A local community bank was challenged with simplifying their loan process and reducing the lead time for loan approval. Process Lead Time Reduction was of high importance so The Hampton Group walked their existing process and created a Functional Flowchart that captured each step from initial documentation thru booking the loan.  The Current State Flowchart enabled the Process Improvement Team to identify delays between steps and discuss whether each activity actually “added Value” or not.  Viewing the process from the Customer’s perspective helped to eliminate conflict between process participants and opened the Team’s eyes to   see the different types of waste in the process.  With the Non-Value-Added Activities identified, the Team created a Future State Process which included immediately implementable solutions as well as suggestions for longer-term improvements.

The Results

• An immediate 20% reduction in touch time to process paperwork.
• 57% reduction in Lead Time from application to booking the loan.
• Identified potential for 84% Lead Time reduction with an investment in new technology.
• Eliminated manual processes and freed up 10% of high-cost resource.
• Streamlined 70% of the loans processed by establishing clear approval levels.