CEDAR FALLS -- The job, seemingly, was simple. Process and approve 50 sales contracts without errors in 10 minutes.

It was easier said than done, initially. The group only cranked out two.

By the end of the day the group was churning out 60 in 10 minutes, with no errors.

Between the beginning and the end of the day, the staff at Hawkeye Community College's Center For Business and Industry learned how to get leaner, and meaner, in turning those nasty contracts around.

It is taking a process known as "lean manufacturing" -- a concept companies like John Deere have used in producing ag equipment -- and applying it to the workplace.

HCC is one of the community colleges around the state wheeling out that concept to local businesses.

The Center for Business and Industry taught a one-day workshop, "Workplace Lean," where a production system was modified to respond to customer demand -- redesigning the workplace to work smarter and faster.

Deere's lean manufacturing goal, one of the objectives of its $127 million redevelopment of its downtown Westfield Avenue and East Donald Street sites, was to shorten the time it takes to produce a single tractor from 44 days to six

"You have these processes on the manufacturing floor, but how about the offices? Health, retail, insurance, education and the manufacturing office," said Al Clausen, director of industrial training and development at HCC. "A lot of times these organizations don't really view themselves as process driven. As attrition is taking over and as costs are going up, there are fewer resources, fewer people resources. So how are you going to work smarter, and how are you going to remain competitive? That's what we want to drive here."

"We want to get away from the 'lean' meaning less people," Clausen added. "It's not what this is about. This is about being more productive, shortening the lead time, being more efficient."

Workplace Lean representatives at each of the community colleges may have different area of expertises, and would be available to appropriate businesses for training in those specific skills, Clausen said. For example, Audrey Sires at HCC specializes in information technology.

"We're training some trainers, and want to roll that out to the businesses so that it's something they can use to improve their businesses, not something they can just send their employees to, to say they were trained," Clausen said.

An introductory free-seminar session for the general public is scheduled from 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. May 12 at the HCC Center for Business and Industry, 5330 Nordic Drive, in the Cedar Falls Industrial Park.

The program fosters teamwork and not finger-pointing when problems arise, Sires said. "If it's not working, it's a problem with the process. It's not a problem with the person. You identify with the process, and you build a better flow to make it successful within the workplace," she said. "It all relates back to the needs of the customer," inside and outside the organization.

Workplace Lean should work in both union and nonunion work environments, Sires said. A key element if the program's success is a good job description, which should already be spelled out in union contracts. "The other thing is to have leadership buy in," she said, because it trickles down throughout the organization.

"So many manufacturing areas are already using the principles of lean on their floor. It just makes sense that they improve their office settings. Ultimately, the offices and the (production) floor, they're each others' customers," Sires said.

About 20 to 25 Center for Business and Industry client-businesses have already expressed interest in Workplace Lean, Sires said.

Bob Chittenden, executive director of institutional planning and instructional services at HCC, went through the Workplace Lean training session at the Center for Business and Industry, and is sold on the idea.

"It's a process that can be applied, I think, anywhere within the organization, whether it's the president or the people who answer the telephone or the people taking registrations," Chittenden said. "We're going to provide customer service training to all the employees that we can. To me the Workplace Lean gets beyond just the smiling face and being polite. You actual look at how you deliver service to the customer, and try to add in value and take out waste. I'm really excited about it."

He hopes to incorporate it throughout HCC as well - so the institution practices what it teaches.

Contact Pat Kinney at (319) 291-1484 or Pat.Kinney@wcfcourier.com