Lean Six Sigma For Law Firms Why are we here?

2/12/2015
Lean Six Sigma For Law Firms
Debbie Foster
Affinity Consulting Group
Why are we here?
People
Process
Technology
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Solving Problems with Technology
What we
know
What we
don’t
know
What we don’t
know we don’t
know
What Is Lean Six Sigma?
LEAN
LEAN SIX
SIGMA
SIX SIGMA
Why Lean Six Sigma?
Eliminate
Waste
Increased
Profitability
Benefits
Happier
Employees
Eliminate
Mistakes
Delight
Clients
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Focus.
VALUE
Who Defines Value?
The Client
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How Do You Define Value?
1. It changes the client’s situation
2. The client is willing to pay for it
3. It’s done right the first time.
Why It Doesn’t Work
Another Take
He who would learn to fly one day
must first learn to stand and walk
and run and climb and dance; one
cannot fly into flying. - Friedrich
Nietzsche
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The Discipline of Market Leaders
Technology
People
Process
Operational Efficiency
LEAN SIX SIGMA TOOLS
Most Helpful Tools
• Understanding Waste
• Business Process Improvement
(Process Mapping)
• Identifying Root Causes
• 5S
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Defects
Extra
Processing
OverProduction
8 Deadly
WASTES
Motion
Waiting
Nonutilized
talent
Inventory
Transport
Defects
How many times have you written off your time
or the time of your associates or paralegals
because you knew you couldn’t charge your
client for fixing mistakes?
Overproduction
REMEMBER: If you’re not adding value,
you’re creating waste!
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Waiting
Question: How much valuable time does
your firm lose as a result of waiting?
Answer: Too much
Non-Utilized Talent
ONE SURE FIRE WAY TO KILL MORALE IS TO
IGNORE THE TALENTS YOUR PEOPLE BRING
TO THE OFFICE EACH AND EVERY DAY
Transportation
When files move from office to office, and that is
how people know what to work on that day,
there is an inefficient process at play.
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Inventory
If you want to find a bottleneck in a law firm,
look for the office with the “piles of files.”
Guess who the bottleneck usually is. YOU.
Motion
Wasted motion can also create the sense that
people are busy. But being BUSY doesn’t mean
you’re adding value.
Extra Processing
Extra processing DOES NOT CREATE VALUE.
It INCREASES COSTS.
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BUSINESS PROCESS
IMPROVEMENT
You Know What It Is
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Another Focus
Cash Flow/Profitability
• 2 Sources
– External Customers
– Internal Processes
Problem Solving Process
• D – Define the problem
• M – Measure the problem
• A – Analyze the root cause of the problem
• I – Improve the process
• C – Control the process
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Another Take
• F – Focus on the specific problem
• I – Improve the process
• S – Sustain the improvement
• H – Honor your progress
But HOW Do You Do It?
•
•
•
•
With the right people
With the right facts
At the right time
With the intention of incremental
improvement
Process Mapping
Why Process Map?
• It is critical that you start with
understanding and analyzing your
current way of working
• Only then can you redesign and improve
• You will be able to use the
process/model as a way to implement
standardization in the way you work
• You can better communicate with other
internal groups and external entities
• It is a great way to train new employees
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What is a process map?
• A process map describes in detail a
series of steps or actions that when
executed properly, deliver an output with
a predictable outcome
• Everyone works in the process
• Maps are a visual way of describing the
process
• A learning opportunity that can bring a
team together to really analyze how the
work gets done
What use is process mapping?
Identifies –
• The way you CURRENTLY do a task
• Delays and Bottlenecks
• Unnecessary steps that do not add
value/are waste
• Duplication and rework points
Building the Future State
• How many steps and handoffs (passing
the ball from one person to another)?
• Time between each step - any delays
and why?
• Where are the bottlenecks or queues?
• Steps that do / do not add value?
• How many steps for the member/BP user
and are they built in for a reason?
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Building the Future State
• Where are the problems?
• What do the clients complain about?
• Where are there things done more than
once?
• What does staff complain about?
• Have you got all the data you need?
• If not what is your plan to complete the
map?
• Can you eliminate any waste?
• Can you eliminate any steps?
Example of Current State Map
Lead time 69 days (13.8 weeks)
Cycle time: 4.5 days (0.9 weeks)
Example of the Future State Map
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IDENTIFYING ROOT CAUSES
The 5 Whys
Why?
Why?
Why?
Why?
Why?
5S
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What is 5S
•
•
•
•
•
Sort
Set in Order
Shine/Sweep
Systematize
Sustain
A Factory of One
Not Just About Your Desk…
•
•
•
•
Emails
Research
Advertisements
Electronic Document Storage
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Sort
Eliminate the clutter
Remove all items from your work area that are not
needed (Red Tag it)
Set in Order
Organize and label, set boundaries and
limits
Create a place for everything and put everything in Its
place
Shine
Clean everything, inside and out
Establish a new level of cleanliness in the workplace
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Standardize
Formalize the first 3 “S”: Sort, Set in Order,
Shine
Keep checklists
Make them visual
Keep everything in a
state of readiness
Sustain
Maintain the process
Make a commitment to continue
5S as a way of life at work
How To Make It Work
• No magic
• No skinny pill
• Nothing simple
“Culture change isn’t like flipping a light
switch. People are slow to adopt changes
that they can’t perceive as beneficial. Pig
headed persistence is one of the keys to
implementing Lean Six Sigma.” – Jay
Arthur, author, Lean Six Sigma Demystified
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2 Mindsets
• Innovation
• Improvement
Risk Free LSS
•
•
•
•
•
•
Start Small
Set a big goal
Fly under the radar
Create initial success
Fight the urge to take it all on
Keep it as simple as possible, but no
simpler
How to Pick a Project
A project worth doing
One you can directly control
Data is available
With people who want to solve the
problem
• The appropriate LSS resources
•
•
•
•
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~Peter F. Drucker
It starts at the beginning…
“What if we don’t change at all…and
something magical just happens?”
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Ultimately…
• Learning more about Lean Six Sigma
should change the way you approach
problem solving, and should take you
to a mindset where you are constantly
looking to improve.
Resources
• www.thelawfirmrevolution.com
(download the waste e-book)
• Lean Six Sigma Demystified
• A Factory of One
• Lean Six Sigma for Service
• Traction and Get a Grip
• Good to Great
• 5 Dysfunctions of a Team
Thank you!
QUESTIONS?
Debbie Foster
Affinity Consulting Group
727-544-5400
[email protected]
www.affinityconsulting.com/dcala
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