ABSTRACT
The completed visual map for the targeted higher education process, coupled with a clear understanding of what the beneficiaries of the process value and expect, provides the LHE Project Team members with critical information to begin their disciplined approach to identify and eliminate waste and improve flow. In contrast to internal or external consultants who might focus on the most visible problems (or problems aligned with their expertise or interest), LHE offers a systematic approach that builds on the team’s personal familiarity and experiences to recognize and remove both visible and hidden waste and establish an uninterrupted flow across the entire process. The visual map of the process as it currently exists allows LHE Project Team members to see the wide variety of waste that adds no value from the perspective of the beneficiary and disrupts the smooth flow of the process. The LHE team can then propose a set of LHE solutions that follows from a set of Lean practices and techniques with demonstrated success in eliminating waste and improving flow to create a future process that provides greater value to the beneficiaries, makes better use of the talents of employees, and reduces costs for the university.
