AÂ few volunteers in Business Office of Iowa Prison Industries participated in an office 5S event to improve our office supply storage space and reduce waste. 5S is an organizational tool used to eliminate waste and provide a place for everything and a system to keep everything in its place! Some of the benefits we are […]
“You can’t manage what you don’t measure.” – W. Edwards Deming W. Edwards Deming was a visionary when it comes to LEAN principles and continuous improvement. And he was correct, there can be no continuous improvement if we do not measure! IPI is focusing efforts to implement Lean Manufacturing in ALL of its operations for […]
Written by Brion
A lean event was conducted to look at the Iowa Utilities Board’s (IUB) current electronic filing process from the time a record is submitted through retention. The goal was to increase efficiencies, reduce process time from submission to user availability by 50%, and to achieve 100% compliance with retention standards. The event plan resulted in a […]
Written by Brion
This event scope was to address the process from when IDPH receives the first piece of paperwork regarding a new mental health counselor to when the license is issued from IDPH. The goal of the event was for 80% of the time to be able to issue a license within 3-5 working days of the […]
Written by Brion
The event will deal with the Iowa Utilities Board (IUB) and Office of Consumer Advocate (OCA) billing process from the point assignable time is identified to the point payment from the industry is posted for receipt. The goal was to reduce the number of billing sheets errors and invoice errors to 0%, and meet the […]
Written by Brion
A kaizen event with the Iowa Finance Authority (IFA) worked to improve the cash receipt process to correctly allocate and fully balance all the transaction invoices and cash receipts. The goal was to reduce the number of hand-offs by 25% and the number of unresolved open items by 0%. The event resulted a 100% zero […]
Written by Brion
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
No process is ever going to be perfect, but there is value in continuously improving whatever can be made better. For the past few years, the Motor Vehicle Division has been looking at its processes using tools related to Lean Six Sigma to eliminate waste and improve quality. Nearly two years ago, the Office of […]
Written by Brion
Over the years, Iowa state government has been involved with numerous improvement processes, with varying degrees of success. One improvement tool now in action in the Iowa DOT’s Motor Vehicle Division (MVD) is the Kaizen process, supported by the Iowa Department of Management’s (DOM) Office of Lean Enterprise. Mark Lowe, MVD director, says his group […]
Written by Brion
Government agencies throughout Iowa are applying the kaizen event methodology and lean principles to streamline the workflow and find permanent solutions to chronic problems. A case study of a kaizen event held at Iowa Veterans Home is discussed, which achieved the following results over the last few years. The article also discusses the implementation of […]
Written by Brion