The Lean approach enables government agencies to meet citizens' expectations for transparency and fiscal accountability. By identifying and eliminating waste, and focusing staff energies on adding value, these agencies can transform themselves into efficient organizations with proud, motivated employees.
One simple but effective application of Lean in government is the creation of work cells. Instead of moving work from one department to another, all value-adding steps and personnel for a given process can be grouped together. In some cases, 50 percent of processing time has been eliminated through this type of functional clustering.