Learning by doing: an undergraduate lean A3 project in a Kuwaiti bank

Purpose - This case study shows how methods of lean philosophy can be successfully taught to undergraduate students and applied to improving a real-world loan process. Students were instructed to use newly acquired classroom skills to analyse and improve a bank loan process in Kuwait. Design/methodology/approach - This study involved an initial gemba walk through the bank. A case study format with direct observation and semi-structured interviews was adopted by 27 undergraduate students to identify waste, analyse the loan process and develop an efficiency plan. Findings - The results revealed that undergraduate students could quickly learn basic lean principles and techniques and utilize them in a real-world situation to significantly improve a bank loan process. Areas of waste included over-production, over-processing, defects in procedure, under-utilized skills, wasted motions and poor time management. Suggested corrective measures were expected to reduce loan processing time by 30%. Practical implications - Increasing costs and competition in the business environment make efficiency improvements imperative, and it was shown that students can play a major role in applying lean principles to a bank loan process while gaining knowledge and skills highly valued in industry. Universities have the opportunity to create a valuable learning experience for undergraduate students in applying classroom skills to solving a real-life problem. Originality/value - This is the first study of a novel classroom technique for teaching undergraduate students to apply lean techniques in a Kuwaiti bank.