For people who do not know about 'Kaizen process' or have never heard the word – 'Kaizen' simply means 'change for better' in Sino-Japanese languages. When applied to an industrial context it means 'continuous improvement' or 'philosophy of improvement'. When you look up for the word 'Kaizen' you may come across related words like 'Muda' which is Japanese for 'futility or uselessness or wastefulness' and the word 'Mottainai' - a Japanese term conveying 'a sense of regret concerning waste'. The word 'Zen-Kai' also catches attention because its phonetically opposite to 'Kai-zen' and this is a title awarded to a person who makes a large contribution in the successful implementation of Kaizen during Kaizen events. When done properly 'Kaizen' eliminates overly hard work 'Muri' making the work place and work life better for all involved! Kaizen not only teaches people how to perform experiments on their work using the scientific method but how to learn to spot and eliminate waste in business processes. It is also a work culture, a Japanese philosophy of reducing wastage for betterment of a work place, improving the life / well-being of workers and in general the 'right' thing to do. Toyota Motors was the pioneer in using the Kaizen methodology to evolve smart efficient work processes following the Plan -> Do -> Check -> Act cycle also known as the Shewhart cycle, Deming cycle, or PDCA.
Without getting into the technicality of Kaizen, how would such approach help us reduce paper waste in our office? Being a law firm usage of paper is inherently quite high and this was highlighted in a recent newsletter circulated throughout the business. Understandably, there is a flurry of photocopying when a new case comes in with all the files of claim evidence, health records from hospitals and GPs, land registry documents etc. and some of these documents are only available to us for a short time before they have to be returned to source. Often there is a repeat of information several times over within a file but there is no time to go through the material in the limited time the material is with us, so for safety sake, everything gets copied over! Also its teamwork, so several copies of the same material are made and circulated to each member of the team to work on a given aspect of the case. Another mad volume of paper gets generated when 5 to 7 copies (sometimes more) of case documents get sent out to jury or an experts panel for study. Also documents which are sent out to experts need to be single sided so double sided pages have to be re-printed single sided even if it adds to the bulk of documents. Often cases get read on trains when busy solicitors commute and work at the same time. Understandably it is difficult to read a huge A4 size file on the go, so often there are requests to reduce A4 files to A5 size just to make it a bit more portable and make reading the document an easier task on a busy train. We do not quite know the origins of these practices but in certain sections of law industry it is deemed, the more the paper bulk, the better – as it can be slammed in a court case floor as evidence against the claimant (or defendant) as the case maybe!
Now consider some internal processes where significant amount of paper is consumed or sometimes the entire process is paper-based.
Billing: Lots of printouts of bills go backward and forward between finance department and fee-earners before final versions are printed to be sent out to external parties. Secretaries regularly are required to print the entire bill (average of 10 - 15 pages) just to get the first couple of pages which form a part of their work flow process, while the rest of pages go straight to the bin! Thus some bulk of paper is simply destined to go to the bin, the moment it is produced!
Signed paper: Another thing that consumes paper is letters or documents requiring physical signatures – pages after pages get printed only to be signed and scanned back into electronic format! Not many people are aware there is no legal requirement to have a signature on certain documents like invoices and that an electronic signature holds good and is deemed at par the physical signatures in a court of law.
Electronic & Paper simultaneously: The worst thing from a paper perspective is to have doucment in both an electronic format such as CD or scanned pdf AND a paper copy as well! And sometimes there are requests to print a whole CD onto paper typically consuming 3500 to 5000 sheets of paper!
Why? Why? Why?
For anyone with a slightly green conscience it begs the question: Do we really need it on paper? Can we not manage it without using paper? STOP Let's re-think about paper - let's be honest, let's be fair while making choices about paper and after a careful rethink about the whole thing, the most common honest answer is: No - followed by several 'buts' (excuses) ranging from: 'but it's easier on paper', 'for safety sake better to have it documented on paper', 'someone else may need it on paper' or 'that's how it was always done' and so on… We just need to think of alternative ways without involving use of paper. It's plain and evident NO we do not need so much paper… But do we have the courage to say this? Often its other questions such as: Will it disturb the traditional way things are done? Will saying NO to paper put me in spotlight? Will it displease someone? Will I earn a reputation of being a trouble maker? It is these and questions similar to these that keeps paper traditions on and on. What is shocking and sad is that such questions creep up even in the minds of people with green conscience and green intent but they too sometimes bow to paper traditions out of prudence or to simply avoid stress, friction or fall-out. And thus the system keeps on churning paper...
What is actually needed is addressing this issue publicly to gain a common ground / consensus about what is acceptable / unacceptable as individuals, as a group or as a team. If everyone associated with a paper intensive process can discuss the process from scratch including the associated paper usage, openly and freely - be it a fee earner or an associate team member or a secretary or even a support staff, doesn't matter if its an external client or a service provider or anyone! The entire chain must re-think the rationale, the purpose, the details of the process and the alternatives that can / cannot work, then perhaps we can find a 'paperless' solution or at least reduce the inherent usage of paper in our offices. To begin with, any change needs to overcome fears, get the public nod (approvals) and then in the next stage develop a 'will' to adapt and do things differently, make a difference and then in the final stages there may be a need of a bit of subtle pressure (peer pressure or pressure from the top) to drive the change in the forward direction. There will be some 'trial and error' before we can bring about positive changes but we need to take a continuous and holistic approach until results are achieved. It will need a thorough review of what is necessary and what is unnecessary, how it is to be done and the difficulties we will encounter during transition. It is one great exercise involving everybody but if our objectives are clear and the focus is on achievable targets, it is worth doing it. The benefits of this exercise will go beyond reducing the existing clutter or streamlining bloated processes, it will put individuals in control (people empowerment). It will bring about a shift to a superior, more modern or fashionable trend, then surely everyone will welcome it and be mentally ready to adapt to it.
And that's exactly what Kaizen is about – involving everyone in the company, re-thinking processes, thrashing out the 'nitty-gritty' because answers to most problems lie in the detail, best known to the individuals handling that part of the job on a daily basis. It is a democratic exercise, a social exercise which should be done with a holistic approach that will tease out the wasteful parts from the necessary parts, taking out the 'muri' or ills of job, making it better for everyone and good for the business as a whole! There would be 'ZenKais' within teams and healthy disucssions within groups will expose the 'Muda' of the process. 'Mottainai' is quite cultural and subjective, but just like 'name and shame' is a powerful tool, 'Mottainai' could be the reason everyone will conform to using less paper!
Perhaps we need to organize Kaizen workshops through various teams within the business to discuss paper usage and approach this problem in a novel / fun way. A Kaizen workshop could perhaps start in small groups or teams with a ceremonial Japanese tea, sitting cross-legged on an oriental mat and if people are up to it, some flamboyant member in the team could dress in a kimono or a samurai outfit to add a bit of Japanese touch while conducting the Kaizen process. (And 'Sushi' for snacks of course!) What is important is to bring everybody together, get people's attention focused specifically to discuss their views about the business process in question 'How things can be done differently?' Strive to see if a positive change be brought about. This will involve some brainstorming, we expect some radical takes or some eccentric suggestions, but innovative solutions are born out of such! When a series of Kaizens are conducted in a structured way it will definitely bring about a change in work culture. Individual Kaizens may aid in taking away waste in a particular process and that waste can be any waste: materials like paper, people movement, efforts / useless labour involved. It will make the process lean and trim, more robust and the actual jobs will become easier. People will be bonded better and the workplace will become better, Greener and more efficient. It is really important that people should be in a participatory mood to discuss openly, bring out the issues that bother them in a fear-free, comfortable / informal / democratic setting rather than being told in a top-down prescriptive format. Experts have always said that behavioural changes are the most difficult to come about in an organization but small steps of improvement brought about by a series of Kaizen workshops would add up to change the work culture for good – slowly and surely! Paper is just an excuse to introduce / implement Kaizen in our workplace – if implemented properly this will result in overall process efficiency which is good for business as a whole, good for the well-being of employees, good for the environment and most importantly reduce all sorts of wastage including paper.
Seems like Kaizen approach is the way forward and will work to bring about a cultural change in our paper intensive set-up. Let us cut down paper usage and become Greener and happier!
Disclaimer: This blog is written in a personal capacity but as a declared employee of DAC Beachcroft. The views expressed here are solely that of the blogger and should NOT be interpreted as official views of the companies referred in the contents. The blogger or DAC Beachcroft does not take any responsibility or liabilities arising out of the contents or comments made on this blog.
