Category Archives: Public Sector

Wisconsin Manufacturing

Posted on August 27, 2006 by John Hunter

Editorial: A way forward for state companies [the broken link was removed], Milwaukee Journal Sentinel The idea of lean manufacturing is pretty close to a religion at Ariens these days. The tenets: Be quick on the draw. Improve continuously. Be open to change. Get everyone – shop floor to board room – involved. The company’s output has nearly tripled in six years with a work force that has remained steady at about 1,000. Productivity is up, on average, about 17% … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Lean thinking, Management, Public Sector | Tagged , | 6 Comments

VA Medical Care

Posted on July 23, 2006 by John Hunter

The Best Medical Care In The U.S. [the broken link was removed] studies show that 3% to 8% of the nation’s prescriptions are filled erroneously, the VA’s prescription accuracy rate is greater than 99.997%, a level most hospitals only dream about. This data certainly should make most hospitals interested in learning what is going on. And for the past six years the VA has outranked private-sector hospitals on patient satisfaction in an annual consumer survey conducted by the National Quality … Continue reading →

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Army Lean Six Sigma

Posted on July 21, 2006 by John Hunter

Lean Six Sigma eases fiscal constraint challenges [the broken link was removed] by Beth Reece, Army News Service: During fiscal 2005, the Army Material Command saw $110 million in savings and cost avoidance by implementing Lean Six Sigma practices. By removing waste and better controlling output, for example, Letterkenny Army Depot, Pa., reduced costs by $11.9 million in Patriot air defense missile system recapitalization. And Pine Bluff Arsenal, Ark., reduced repair cycle time by 90 percent and increased its production … Continue reading →

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Another Article on Lean UK Hospitals

Posted on July 3, 2006 by John Hunter

Country to follow the hospital’s ‘lean’ lead by Jane Lavender: Since the introduction of lean thinking, the length of time it takes a patient to get from the accident and emergency to the operating theatre has been reduced by 38 per cent. Paper work has been cut by 42 per cent and the total time patients spend in hospital has been slashed by 32 per cent. The article also says “Nine months ago the hospital became one of only six … Continue reading →

Posted in Health care, Lean thinking, Management, Public Sector, UK

Health Care Crisis

Posted on June 16, 2006 by John Hunter

Probe finds nation’s emergency care system at ‘breaking point’ (the San Jose Mercury News broke the link so I removed it – poor usabilty on their part) by Lauran Neegaard: It’s a sobering symptom of how the nation’s emergency-care system is overcrowded and overwhelmed, “at its breaking point,” concludes an investigation by the Institute of Medicine. The spate of similar articles reminded me of the recent post by Mark Graban: Stop calling it “ER Congestion”. He states: “It’s not an … Continue reading →

Posted in Health care, Lean thinking, Management, Public Sector, Systems thinking | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Lean Library

Posted on June 12, 2006 by John Hunter

Library becomes a lean machine [the broken link was removed] by Morgan Jarema: “I spent parts of three days looking for that book,” Hoyles recalled. “On the fourth day, I found it. I called the patron and he told me he’d gone out and bought it.” … In November, library employees, who are responsible for checking in from 4,000 to 10,000 returned materials at a time, were asked to help reduce the reshelving time, which could be as long as … Continue reading →

Posted in Lean thinking, Management Articles, Public Sector, Quality tools | Tagged ,

Kaizen Event Research Project

Posted on June 5, 2006 by John Hunter

NSF Funded Kaizen Event Research Project [the broken link was removed] First, this research seeks to identify the most important factors influencing successful outcomes (both technical and social)…The second objective investigates the sustainability of Kaizen events over time. The research team has visited numerous organizations utilizing Kaizen events across multiple areas. Leaders in some organizations acknowledge that some areas will quickly (within 6 months to one year) revert back to the pre-Kaizen performance levels. Yet other organizations appear successful in … Continue reading →

Posted in Lean thinking, Management, Manufacturing, Public Sector, Quality tools | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Army – Lean Six Sigma

Posted on February 13, 2006 by John Hunter

Army Adopting Lean Six Sigma [the broken link was removed] “We’ve already identified well over 20 processes that are Army-wide processes that we want to take on using Lean Six Sigma. . . We’re on the very beginning of making Lean Six Sigma, and the disciplined approach that comes with that, a major part of the way the Army does business,” said Maj. Gen. Ross Thompson III, Army G-8. The Army Materials Command has long practiced Quality Management methods. Red … Continue reading →

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Lean Thinking in Scotland

Posted on February 12, 2006 by John Hunter

The man who would save Scottish industry [the broken link was removed] by Terry Murden Ross says: “Lean thinking can be applied to almost any process, but the key is the involvement of those who actually do the work. I passionately believe that companies, councils and the NHS can make major improvements across all their key measures once they learn how to involve their staff in the elimination of wasted time.” The article offers few details but is another example … Continue reading →

Posted in Lean thinking, Management Articles, Public Sector, UK | Tagged ,

Public Management II

Posted on January 12, 2006 by John Hunter

Public Management-The Bush Administration II by Paul Soglin: Since that time, John Hunter posted a comment in reference to W. Edwards Deming: Newt Gingrich is also a supporter of Deming’s ideas: “I’m a disciple of Edwards Deming. I really believe in a culture and system of quality.” Any time I find myself in the company of Newt Gingrich, I become a little concerned, especially since he tends to bounce around and not ‘drill down’ to learn how things work. In … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Management, Public Sector, quote, Systems thinking | Tagged , , | 7 Comments

The Public Sector and Deming

Posted on January 7, 2006 by John Hunter

In, Public Management-The Bush Administration, Paul Soglin, former Mayor of Madison Wisconsin, quotes one of Deming’s 14 obligations of management: W. Edwards Deming’s point number ten is, “Eliminate slogans, exhortations, and targets for the workplace.” In looking for online background on Deming thinking in Madison I came across this explanation of Madison’s start [the broken link was removed], on the US Department of Labor site: Madison’s quality improvement efforts began after then-Mayor James F. Sensenbrenner and his staff were exposed … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Management, Public Sector, quote | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

W. Edwards Deming Outstanding Training Award

Posted on January 4, 2006 by John Hunter

W. Edwards Deming Outstanding Training Award [the broken link was removed] from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Graduate School. The award honors W. Edwards Deming for his 22-year association with the Graduate School, USDA as a mathematics and statistics faculty member and curriculum chair. Award Eligibility: The W. Edwards Deming Outstanding Training Award is presented annually by the Graduate School, USDA to a federal government unit or department that has successfully completed an innovative and impressive employee development … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Public Sector | Tagged , ,

Six Sigma Government for Liberia?

Posted on December 22, 2005 by John Hunter

Using Six Sigma to Reinvigorate Public Corporations by Andre Pope There must be a national policy that spells out the performance metrics for public corporations. The NPCC will then be charged to evaluate the performance of each public corporation on a quarterly basis. These evaluations will then become benchmarks for judging progress and improvement. Unfortunately often in government even once good measures are set, see Millennium Development Goals, things still fail. Still this is a good goal. Oregon has done … Continue reading →

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Nonprofit Baldrige Award

Posted on December 18, 2005 by John Hunter

Nonprofits Can Apply for Baldrige Quality Award in 2007 [the broken link was removed]: Starting in 2007, nonprofit organizations—including charities, trade and professional associations, and government agencies—will be eligible to apply for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the nation’s highest Presidential honor for quality and organizational performance excellence.

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Government Lean Six Sigma

Posted on November 9, 2005 by John Hunter

Deep Thinkers [the broken link was removed] by Kimberly Palmer, GovExec.com: “This is not a fad that will die out. It’s been tried, it’s been tested, it’s true. If you look at the best-run companies in industry, this is part of the heart and soul that’s making them successful,” says Mark Price, president of George Group Federal Services, part of Dallas-based George Group Consulting. Unfortunately I would have to say the article does strike me as talking about fadish behavior … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Management, Public Sector, quote, Six sigma | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

More Lean Government

Posted on October 7, 2005 by John Hunter

Lean thinking ideas are about eliminating waste. Some who believe the government should just be smaller, talk about a lean government, but that is not the same thing as a government that applies the concepts of lean thinking. Toyota is very lean and very large. Most business apply lean concepts with the goal of growing the size of their organization as they are better able to serve customers and compete in the marketplace. The first Public Sector Shingo Prizes [the … Continue reading →

Posted in Lean thinking, Management, Public Sector | Tagged , | 1 Comment