Andrew Parris shared “A Vision of Process Excellence and Seven Habits for the Journey” in a Lean Frontiers webinar in August 2023. In the webinar, he explains how he merged the approach of Lean Six Sigma and other improvement methods from the corporate world with the vision, mission and values for a humanitarian organization into […]
Lean is especially appropriate for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in developing countries because it requires little financial investment to promote economic development that builds up and empowers workers, and is easy for everyone to grasp and apply. Andrew Parris, a Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt at Medair, shares details about the International Trade […]
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Carlos Ruiz shares video and photos from his visit to Medical Teams Uganda to work with 3 cross functional teams to help them improve three key end-to-end processes. Watch the video below or visit https://youtu.be/wsopnZpyL6g
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Lean IT in Benin’s public administration reduces dropped calls and increases customer satisfaction
The Agency for Information Services and Systems (Agence des Services et Systèmes d’information – ASSI) is a government agency that has been engaged in the digital transformation of Benin since 2016. What were the problems? They struggled to develop clear objectives, standardize processes, better manage the different types of requests received, and measure the work […]
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Andrew Parris works for an NGO called Medair, which provides disaster relief and recovery services to people in need all over the world. In this interview, he explains how continuous improvement can be used in a humanitarian context, and how his Process Excellence Accelerator program trained over 400 people in Lean and Six Sigma methods. […]
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Peak Academy Black Belt graduate, Madeleine Binsfrahm, took her Process Improvement and Innovation training to her colleagues at The Women’s Bakery (TWB) – an organization that supports vulnerable women in Rwanda through extensive training and provides affordable, quality bread to the community. The staff have tackled process mapping exercises, developed visual management tools in the form of […]
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 The paramedic crew at Western Cape Government Emergency Medical Services (EMS) serve some of the toughest areas in Cape Town. They wanted to rethink the way they work by streamlining how they serve patients and free up resources using a process map. They are learning to think through the issues in a structured way, following […]
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Lean IT experts Steve Bell and Karen Whitley Bell provided some pro-bono work to help the nongovernmental organization (NGO) Grameen Foundation in Uganda scale a successful innovation to other developing countries in Africa. The innovation was called the Community Knowledge Worker Program (CKW), and it involved hiring locals with knowledge of farming and customs, and […]
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This is a podcast conversation between Maryana Iskander, CEO at Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator, and Ann Mei Chang, Executive Director of Lean Impact at Lean Startup Co., focused on the pioneering work of Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator in South Africa and their efforts to tackle the global youth unemployment crisis. In Maryana and Ann Mei’s […]
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Iterate. Iterate. Iterate. Although better solutions tend to come from iteration, it can often be a counter-intuitive way to work in large-scale development projects. Not because those who work in the sector don’t see or believe in its benefit, but because the processes and requirements (often imposed by donors) that shape how these projects are […]
Written by Brion