A project was conducted with Industrial and Systems Engineers at Lehigh University and the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections. They were tasked with assigning inmates to various prison facilities. Professor Tamás Terlaky and two of his former students, Dr. Mohammad Shahabsafa and Anshul Sharma, talk with Michael Hughes about how considering all inmate needs upfront reduces […]
OPI (Ohio Penal Industries) is the sole source provider to state agencies for items that it manufactures, or purchases through contract. OPI received multiple complaints regarding timeliness of delivery of hospital beds. There were instances in which it had taken a lead time in excess of 80 days for delivery. Accurate delivery dates were difficult […]
Written by Brion
Governor Pete Ricketts and the State of Nebraska’s Center of Operational Excellence (COE) highlighted recent examples of how the COE is improving the operations of state agencies. The COE serves as the hub that is working with state agencies to train state teammates on how to improve the operations of government, identify waste, and deliver better […]
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Adrienne Allen and Elizabeth Rivera share their thoughts about a kaizen event they participated in with the Department of Corrections. When inmates are incarcerated, their personal property is collected and stored at each facility. Each facility works under the same policies, but implement it in different ways. They were looking to streamline the process using […]
Written by Brion
The department was looking to reduce their expenditures through efficiency. They performed a week-long kaizen event using the current state value stream map format. They also found that they build stronger relationships with other participants in the event. You can hear more about the lean event by watching the video called “DOC Spending Money Right” […]
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The Department of Corrections (DOC) wanted to streamline the parole release process and documentation packages. They had to coordinate between correctional facilities, treatment, custody, case workers, and office staff to improve consistency in the release process across facilities. Depending on which facility they were in and who the warden was, their ability to get released […]
Written by Brion
In 2014, the governor notified all agencies that he wanted to implement Lean at the State of Connecticut. Cheryl Cepelak had done some process improvement and organizational development work in the Department of Labor, and wanted to launch a similar campaign within the Department of Corrections (DOC). To help with the effort, they assigned Michael […]
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Processing an offender in the State of Connecticut from intake, booking, recording, transferring, procurement through discharge was filled with numerous errors and potential risks. A kaizen event team was put together a process map to visualize the waste and opportunities. They identified a future and ideal state. Actions include collaboration with Department of Motor Vehicles […]
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The Connecticut Department of Corrections wanted to streamline the process to better understand how 5 days of earned credit for good behavior is managed and communicated to inmates, public, state agencies and leadership. Inmates are classified on a 1-5 scale (5 being the most risky). The kaizen event team mapped the current state of the […]
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A kaizen event was conducted to address the re-entry and release of the planning process, when the Work Release or Parole Agreement is signed by the offender in the community. The goal was to increase the consistency rate between the Department of Corrections (DOC) and Iowa Board of Parole (IBOP) release decision by 90% or […]
Written by Brion