“Lean” best practices—doing things faster, better and cheaper through continuous improvement and measurement—have been a staple of the manufacturing world for years, with impressive results for the companies that implemented them.
Now, it's interesting to see Lean principles advancing into the insurance space as well, in which operational efficiencies are applied to carrier's “manufacturing” operations—in this case, the technology.
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The effort was first launched in late 2009, and Nationwide reports about $2 million return for its efforts already.
Mimi Chizever, VP for claims technology at the insurance company, is quoted as observing that the projects were turned around “three or four months,” and serve as good demonstrations of Lean capabilities for the rest of the company.
Speaking at at the Gartner CIO Leadership Forum in Scottsdale, Ariz., Chizever says the ultimate focus of Lean is building work around customer needs.
"Lean does a great job of helping to identify that we're doing the right work with the right way with the right people."
Last year, I published “
1) Focus on the customer and eliminate waste. “
2) Automate processes.
3) Continuously improve.
4) Empower the team.
5) Build quality in.
6) Plan for change.
7) Optimize the whole
Joe McKendrick is an author, consultant, blogger and frequent INN contributor specializing in information technology.
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