Leveling; smoothing out the flow; e.g., doing two performance evaluations a day for 3 weeks, rather than ten a day for three days -- and then needing to take a vacation because you're so burned out.

Overburdening people, process, or equipment; e.g., people working 100 hour weeks for months on end -- come to think of it, like most lawyers and accountants.

Uneveness or variability; e.g., leaving work at the normal time on Thursday, but having to stay at the office till midnight on Friday because the boss finally got around to giving you that project...at 4:30pm.

Waste; activities that your customer doesn't value and doesn't want to pay for; e.g., billing your customer for the really expensive 10am FedEx delivery because you didn't finish the document on time.

The WorkLean Program

WorkLean is conducted with small groups of individuals in an organization, division, or department, ideally from the top down.

Session One

Architecture: Participants are guided through the design of a customized filing system that will reduce the waste of time and effort of retrieving information in a chaotic environment. The bulk of the day is spent in implementation, with the coach assisting in the reorganization of the participant's own work area according to his or her individual design. The creation of this architecture in the office is analogous to the application of 5S to a manufacturing workspace.
Process: Participants learn two work habits designed to help them process information more efficiently and move value forward. They also learn to overcome the obstacles to implementing these habits.

Session Two (3-4 weeks later)

Architecture: Participants learn how to apply their individual filing structure to their electronic files, including email. Special attention will be given to using the less-obvious features of MS Outlook or Lotus Notes. Again, the bulk of the day is spent in implementation, with the coach assisting participants in this task and tailoring it to meet individual needs.
Process: Participants acquire three additional work habits to reduce the “inventory” of information that forms when information backs up instead of flowing smoothly through the organization.

Session Three (3-4 weeks later)

Planning: The focus of this session is on Planning. Participants learn how to apply heijunka principles to “level the flow” of their work by developing effective project implementation plans. These plans enable participants to budget time, manage expectations, and consistently meet deadlines, while reducing their stress level. At the end of the day, the tasks for the majority of their ongoing projects have been mapped, responsibilities assigned, intermediate target dates determined, and completion dates set.
Process: Participants review the five key work habits for managing the flow of information and set implementation goals for each one.

Session Four (6-8 weeks later, if desired)
Participants reconvene for a half-day to review core WorkLean principles (Architecture, Process, and Planning), identify obstacles to implementation, and develop solutions to those problems.