Driven by the need to maximize impact per dollar to achieve its mission of preventing human trafficking, Love Justice International (LJI) developed a lean-like management system across its 62 transit monitoring teams in 20 countries without prior formal training in Lean. The organization’s primary techniques center on standard work, anchored by an 80-page Transit Monitoring […]
4imprint embarked on their sustainability initiative to reduce their environmental impact and potentially reduce costs. They shifted from unverified operational assumptions (estimating dumpsters were 75% full at each pickup) to establishing an accurate, data-driven baseline showing overestimated dumpster waste of almost 40%. This data validation demonstrated that initial reductions in reported landfill tonnage were driven […]
Written by Brion
Manufacturing organizations are increasingly leveraging data-driven strategies and quality methodologies like Six Sigma to achieve environmental sustainability and significant cost savings. By utilizing frameworks such as DMAIC and the House of Quality (part of Design for Six Sigma), companies can transition toward a circular economy by manufacturing with partially recycled materials and optimizing processes to […]
Written by Brion
Jennifer Katongole is a Process Improvement Specialist for Global Programs at Medical Teams International (MTI). based in Uganda. MTI is a global NGO that offers comprehensive medical care and mental health services to people experiencing crisis. In this podcast interview with the Uganda Association of Women Lawyers (FIDA Uganda), she shares an overview of Toyota […]
Written by Brion
A community food bank in the United Kingdom (UK) utilized the DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyse, Improve, Control) framework to eliminate handwritten expiration dates on tins, which clients viewed as a mark of stigma and embarrassment. After receiving training on process improvement from Martin Hayden of LearnSixSigma.co.uk, the warehouse manager agreed to work on an improvement […]
Written by Brion
The Blackbelt Unincorporated Wastewater Program (BBUWP) was established to address acute Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) challenges in rural Alabama, where over 375,000 residents in unincorporated areas lack access to essential wastewater services. This problem is compounded by socioeconomic factors, as race is a significant predictor of sanitation access in the U.S., leaving many low-income […]
Written by Brion
SKC expanded its existing Lean program by incorporating Sustainability (Lean and Green) into a pilot project to focus on cafeteria waste, which accounted for over half of the company’s non-hazardous waste. Although the team initially assumed the issue was kitchen overproduction, their data collection and analysis revealed the root cause was behavioral: employees were taking […]
Written by Brion
Hundreds of millions across our planet live with the risks posed by natural geohazards such as volcanoes, earthquakes and tsunamis, especially those living near Japan, which is a highly active region near a large population. Over the last few decades, rapid increases in technology, instrumentation, remote sensing, and data storage have created huge opportunities in […]
Written by Brion
Veolia Eau France, which manages public drinking water and sanitation services, implemented Lean methodologies to move beyond rigid transformation plans toward a dynamic of continuous, step-by-step improvement. Central to this shift is the use of an Obeya, a dedicated space where management reviews key indicators (such as safety, quality, and cost control) to ensure they […]
Written by Brion
Project Aisha addressed the critical maternal mortality crisis in Nigeria where approximately 1 in 5 global maternal deaths occur by targeting clinical complications like postpartum hemorrhage and systemic delays in care. To tackle these bottlenecks, the initiative empowered healthcare workers with improvement science tools such as fishbone diagrams, process maps, and 5 Whys to identify […]
Written by Brion