Through a new internal program, First West Credit Union said it has created 562,000 minutes or over a year's worth of time savings in a number of areas.

With $6.6 billion in assets under administration, the credit union in Langley, British Columbia, said implementing the Lean program eliminated more than 4,200 hours of time spent by employees processing overdrawn account transactions and reduced the documentation for personal bank account openings by 25%.  

First West CU said by identifying unnecessary steps in service processes it streamlined approvals for commercial mortgages, eliminating 900 hours as a result and ensuring faster approval times for members.