Administration

Continuous Improvement (Lean)

Statewide Outcome(s):

The Enterprise Lean program supports the following statewide outcome(s).

Efficient and accountable government services.

Context:

The Enterprise Lean program seeks to create greater efficiencies in state government by bringing an understanding of continuous improvement methodologies common in the private sector to state and local units of government. The process creates efficiencies within their business processes, increases the productivity of employees, and improves the quality of the services they provide. The program catalyzes the creation and development of a culture and environment where employees are trained and empowered to continuously improve how work gets done. Funding for the program comes from a general fund appropriation.

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Strategies:

The work of the Enterprise Lean program can be divided into the following categories:

·         Lean training – Train employees in Lean methodologies, equipping them with tools to redesign business process to increase efficiency and add value.

·         Agency support – Help supervisors, managers, and senior leaders within state agencies understand their roles in creating an environment where leadership is committed to continuous improvement efforts and actively engages all employees in these efforts.

·         Process improvement events – Work directly with specific state agency business units in major redesigns of business processes by planning and facilitating kaizen events that reduce cost and improve the quality and responsiveness of services.

Results:

Lean activities or events result in business process redesign and improvement. Common improvements are: reduction in time needed to provide a service (lead time), amount of work needed to produce a specific output (task time), and savings in direct costs for materials. Employees at all levels of government are engaged in applying Lean principles. The program institutionalizes reform by using a ‘train-the-trainer’ approach. Initial training is multiplied as employees spread the Lean message among their teams and apply it in their work. Success of this ground-up strategy has resulted in increased demand for training services.

Performance Measures Notes:

1.     Measures compare FY 2011 data (previous) with FY 2012 data (current).

2.     A formal adoption is classified as the creation of a specified Lean or continuous improvement staff position, division or committee, or the undertaking of some similar arrangement within an agency.

3.     This data element will track Lean continuous improvement events across Minnesota state government. For comparison purposes, related data tracking formal Kaizen process improvement events is available for prior years. There were 61 events in FY 2009, 69 events in FY 2010, 77 events in FY 2011, and 45 events in FY 2012. The decrease in events during FY 2012 is attributable to the government shutdown.