Office productivity: lean processes in administration through a Multi-Moment Analysis (MMA). Photo: Shutterstock
Administrative processes hold valuable optimisation potential. In classical production, waste is identified through direct observation. For knowledge workers — who work with data and a computer — that approach does not work. This is where the Multi-Moment Analysis (MMA) comes in for indirect functions. An MMA reveals non-value-adding activities in offices, administration and service businesses. The statistical method is a lean management instrument. It identifies waste and ensures that so-called “necessary waste” is minimised and that redundant administrative processes can be avoided.
Effective transformation: non-value-adding activities turn into value-adding activities. Graphic: Lean Group
A differentiated look at administrative activity pays off in particular at the senior leadership level or in multi-site organisations. “Experience tells us it is significantly more effective to convert non-value-adding activities into value creation than to focus on improving the value-adding activities alone,” says Lean Group consultant Shishir Ballal.
Efficiency loss through redundant activity. Graphic: Lean Group
The required data is collected statistically over a meaningful period and recorded in an MMA matrix. Participants record the type and duration of their activities at randomly selected points in time, guided by concrete questions. They use a numbering system in pre-built tables. Analysing this detailed and therefore extremely large data set produces a picture of every regular work step and the time it consumes across the indirect functions of the company. It shows which processes can subsequently be made leaner and better organised.
Possible improvement targets after a Multi-Moment Analysis. Graphic: Lean Group
The lean concept distinguishes several types of waste. In an office these include waiting times, inefficient meetings, redundant email traffic, confusing filing systems and the lengthy search for information. Time saved here can be invested in value-adding work, for example in engineering. “In offices and administration there is even another dimension of waste at play,” Shishir Ballal says. “The waste of underutilised people.” Sensible structures make optimal use of the skills and intelligence of the workforce. After a Multi-Moment Analysis, responsibilities can be allocated more efficiently, capabilities can be deployed more productively and business goals can be reached faster.
Timo Schellerhoff