Articles

Will process improvement methods from manufacturing work with reuse?

Most major corporations, especially those in manufacturing, have some type of improvement program they follow to save money, reduce inventory and increase customer satisfaction. These programs fall under the popular terms such as Lean, Six Sigma, Continuous Improvement, or Operational Excellence. These approaches have been around for decades with a strong track record of success.  When these
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EC 041: Lean Six Sigma Success in Government

In this podcast, I read an article I wrote for the Northwest Environmental Training Center (NWETC). The article describes past efforts and successes of Lean and Six Sigma applied to government agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), municipalities, and state departments. I also talk about four common principles that Lean and Six Sigma use
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EC 039: Applying Lean Six Sigma to a Nonprofit Fundraiser Conference

In this podcast, I read my chapter contribution to my latest book called “Lean Six Sigma for Good: Lessons from the Gemba (Volume 1)“ My chapter is called “Applying Lean Six Sigma to a Nonprofit Fundraiser Conference.” You can also download this chapter as a PDF file or watch the video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xHI_uxbc3g There are 8
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EC 038: 2018 Year in Review

In this podcast, I recap the year and highlight some of the things I accomplished in my first full year of consulting on my own. We discuss the Wasted Food workshops, additions to the online course, travel to Kosrae and Trinidad and Tobago, a nonprofit award for process improvement, and the Lean Six Sigma for
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EC 037: Lean Six Sigma for Good – Interview with Iowa Lean Consortium Radio

In this podcast, I share an interview I had with Steven Wilson, who runs Zoned Strategies consulting, and hosts the podcast show, ILC Radio. ILC stands for Iowa Lean Consortium, which is a nonprofit organization that promotes Lean, Six Sigma and process improvement within the state of Iowa and surrounding regions. I have been involved
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EC 036: Going Paperless with Lean Six Sigma Training Materials

In this podcast, I share an example of how I led an effort at my former company to transition our Lean Six Sigma training material from printed booklets to paperless. I go through the calculations to print each booklet, and calculate the environmental footprint. I also discuss situations when students value the booklets, and how
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EC 035: How to Incorporate and Leverage Lean Six Sigma and Sustainability – Gemba Academy Interview

In this podcast, I share an interview I had with Ron Pereira of Gemba Academy. We discussed Lean Six Sigma and Sustainability (of course!). We define sustainability for the audience to get them on the same page. They we talked about going paperless at work, the volunteer work with Lean Portland, and how people are
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EC 034: Lean Six Sigma Applied to the Portland Zero Waste Conference

Summary In this podcast, I share my experience setting up and running an environmental event in Portland in mid-October, called the Zero Waste Conference I discuss ways in which I applied Lean and Six Sigma concepts to the event, such as Lean Startup, Pareto charts, FMEA, forecasting and predictions on attendance, net promoter score (NPS), check-in
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Reducing Energy Through Behavior Change Requires Multi-Pronged Approach [ASQ]

This is an article I wrote that was published by the Energy and Environment Division of ASQ in Sept 2018 When evaluating energy reduction ideas within your organization, employee behavior changes are usually the most cost-effective solutions.  These require less approval from management, very little up-front investment, and can engage employees in ongoing improvements. However,
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