Jeff Trageser and Mike Vazquez from Lifesharing were interviewed on the JIT Cafe podcast by Elisabeth Swan and Tracy O’Rourke to discuss how process improvement has been used to help procure and facilitate organ and tissue donations from donors to local transplant centers. They discuss metrics used to track the success of organ transplant, dealing […]
This is an excerpt from the audiobook version of “Lean Six Sigma for Good: Lessons from the Gemba (Volume 2)“ Elisabeth Swan shares the story of volunteering with the Cape Cod Childcare Development nonprofit organization. She discusses getting a call from the CEO to help the organization utilize more Lean Six Sigma Green Belt skills and […]
Does your Lean Six Sigma training structure help the organization sustain improvement gains? Do you struggle with the “one-and-done” trend where Green Belts complete a project, get a certificate, and then fade from the problem-solving culture? The State of Vermont has experimented with a different path for their Lean and Six Sigma training program. They […]
Krista Schulte is the Assistant Director of Operational Excellence for the University of Michigan. She discusses her background, and how she is helping implement Lean in higher education. They also discuss an upcoming Lean in Higher Education conference in San Diego. She also describes what it was like having Jeffrey Liker as a professor when he was […]
Dr. Eric Cunningham is the dynamic Superintendent for Halifax County Schools in North Carolina. He’s got some inspiring insights on how to build problem solvers in education, and how he drives the use of process maps, fishbone diagrams and 5 Whys. He also discusses how to meet people where they are with process improvement. You […]
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 […]
Gemma Jones is one of the founders of the Kata Girl Geeks, and she has developed a way to mobilize continuous improvement practitioners to help underserved and at-risk members of society, specifically suicide prevention. Across the world every 40 seconds someone dies by suicide. That’s 90 people per hour. She created a MURAL board as […]
Overwhelmed!! That’s the word Joy E. Mason hears most often when she asks leaders how they feel about diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Leaders are finding themselves overwhelmed by recent demographic and cultural shifts and the uncertainty of what to do next. Unfortunately, traditional DEI training doesn’t appear to have the answers that leaders desperately […]
Hosts Tracy O’Rourke and Elisabeth Swan interview Audrey Lang (Sr. Vice President of Organizational Development) and Tina Nguyen (VP of Employee Engagement) from the San Diego Humane Society. It’s an open-admission private nonprofit animal shelter in the San Diego County area to care for over 50,000 animals. They describe how their care-centered culture improves their […]
Alicia Saake of Feeding San Diego is a great organization applying process improvement to help people in need. After taking some Lean Six Sigma training, she has been helping the food bank run more efficiently. For example, she helped develop shadow boards for their tools, to reduce time for volunteers to find what they need. […]