Lean in the Service Sector: Does It Work?

Описание: Do operational excellence and continuous improvement really work in the service sector?
Absolutely — but with some important differences to keep in mind.

Most of my work has been with manufacturing, but I’ve also supported banks, municipalities, insurance firms and other service providers. The principles don’t change — flow, stability, capability, and control are just as important. What does change is how we apply them. Hospitals, for example, resemble factories in many ways, making Lean particularly effective. Banks, on the other hand, rely more on data-driven processes, where standardisation and flow are still critical, but Six Sigma’s variation reduction focus is harder to implement.

Lean is generally the strongest fit for service-sector operations, where creating smooth, interruption-free processes brings immediate benefits to both customers and staff. Six Sigma tools can still add value, particularly in defining and tracking defects, and TPM thinking also plays a background role in ensuring people, methods, and systems are reliable. What matters most is selecting the right approach for the environment and understanding how the same tools translate across industries.

The takeaway: operational excellence isn’t just for factories. The same toolkit applies — whether you’re in a call centre, a hospital, or a mortgage department — but you’ll need to adapt your focus to what really drives performance in that setting.

#OperationalExcellence #ContinuousImprovement #LeanSixSigma
   • Lean in the Service Sector: Does It Work?  

0:00 Are these concepts valid for service?
1:32 Industry versus service applications
3:09 Hospitals as people factories
6:18 Why Lean works so well in services
9:00 The limits of Six Sigma in services
12:55 Where TPM fits (and where it doesn’t)
15:57 What CI specialists can bring across sectors
18:40 Closing thoughts

Interested in working with me to boost Operational Excellence in your organisation, or perhaps a more personal coaching on your CI career? Check out my website for details or go to my contacts page directly (www.tommentink.com/contact).