Answer: I have tried to show how two methods of manufacturing efficiency can be applied to government reform. They are Japanese manufacturing quality techniques used in the form of “Work Improvement Teams” and a standard technique used by many consulting firms I call “Cost and Schedule”. But I think what you are looking for is a model which can be looked at understood and where methods can be picked up and directly applied to the government environment.

One should be cautious about adapting manufacturing techniques in general for this reason. Manufacturing involves making a product from individual parts of known quantity. Computer systems order the correct number of parts and they are efficiently assembled. This process is somewhat rare in government and the computer systems which accomplish these activities do not apply to government processes. Even the manufacturing technique of “Just In Time” does not apply because it is based on the knowledge of a known number of parts in a Bill of Material which make up a product. What’s different about government and many other service industries is that the resources needed by the functions can vary.

A better model is the retail model where retail businesses have to forecast the needs and desires of their customers. How well they do this determines their success. Yet this model does not apply to all of the activities of government but just as in the case for manufacturing you can select a retail process and directly apply it to government activities. The best example of this is in the implementation of a Statewide Purchasing and Distribution system. In this case the most successful retailer who has developed the best methods of buying and moving goods to market is Walmart. Regardless of what you think of Walmart no other retailer comes close to their efficient management. You can use Walmart techniques and computer systems as a living demonstration of how goods should be purchased and moved to the customer. Walmart has Distribution Centers located in each state. These are not warehouses but places where truck loads of items can be redistributed to the stores needing the items. Walmart’s state-of-the-art computer system identifies the items to be distributed just as the items are being sold at the cash register.

One of the best models for understanding overall efficiency in general is that of a fine restaurant. What makes this a good model is that it can be easily visualized from the planning of the restaurant’s meals to the ordering of food to arrive fresh and just in time for preparations to begin. Timing during food preparation is very important for keeping food hot and so salads don’t wilt. This is all done to give the customer the very best service while complaints are dealt with promptly. If you think of the restaurant’s handling of food to be the efficient use of resources such as labor hours or the investment of money you are well on your way to understanding efficient management techniques. First like the restaurant you should try to visualize how a government function should manage its resources. This will go a long way in helping to find techniques to fit your vision of how the function should be efficiently operated. You can use one of the manufacturing work measurement methods I have recommended to get efficiency at the function’s process level.