8607-523 Preparing to Apply Lean Production and Improvement Methodologies to Operational Problems in Service Delivery

Unit Overview

8607-523 Preparing to apply lean production and improvement methodologies to operational problems in service delivery is a unit within the ILM Level 5 qualification in leadership and management that builds understanding operational strategies. The contemporary corporate sector is characterised by the need to identify and implement efficient and relevant approaches to operation. This includes being able to adapt cost and time-efficient methods of production and service delivery which makes the organisation achieve a level of competitiveness that is required to succeed within the existing markets both in terms of customers and in the labour markets.

Lean production is one of the approaches that can be implemented within the workplace to improve the ability of the organisation to achieve the desired levels of performance in service delivery. 8607-523 Preparing to apply lean production and improvement methodologies to operational problems in service delivery is a unit that focuses on improving the understanding of the stakeholders within the organisation on the need to adapt improved operational methodologies.

This unit aims at enabling the learners to be able to prepare service improvement using lean production and improvement methodologies. The unit is, therefore, versatile as it improves the professional and personal capabilities to contribute to the organisational goals and objectives in different ways. The unit is taught in 8 hours of guided learning and has a credit value of 8 which contributes to awards for the completion of the module.

Suitability of the Unit

Leaders within the organisation must be able to adapt effective operational strategies that contribute towards the success of the organisation. This involves being able to select operational methodologies based on lean production and improvement methodologies to solve problems and address the expectation in relation to service delivery. The leaders must also be able to conduct an effective benchmark and evaluation to determine the efficiency of the approaches within the organisation. 8607-523 Preparing to apply lean production and improvement methodologies to operational problems in service delivery is a unit that is highly suitable for leaders within the organisational context.

This unit helps them to understand the need for using such approaches as lean production and improvement techniques in operational approaches and meet the service delivery goals and objectives hence making the organisation highly competitive within the market. The unit is designed to meet the learning needs of middle managers. It helps this manager to create an effective project that utilises lean production and improvement techniques within the workplace.

This also helps them to evaluate the performance of these approaches in accomplishing the desired goals using different key performance indicators such as service delivery and customer satisfaction. The unit helps the managers to identify strategies and techniques that support the use of these technologies within their areas of responsibility. However, the unit is not limited to middle managers. Executive managers and junior managers also have a responsibility to develop methodologies for operational problems and improve service delivery. The content of this unit can help to improve their capabilities in handling these responsibilities effectively. Employees can also pursue the unit to prepare them for leadership positions within their organisations.

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of the unit, the learner should be able to:

• Understand a range of lean production and improvement methods that are effective and appropriate for measuring and analysing service delivery problems

• Compare and contrast lean production and improvement methods that are employed within the organisation to identify the most beneficial to the organisation

• Describe an element of service delivery that requires improvement

• Develop a recommendation in form of a project proposal that uses lean production and improvement methods to create service improvement within the area of responsibility.

Key Learning Areas

8607-523 Preparing to apply lean production and improvement methodologies to operational problems in service delivery is a unit that focuses on adapting strategies for improved service delivery. The main areas that are covered within this unit include:

Lean Production and Improvement Methods within the Workplace

This area of learning lays the basic principles and foundation for understanding lean production and improvement techniques. It provides the learners with the understanding of principles of lean production which include six sigma, kaizen/ continuous improvement and other related models. The learners are also guided on the techniques that they can use to identify, define and analyse a problem which focuses on identifying root causes and ensuring that the solutions developed are based on wholesome solving of the problem. Other areas of learning include the procedure of developing the project proposal that is used to make recommendations for lean production and improvement techniques to address service delivery. They are also taught on various organisational drives that are related to improvement projects and the impact of these drivers on successful delivery within the workplace.

Developing Recommendations Based on Lean Production and Improvement Methodologies

This area of learning is designed to improve the ability of the leaders to effectively implement the learned concept within their professional practice. The learners are introduced to problem measurement techniques and data analysis methods that are important in understanding the service delivery issues identified within the workplace. These lessons include the ability to conduct both analysis of the data and to present it in diagrammatic forms that are measured to interpret. The learners are also taught the differences between trivial many and significant few variations, which are critical in understanding the causes for variations.

Evaluation

On completing this unit, the learners are required to exhibit mastery of both theoretical and practical skills applicable to the organisations. This mastery is therefore evaluated using different means that include a written assessment, supervised practice and simulated exercises. The assessment techniques are used both in the formative and summative phases of learning to ensure that learning objectives are met and the outcomes achieved.