The visual workplace has signs, labels, color-coded markings, workplace arrangement and etc. so that anyone can see what is going on (or not) at a glance. For this example of the visual workplace we will use collections. This example comes from a recent visit to a client’s office where they have developed this system to suit them. They are particularly proud of their results. Let’s see what they do.

In the picture above, you can see the heart of their collections system, the “rack”. This shelving unit has dividers for each day of the month, as well as several additional dividers that can be used for storage. They have labeled divisions for each day, as can be seen in the picture below. You can see the labels have both a number and letter. The users of this system said that they do not use the letters. It is more convenient to use the numbers for dates, rather than letters for names, because many of the collections activities are date sensitive.

You have noticed that there are different colored folders. The colors are at the heart of this visual workplace. In the picture below you can see the poster with the color codes for the folders. Yellow folders are used to collect information, phone call records and notes before proceeding to small claims court, if need be. The materials are moved to a purple folder when the decision is made to pursue collection via small claims court. Green folders are used when the collections case has either been rendered for collection via wage garnishment or if the responsible party has agreed to regular payments. Blue folders are used for income tax garnishments. Finally red folders are used for accounts that are dead, i.e. bankruptcy, moved out of state, etc.

Below you can see the storage area for purple folders. Most of them are used, waiting for the next case. The users of this system report that when they started it up (taking over from a less than diligent clerk), the predominant color was purple which means that not much was scheduled for collection and lots of court time was in order. As you can see from the first picture, the predominant color now is green, which means that collections are scheduled. The point of the visual workplace is that you can see the “state” of the process at a glance. Here green is good. The Doctor can also see the volume of collection cases at a glance.

The files are put into the divider for the day designated for follow-up which could be a phone call or payment or etc.

Below, Leilani wants to remind you that the 30 seconds required to make the note, can save 3 or 30 minutes required to reconstruct the conversation or to determine what to do next.

Both the dentist and the office manager have been surprised and thrilled with the ease with which the new process can be managed, and more importantly, how much AR has decreased since the implementation of this example of the Visual Workplace.