An Experience of Using Lean Production Tools in the University

Abstract

The article presents the results of introducing lean manufacturing tools into the practice of a higher educational institution (Tyumen State University) within an academic year. The main research methods are timing, polling and spaghetti charting. There is mapped the organization of the course study. The effectiveness of spending time and resources when running lessons is analyzed. The issues addressed in the study relate to the productiveness of higher education institutions, their activity to be assessed not only via the characteristics of services, but also via the ways of their provision. Within our research, there was revealed a contradiction between the consumers’ (students’) expectations and the complication of the educational process. This contradiction negatively affects the university’s services quality perception and evaluation in general. The research shows that managing a higher educational institution in terms of customer orientation involves decomposition and detailed analysis of the main process – that is, of knowledge transfer. All other auxiliary processes are organized around it. Any change in an educational institution must begin with a lean mapping of all stages of knowledge transfer.