Lean review process for Council-wide use

• Efficiency-driven initiative to transform service delivery
• In-depth ‘lean reviews’ of processes used in Council services 

Wokingham, Berkshire March 3, 2008 - Sequena, the UK based business transformation company announced today that North Hertfordshire District Council (North-Herts) has recently gone live with Sequena's do-it-yourself MyLASER programme for transforming Council services.

North-Herts has developed a programme with Sequena for transformation services, and has adopted the MyLASER ‘lean approach’ programme as their transformation methodology. The key focus of the approach is to deliver ‘Efficiencies and Service Transformation’ in line with the latest Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR07) published by the Government in November. 

Within North-Herts, the methodology (LASER^TM – Lean Approach to Service Evaluation and Re-engineering) will be used to deliver the Organisation Development Strategy & Efficiency Financial Service Review.

Sequena’s MyLASER^TM ‘lean approach’ programme addresses the following aspects:

• Transfer of knowledge to enable the in-house team to deliver future reviews
• Robust lean review method to challenge the current methods of delivery
• Identification of baseline numbers
• Detailed value stream process maps of the current processes
• Roadmap of the proposed actions with recommendations for:
  • Staffing impact
  • Identification of efficiencies
  • Implementation of automation, integration and mobile working

"We wanted to go further than Gershon-based business process improvement (BPI) reviews and needed to do something more radical to literally transform service delivery." said John Robinson, Strategic Director at the Council. "We decided to follow the ‘lean systems’ approach to identify and kick-start transformational change across the Council. We now have a transformation team in place utilising Sequena’s MyLASER ‘lean approach’ programme which has already delivered cashable savings and real performance improvement in quick time".

The LASER^TM ‘lean approach’ reviews initially started within the “Service at North-Herts programme” managed by Anite, to enable North-Herts to prove benefits achieved to date, prove benefits going forward for and save significant monies on an on-going basis in service areas across the Council.

Since early summer 2007, the following service areas have had LASER^TM lean service reviews to bring about transformation in service delivery, develop team working and make appreciable savings:

• Environmental Services (new Waste & Recycling service with AWC)
• Housing (CHRA)
• Planning (Planning Applications, Appeals, Enforcement, LDF Monitoring & Consultation)
• Building Control (Building Control Applications and Site Inspections); and 
• Bus Passes.

About Sequena
Sequena are transformation experts providing software tools and services to achieve significant cost savings and performance improvement of service delivery in the public sector. Sequena help Councils and NHS Trusts to carry out service transformation. More information: www.sequena.com

About MyLASER^TM
Sequena have developed MyLASER^TM as a people-based ‘lean approach’ programme for service and process reviews utilising a value stream visualisation tool combined with a ‘lean systems’ methodology with proven practical implementation. For more information please click here. 

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