The ultimate goal of government is to invest taxes collected into long term societal value to citizens and deliver better services to citizens through continuous improvement and operational excellence. The 1st of a 2 part series details five key applications of using Minitab statistical software and Six Sigma methods: They also include specific examples from […]
The James P. Womack Scholarship & Philanthropy Fund (JPW Foundation) reflects on the outcomes of their ‘lean internship,’ which offers a hands-on practical experience to students while helping nonprofits help more people. In a recently created guide, the JPW Fund explains how the first two interns started in the Fall of 2019, and how they […]
Written by Brion
The City of Denver has a City ordinance that requires that a contractor is to be paid in 35 days or less after the receipt of the invoice, but sometimes they miss the mark. To facilitate a massive process improvement effort, over 45 Denver public servants got together from 11 different departments, facilitated 3 simultaneous […]
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Lauren Wisniewski is a lean consultant who works primarily with nonprofits. Growing up with a father that worked at General Motors (GM), she learned about process improvement at an early age. She shared her experiences helping non-profits incorporate lean methods, along with the benefits and barriers they encounter. She talks about one project that reduced […]
Written by Brion
What are some useful tools for process improvement experts amidst the COVID19-induced chaos, that also continues to inspire the “collective innovative spirit.” Katie from the City of Denver’s Peak Academy has identified these 6 tools to help you in the virtual world: Brainstorming Voice of the Customer Process Mapping Visual Management Nudges & Social Engineering […]
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Peak Academy Black Belt graduate, Madeleine Binsfrahm, took her Process Improvement and Innovation training to her colleagues at The Women’s Bakery (TWB) – an organization that supports vulnerable women in Rwanda through extensive training and provides affordable, quality bread to the community. The staff have tackled process mapping exercises, developed visual management tools in the form of […]
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Pat O’Connor has done volunteer work for many years. In this article, he shares lessons learned from his current volunteer work as a Chairperson of The Avenue of the Flags Program (a community fundraiser run by volunteers) and as the Head Usher at his local church. He implements Lean Six Sigma skills such as 5S, […]
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IT Service Manager Lynn Underwood and Strategic Initiatives Analyst Matt Helton teamed up to tackle the problem as part of their Green Belt Certification at the University. After measuring the end-to-end prep time for nine separate Yellow Belt Classes, they found it ranged from 6 to 8 hours and averaged about 7 hours. Their Sponsor, Senior Director […]
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King County Wastewater Treatment Division successfully improves the Capital Design process featuring Roger Browne, an Engineering Supervisor. Roger realized that since the Wastewater Treatment Division was short on staff, they had to find a way to reduce the time it took to deliver capital improvement projects in order to free up resources to get more […]
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Kara Cuzzetto is a Lean Specialist at King County and previously worked in Healthcare where she became Lean certified. The Wastewater Division process for Procurement Contracts took over 300 days to complete and team members didn’t fully understand the entire process. The team performed a Gemba Walk, created a Process Map which allowed them to understand the whole […]
Written by Brion