In the Lean Six Sigma for Good podcast, Tracy O’Rourke shares her background with over 20 years of process improvement experience, working with nonprofits, government, education, military and the for-profit sector. She teaches Lean and Six Sigma at the University of California-San Diego (UCSD), is the co-host of the podcast and video series, Just-in-Time Cafe, and is […]
Indianapolis Animal Care Services (IACS) protects and promotes the health, safety, and welfare of pets and livestock in Marion County (which serves Indianapolis, Indiana). Animal Care Officers (ACOs) are unable to meet the high demand of the City-County’s citizen calls, resulting in a growing service call backlog. The annual call volume for these service calls […]
Written by Brion
David Meyer founded Adopt-a-Pet.com (formerly 1-800-Save-A-Pet.com) in 2000 as a way of ending pet overpopulation. Today it’s North America’s largest non-profit pet adoption website, with millions of visitors to the site each month and partnerships with more than 17,000 animal shelters, pet rescue groups, humane societies and shelters. Around this time Abbie Moore was introduced to […]
Written by Brion
Career development can take on many shapes and forms. Individuals looking to build their resumes and enhance their own careers can take part in many forms of learning besides their day-to-day job. Whether it be advanced degrees, professional certifications, or leadership activities outside of the work place, workers have a choice as to how to […]
Written by Brion
The Loudoun County Animal Shelter in Virginia had a significant increase in the number of dog licenses purchased as a direct result from legislation passed requiring veterinarians to submit vaccination certificates to their locality. Their process for pet adoptions had become bogged down and the front counter staff were feeling overwhelmed. An employee that had […]
Written by Brion
For many years, Animal Protection Officers have developed a reputation as dog catchers. Thanks to children’s movies and folklore, residents view Animal Protection Officers with skepticism, perceiving their sole mission to be confiscating dogs and ticketing owners. The Denver Animal Shelter was on a mission to changing that perception and foster more positive interactions with […]
Written by Brion
Staff at the Denver Animal Shelter worked with the Denver Peak Academy to save $1 million in cost savings to taxpayers, and place more pets in good homes. Their improvement ideas led to better photo taking to improve the online experience, and developing a volunteer dog jogging initiative. Pets were also benefiting from more treats […]
Written by Brion
Working with Jefferson Parish Animal Shelter (JPAS) shelter staff, students from Loyola University New Orleans designed a month-long pilot to improve the process of selecting homeless dogs for euthanasia, finding caring homes for 60 dogs who otherwise would have been put to sleep. The Lean “5S” concepts were applied to reducing the time for potential […]
Written by Brion