Business Process Improvement / Work Simplification
Pioneers of Business Process Improvement...

Ben S Graham, Sr. was the founder of "paperwork simplification". His work was seminal research in the study of information processing. Here is his definition of paperwork taken from a brochure for a paperwork simplification conference he directed in 1955 - "By paperwork is meant the record-keeping and processing function of business from the initial source records to the final documents. The recording and processing may be done manually, or by machine, which may be manually operated, semiautomatic, automatic or electronic." The objective stated for that same conference - "Equip conferees to organize and administer paperwork improvement activities; eliminate waste in paperwork; encourage more effective production by people engaged in paperwork activities; improve paperwork to aid other functions of the business to improve production and quality, and cut costs through the more effective flow of information, better controls and improved communications."

Dr. Lillian M. Gilbreth, along with her husband Frank may have been the first to make finding a better way of doing work the center of their lives and apply it to all aspects of living. They eventually uncovered essential secrets of how to improve. The Gilbreths developed a number of improvement tools that clearly display the facts of work and make improvement opportunities obvious. These tools include the flow process chart, therblig analysis, micro-motion study using motion pictures, the chronocyclegraph using special lighting techniques with cameras, factory layout modeling, measurement with predetermined times, and more.  Lillian Gilbreth worked with Allan H. Mogensen and helped him develop his "Work Simplification" conferences covering the techniques and a five-step process designed to put the techniques into the hands of employees. She brought to the work a natural affinity for the humanities, a Ph.D. in industrial psychology, and the rich management experience of a working mother of twelve.¹