This is the audio of a presentation given by Fire Captain Brad Brown at the 2017 Lean Municipal Government Forum in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Brad shared how the fire department’s use of A3 thinking has yielded real, powerful results. One of the fire prevention projects (shared in the downloads) has led to reduced “on scene” […]
The Lean transformation at the Grand Rapids Fire Department started around 10 years ago (after the 2008 downturn). They had to lay off firefighters, had trouble answering over 20,000 emergency runs a year, and their infrastructure was crumbling. They started with the A3 problem solving tool. Grand Rapids, Michigan is one of the fastest growing […]
Written by Brion
Business leaders in Grand Rapids challenged Mayor George Heartwell about his use of Lean to manage a large budget. He asked his Chief Deputy Officer Eric DeLong to come up with a plan. They started with 3 value streams: They received support from St. Mary’s Hospital to accelerate their progress. After the VSMs, they looked […]
Written by Brion
The City of El Paso is proud to announce the Lean Six Sigma program has saved El Paso taxpayers another $252,000 by reevaluating three El Paso Fire Department programs. The Lean Six Sigma Green Belt team reviewed personal protective equipment inventory management, 911 communications recruit training time, and firefighter on the job injuries and lost […]
Written by Brion
An agreement between the Denver Fire Department (DFD) and Denver’s Arts and Venues Department (DAVD) calls for firefighters to be assigned to the Denver Performing Arts Complex (DPAC) to ensure compliance with safety and fire codes, and to be the first responders in the case of an emergency at the Complex. However, they’ve had an […]
Written by Brion
In 2010, the City of Cape Coral (near Fort Lauderdale) embarked on a Lean Government initiative. They created a short video to promote the program using the Mission Impossible theme. The program was supported by City Manager, Terrance Stewart. The video highlights a few case studies: Cape Coral began transforming in Aug 2007 by using […]
Written by Brion
The City of Grand Rapids, Michigan, has embarked on a lean journey that has freed up limited resources and improved customer service. Lean success stories at manufacturers and other businesses in the region, including a local hospital, caught the ears of both Mayor George Heartwell and City Manager Kurt Kimball. After further research, and conversations […]
Written by Brion