Lean thinking: planning and implementation in the public sector

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyse how Lean office planning and implementation take place in a Brazilian regulatory agency and to investigate the adjustments needed for its implementation. Design/methodology/approach A longitudinal case study was conducted. Interview was the main source of evidence. Between September and October 2012, data about the planning phase were collected; between April and May 2015, Lean office implementation was investigated. Altogether, five employees of the agency were interviewed. Findings The agency assumed its mission as value for the user, establishing control process, evaluating and improving processes to achieve perfection and recognising its weakness in a continuous improvement culture. Planning and implementation of Lean office in the regulatory agency followed the main recommendations in the literature. However, adjustments were necessary in accordance with the particularities of the public institution. Research limitations/implications Owing to the nature of this study, no generalisation was possible. Moreover, interviews with managers were about both Lean planning, which has taken place in the past, and Lean implementing, which is still running; thus, some information may be abstruse. Practical implications It was possible to list the main adjustments needed for planning and implementing the Lean office in the public agency and some are applicable for other public administration bodies. Originality/value Lean office studies are mainly related to private organizations, but this paper demonstrates that their fundamentals are preserved in public service, and thus it proved that Lean thinking may be applied to the public administration. It also raised a series of questions for future studies.