Lean in Washington state government (continuous improvement)
The citizens of Washington expect state government to deliver essential services with innovation, efficiency and integrity.
Congratulations!
The National Pollution Prevention Roundtable awarded the Department of Ecology, Cimira Studios and Impact Washington (state partners in the Washington State Government Lean Expert Partnership Program) a 2012 Most Valuable Pollution Prevention Award for the video AccraFab – Lean & Green Manufacturing. The video explains the benefits of reducing operational and environmental wastes through integrated Lean and pollution prevention green methods.
The project at AccraFab demonstrates results that can be achieved by state government, Lean experts in the private sector and Washington businesses working together using Lean thinking, tools, and techniques. Overall results included reducing 69,940 gallons of waste water AND providing the business $179,000 in annual savings!
What is Lean?
Lean provides proven principles, methods and tools for creating more efficient processes while developing a culture that encourages employee creativity and problem-solving skills. Lean can be applied at all levels of an organization to review processes from a customer's point of view and consider what adds value, and what can be eliminated. Washington's businesses and health care industries have discovered the value of Lean as a way of doing business and reaped the rewards.
Washington's Lean journey
Many state agencies have been using Lean tools with good results. The Governor directed agencies throughout state government to use Lean principles and methods to improve value for taxpayers' money. Washington state is on a long-term journey to adapt Lean to state government. Our goal is to build each agency's capacity to do Lean in-house by learning from and working with private sector partners with extensive Lean experience. Many of our private sector partners are helping coach and train agency staff.
- Read the Lean Transformation Report: 2012 and Beyond to learn the latest about key activities and agency project examples
- Watch these videos produced by our private sector partner Cimira Studios about Lean in Washington state government:
- Lean in Washington State Government (an introduction to how Lean was started in Washington and highlights of some early wins).
- Impact Washington's role in helping Lean efforts in Washington state.
- Check our 2012 Washington State Government Lean Transformation Conference page for presentations and videos from that conference.
- Read the Governor's Executive Order 11-04 on Lean
- Watch the Governor's speech on using Lean
- Review January 25, 2012 Lean Overview for Leaders session for Washington state agency leaders
- Read Wendy Korthuis-Smith's blog post on Lean
- See examples of Lean in Washington state agencies
Learn more about Lean
- Resources: Websites, articles, publications and books
- Common Lean tools