Table of Contents
Cover Story:
Only Time Will Tell
A look ahead at what 2007 will mean for Rockland
Feature Story:
How Will He Do That?
Hector May has big plans for the RBA
DEPARTMENTS:
Economics Roundup
• The Smart Investor
Try a financial diet in 2007
• Economic
Viewpoint
Coming to America or conundrum continued
Business Roundup
• Office Efficiency
Streamlining office operations through lean processes
• Marketing By Design
Branding your image - it's not just for the "big" guys
Ask The Experts
• Business Start-ups
Getting your basics together
• Is It Tax Season Yet?
Your tax questions answered
Retail Round-Up
• Feast or Famine
Taking the pulse of the local restaurant biz
• In The News
Invest in Your Community
• Heart of a Lyon
Former Jet delivers an inspirational message
• Family Shelter Honors
First-ever program recognizes community contributions
Odds & Ends
• From The Publishers
• PR Patter
Dedicated Section:
Rockland Business Association:
The President’s Desk
All in all, it was a very good year
Handing Over The Torch
Annual membership luncheon introduces new RBA board
RBA Happenings
• Committee and Council Info
• Calendar of Events
• New Members
Business
Roundup:
Streaming Office Operations
Through Lean Processes
By Phil Van Oss
Lean for Office – What is It?
Quite simply, it’s the elimination of wasteful steps or actions within an office environment to improve the workflow for more profitability. The goal of Lean is to eliminate non-productive activities to make daily operations more streamlined and thereby more profitable.
To apply a highly successful method for improving customer satisfaction by focusing on delivering what a business’ customers want when they want it. This objective is reached by making significant improvements in how a business is operated and managed, or by simply making minor changes that could significantly impact how a business operates.
What Types of Businesses Can Utilize Lean Principles?
All types of businesses. A hospital, for instance, is simply a large office that needs to be managed. Applying Lean Principles can make their billing process faster resulting in faster payment returns. Lean can also improve patient care by providing more time for doctors and nurses to spend with patients and less time on wasteful activities.
Application depends on the activities of personnel, how aggressively management wants to change, how many divisions within a company can be evaluated for change, timeline of desired needs and improvements, etc. Long established companies may not be ready to make changes too fast. Progressive companies may be ready for more innovative changes at a faster pace.
Where Is Lean Applied?
In some offices Lean Principles can be applied to the actual layout of the desks or the work area. The goal is to create a smoother flow of paperwork, data or materials between workstations. By taking an objective look at how paperwork, data or materials are handled everyday within one office or within an entire business, ‘gaps’ or ‘blocks’ to smooth operations can be identified and methods can be applied for greater productivity and profitable operations.
Who Applies Lean Principles Within a Business?
Typically it’s administrators and their administrative departments ranging from presidents and executive directors to their customer service, purchasing and sales departments to accounting and human resources. Lean can be effectively applied to any process within a business that involves a number of steps and/or staff members, including the production and delivery of a product and/or service.
Why Apply Lean Principles?
To recognize areas of operations that are hindering the smooth operations of a business and thereby diminishing the profit margins. To organize operate, and manage a business to be significantly more efficient, productive and profitable. Bottom line: To reap the largest profits from the investment of money, time and energy into a business. RBD
Phil Van Oss is Project Engineer for Hudson Valley Technology Development Center. HVTDC is a not-for-profit business resource center in Fishkill, NY that helps companies improve the workflow of their offices. To learn more, visit www.hvtdc.org, or contact Phyllis Levine at 845-896-6934 ext. 3001 or via e-mail to plevine@hvtdc.org.
