Ron Pereira from Gemba Academy interviews a new hire to his organization, Alen Ganic, former Lean improvement specialist with the City of Grand Rapids, Michigan. They discuss his previous experience working 14 years in Grand Rapids in various departments implementing process improvement. He talks about focusing Lean efforts from the customer’s perspective, the importance of […]
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” […]
Written by Brion
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
Kids’ Food Basket effectively utilized social media influencers and a local app developer, FoodCircles, to successfully execute its Nourish campaign, raising over $30,000 for fresh produce. The organization won an inaugural MiBiz Best-Managed Nonprofits Award for its fundraising, largely due to campaigns like Kids Helping Kids, which involved community leaders and youth in volunteerism. The nonprofit […]
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