Their history of Lean in this department went back to Total Quality Management (TQM) in the 1990’s, where they started to map out processes to identify improvement ideas. However, what was missing from TQM was the leadership commitment and employee involvement in the improvement work. There was a $7B deficit that drove the need to […]
Ron Pereira of Gemba Academy participated in Connecticut’s statewide Lean Showcase for 2016, held at the Connecticut State Capitol. He met with several of Connecticut’s officials and other state employees to discuss their governmental Lean journey and recorded interviews and sessions about LeanCT improvement projects. Links below will go to a summary article about each […]
Written by Brion
There was a point when Washington State sent out $50,000 checks to 165 small cities under 5,000 population to fund street resurfacing. Streets cannot be resurfaced fully and economically for $50,000, so the money, more than $5 million per year in total, was fighting a losing proposition. The Washington State Transportation Improvement Board (TIB) conducted a PDCA […]
Written by Brion
Value-stream mapping is a critical step of any lean transformation. If it happens to be in the public sector, though, there are some significant hurdles to overcome. One of the most significant barriers is the difficulty of identifying the value in the public sector, which, if not properly done, can bring the entire mapping process […]
Written by Brion
By 2009, four years after Hurricane Katrina hit on Aug. 29, 2005, there were 8,000-plus displaced homeowners in the New Orleans area still struggling to move back home, but who didn’t have money or insurance for repairs. Worse, they were being joined by an increasing number of homeowners who had suffered contractor fraud. “We had […]
Written by Brion
The lean principles of the Toyota Production System are changing how New Orleans and the U.S. recovers from disasters. With help from the Toyota Production System Support Center (TSSC), they’d become unstuck, slashing lead time to just 60 days and dramatically increasing the number of quality homes rebuilt monthly. Read more at LEI: https://www.lean.org/common/display/?o=3016
Written by Brion
Matt Horvat wanted to make a difference using lean thinking. so he started a community of lean-minded people with the intention of doing pro-bono consulting for nonprofits. Read the history of how Lean Portland began through a guest post on the Lean Enterprise Institute website. Read more at: https://www.lean.org/LeanPost/Posting.cfm?LeanPostId=426
Written by Brion
Jeff Orlowski, President and CEO of the nonprofit organization LifeShare Transplant Donor Services of Oklahoma, talks about the unique challenges LifeShare team members face every day, how lean helps his team deliver on its nonprofit mission, and how his own views on leadership have been informed by lean thinking and practice. Read more at LEI:Â https://www.lean.org/LeanPost/Posting.cfm?LeanPostId=392
Written by Brion
The success of Toyota’s lean management principles in manufacturing, healthcare, product development, and other areas is well known and well documented. Now the company is applying these concepts to social innovation in order to give back to society as well as shareholders. Read more at LEI: https://www.lean.org/LeanPost/Posting.cfm?LeanPostId=379
Written by Brion
Zack Rosenburg and Liz McCartney, co-founders of the nonprofit St. Bernard Project, have been rebuilding homes damaged by Katrina since 2006 when they gave up their Washington, D.C. jobs as an attorney and teacher, respectively, and moved to work full-time rebuilding homes in the New Orleans area. With help from the Toyota Production System Support […]
Written by Brion