Sunriver, OR job site is thinking lean with strong visual controls

This Sunriver, OR job site is thinking lean with strong visual controls.

Found some interesting case studies where the EPA and other state organization are going lean.

My friend Todd Peterson at Kaas Tailored met with Packsize recently. I wanted to share this video with you because it shows clear demonstrations of many lean principles such as one-piece-flow, eliminating batchwork, and just in time. Plus, I’m always looking for ways to share all the clear examples I can even if they don’t relate directly to government.

How exciting to read this article today and share it with you. In the June issue of his monthly newsletter, Washington State Attorney General shared that his office is going to be adopting the LEAN principles. Following is excerpt from his article. The entire newsletter is viewable (with a video) on the Attorney General web site.

Earlier this year, my office adopted LEAN government, a collection of principles and methods that identify and eliminate activities that fail to add value to our mission. I was inspired to incorporate LEAN principles after visiting organizations such as Children’s Hospital in Seattle, where they have successfully adopted the Toyota Production System (based on the “kaizen” concept of continuous improvement which draws on staff member input).

Our goal in this effort is to rapidly identify ways to enhance our ability to complete the work of the Attorney General’s Office in a new budget environment with fewer employees. To that end, we used our “Speak Up” program as the platform to launch this new initiative.

I hope you enjoy the complete letter from Rob McKenna. It is exciting to watch the changes going on in government.

Listen to Paul’s presentation from Standing Together as he talks about LEAN and the church.

THANK YOU.  Your dedication to your company and your commitment to help others learn and grow is outstanding.
In¬†just a few weeks, through your online videos, radio show and two company¬†tours you have inspired¬†me to make¬†many changes in my¬†professional and personal life.¬†For me,¬†LEAN is a organizational,¬†managerial¬†and motivational¬†theory¬†unlike anything I’ve been exposed¬†to in 4 years of college and 14 years¬†of¬†business, both large and small. Thank you for¬†being so passionate¬†LEAN and willing to share with others.

And thanks also to Jon and the rest of your staff for sharing Fastcap with us.  Your company has set the bar high for small businesses like mine to aim for.

Rob Westford

Washington State Attorney General Rob McKenna speaks on lean in government.

FastCap Company Goals (PDF file)

The power of a simple business model that is standardized, easy to understand for both the customer and the employees. Simple is power, and nothing demonstrates this better then the In and out business model.