In this episode of the WLEI podcast, they discuss how universities are connecting students with for-profit and nonprofit organizations to practice and apply hands-on lean learning experiences. Dennis Wade from Oakland University and Lisa Eshbach from Ferris State University (both schools in Michigan) go into details about their background in industry, how each of their […]
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 […]
Written by Brion
Humble Design Detroit (HDD) furnishes homes for individuals and families transitioning out of homelessness. They furnished ten more homes in 2021 than they did in 2020, an increase that the community service organization previously couldn’t imagine. They don’t plan to stop there: HDD is aiming to provide an additional 12 homes in 2022. The improvement […]
Written by Brion
Lisa Earls is the Senior Operational Improvement Consultant at the University of Michigan. She spent almost 5 years at the University of North Dakota before taking this new role in 2019. We discuss how she is helping teach and coach staff at the University of Michigan on lean principles using Everyday Lean Ideas and Daily […]
Written by Brion
Lauren Wisniewski is a Lean Process Facilitator for the State of Michigan and the founder of Rise Consulting Company. She wrote an article in 2021 about explaining the key attributes inherent to the nonprofit sector culture that make it easy to adopt and practice Lean methods and thinking. Read the entire article at https://nonprofithub.org/lean-was-made-for-nonprofits/
Written by Brion
John Corliss created and established the IISE Sustainable Development Division back in 2012. He shares his 40+ years of experience applying Industrial and Systems Engineering improvement tools and problem-solving methods to the public sector. This focus on government and public sector is often overlooked for new graduates or Industrial and Systems Engineering students looking at […]
Written by Brion
The James P Womack Scholarship and Philanthropy Fund provides scholarships to students to fund hands-on problem-solving experience at charity organizations under the guidance of an Lean Enterprise Initiative (LEI) coach. The fund’s first partnership is with Oakland University in Michigan. Two student interns (Monisha Vasudeva and Sagar Bajaj) are learning and implementing lean principles at […]
Written by Brion
OU ISE students use ‘Lean Thinking’ to improve operations, optimize space at Humble Design warehouse
Utilizing “Lean Thinking,” Oakland University Industrial and Systems Engineering students Monisha Vasudeva and Sagar Bajaj have been helping Humble Design — a nonprofit that furnishes homes for individuals and families transitioning out of homelessness — improve their operations and optimize the space inside the organization’s warehouse in Pontiac, Mich. Humble Design staff members, ISE faculty […]
Written by Brion
The City of Detroit needed to streamline their acquisition process (network, hardware and software) and reduce mean processing time from 74 days to less than 40 days, without compromising customer service or cost. There was inconsistent communication between the vendors, managers were using different processes and buyers were unclear about the process, timing, and expectations. […]
Written by Brion
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