"Since 1998, many lean practitioners rushed to see if the VSM method could be applied to the office environment. It mostly proved to be a confounding matter. Then the word on the street was that Drew Locher and Beau Keyte had cracked the equation. I arranged to learn their method directly from them. It was true. Their method is practical, pragmatic and can easily be transferred to others. This is the book. This is the Rosetta stone for VSM."

Tom Berghan
Manager, Lean Systems
Esterline Korry

"Beau and Drew have developed a strategic lean tool that connects the value stream management of manufacturing processes to the rest of the enterprise! This tool applies to Office and Manufacturing processes, providing a systematic approach to eliminate waste along the entire product delivering value stream."

Ron Fardell
Director of Lean
Textron, Inc.

"Keyte and Locher have written a smart, clear guide to unleashing the power of value stream mapping and lean thinking in office environments. This book is a must-read for leaders struggling to remove waste, reduce time, and improve responsiveness in white-collar processes. I expect to see well-worn copies of The Complete Lean Enterprise in offices everywhere — it deserves a spot next to Learning to See."

Peter Ward
Professor of Operations Management
Fisher College of Business, Ohio State University

For more information on The Complete Lean Enterprise, or any of Productivity Press’ other titles, call 1 (888) 319-5852 or email info@productivitypress.com.