The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has been under considerable criticism and has had dissatisfied customers for many years.
Charles White (GoLeanSixSigma Green Belt) started a project to assess FEMA’s processes and to show they were in need of significant improvement.
Root Cause Analysis
- Two bottlenecks were located at the distribution center and relief sites
- Lack of distribution centers, personnel (mostly volunteers), and Urban Search and Rescue teams cause added lead time and extended man hours
- Lack of communication between federal agencies, state, and local governments needs improvement and standardization.
Solutions Implemented
- Implement supply container system
- Utilize trucks and equipment made for better mobility
- Implement downtime prepackaging of supplies in containers
- Implement downtime cross-training of all supporting agencies at all levels
- Increase the number of Urban Search and Rescue teams to 50
- Improve lines of communication between all levels of government
Project Results
- Customers reporting higher levels of satisfaction
- Less trucks are needed to transport containers because they can drop them off and go pick up other loads
- Pre-packaging time eliminates wait time for loading supplies
- Communication lines improve along all levels of government
- Container loading Lead Time has reduced from 30 minutes to 10 minutes
- Improved cross-training reduces wait time for hurricane survivors to get supplies
Read the entire article at https://goleansixsigma.com/project-storyboard-reducing-cycle-time-for-natural-disaster-response-by-50/