Jeff Trageser and Mike Vazquez from Lifesharing were interviewed on the JIT Cafe podcast by Elisabeth Swan and Tracy O’Rourke to discuss how process improvement has been used to help procure and facilitate organ and tissue donations from donors to local transplant centers. They discuss metrics used to track the success of organ transplant, dealing […]
Does your Lean Six Sigma training structure help the organization sustain improvement gains? Do you struggle with the “one-and-done” trend where Green Belts complete a project, get a certificate, and then fade from the problem-solving culture? The State of Vermont has experimented with a different path for their Lean and Six Sigma training program. They […]
Written by Brion
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
Dr. Eric Cunningham is the dynamic Superintendent for Halifax County Schools in North Carolina. He’s got some inspiring insights on how to build problem solvers in education, and how he drives the use of process maps, fishbone diagrams and 5 Whys. He also discusses how to meet people where they are with process improvement. You […]
Written by Brion
In the Lean Six Sigma for Good podcast, Tracy O’Rourke shares her background with over 20 years of process improvement experience, working with nonprofits, government, education, military and the for-profit sector. She teaches Lean and Six Sigma at the University of California-San Diego (UCSD), is the co-host of the podcast and video series, Just-in-Time Cafe, and is […]
Written by Brion
Gemma Jones is one of the founders of the Kata Girl Geeks, and she has developed a way to mobilize continuous improvement practitioners to help underserved and at-risk members of society, specifically suicide prevention. Across the world every 40 seconds someone dies by suicide. That’s 90 people per hour. She created a MURAL board as […]
Written by Brion
In the wake of George Floyd and Black Lives Matter protests in 2020, many socially responsible companies made a pledge to become an antiracist company and address racial inequity, but more has to be done to transform organizations to produce racial equity. The Lean thinking improvement system has a long history of transforming organizations for […]
Written by Brion
In an interview with Mark Graban on the Lean Blog Interview podcast, Tracy O’Rourke discusses her 20 years in consulting, from her time at General Electric learning Six Sigma under Jack Welch, to her work in transactional process, government, nonprofit and education. She shares an example of working with a government agency to help change […]
Written by Brion
This session from Process Palooza 2021 showcases everything they’ve done to make continuous improvement a core component of operations at UC San Diego. They developed an adaptive, science-driven, behaviorally informed model that integrated daily innovation cycles that allowed them to “mutate our campus operations faster than the virus.” Their comprehensive approach is called “Return to […]
Written by Brion
Tracy O’Rourke kicks off the 4th annual Process Palooza 2021. Presenters include Chancellor Pradeep Khosla and Executive Vice Chancellor Elizabeth H. Simmons from University of California San Diego (UCSD). They discuss how continuous improvement was useful in shaping the university’s strategic plan and forming a response to COVID-19. They also share a virtual expo to […]
Written by Brion