Tim Gebauer writes a weekly blog about his experiences working in a thrift store. He shares tips and reasons why turning donated goods into sellable items helps bring back recurring customers, and why processes and systems are key to long-term success. He doesn’t talk specifically about Lean, but mentions backlog, wasted steps and motion (touching […]
I wasn’t sure what to expect when I ordered the book, “Practical Innovation in Government: How Front-Line Leaders Are Transforming Public-Sector Organizations” through Audible. But I was pleasantly surprised, and actually listened to it a second time to make sure I didn’t miss anything. If you work in government, or process improvement, you will definitely […]
Indiana University-Purdue University Columbus (IUPUC) Center for Business and Economic Development has partnered with the Six Sigma Racial Equity Institute (SSREI) to help Black women in Indianapolis and Marion County earn their Six Sigma Green Belt certification. “What we’re doing with the Six Sigma for Racial Equity Institute is taking the power of data analysis […]
Humble Design Detroit (HDD) furnishes homes for individuals and families transitioning out of homelessness. They furnished ten more homes in 2021 than they did in 2020, an increase that the community service organization previously couldn’t imagine. They don’t plan to stop there: HDD is aiming to provide an additional 12 homes in 2022. The improvement […]
The James P. Womack Scholarship and Philanthropy Fund (JPW Fund) was created with the goal of creating and providing innovative gemba-based learning opportunities in order to develop more lean thinkers. The Fund epitomizes the use of lean principles and practices, including eliminating waste in work processes, going to the gemba, using plan-do-check-act (PDCA) problem-solving based […]
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 […]
Habitat for Humanity ReStore encountered a challenge with keeping track of donated items and purchased items they sell in their store. This is required in order to keep track of sales for tax purposes. After some struggle, one manager came up with a simple solution. By changing the last number on the price, they could […]
Tim Gebauer shares some examples where small improvements at a thrift store led to major results when looked at over the long term. These savings seem small, but they can compound over time. Examples include: Moved a trash can closer by 10 feet – Saved 85 hours a year Adding rollers between stations – Saved […]
Tim Gebauer writes articles on LinkedIn under the Thrift Retailer, and discusses Lean methods applied at a thrift store. In this article, he discusses clutter at the checkout area and how it impacts efficiency and customer satisfaction. He suggests that 5S can be used to improve the checkout area, which actually improves employee turnover in […]
While it is well known that facilitating homogeneous teams is probably more straightforward and might provide solutions quicker, diverse teams are more likely the ones to propose breakthrough solutions. Author Alessandro Lasi explains an example where adding a new HR Director to the team led to a proposal idea that greatly challenged the status quo, […]