EC 044: Lean Principles in the Building Reuse Industry (BMRA)

In this podcast, I share a webinar that I gave with Matt Horvat of Lean Portland, and Kelly Stevens from The Rebuilding Center. We were asked to talk about our experiences applying Lean to the building reuse industry, which includes work over the past few years with The Rebuilding Center and Habitat for Humanity Restore

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

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

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

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,

EC 033: Lean Six Sigma and Sustainability Presentation at GPSEN Symposium in Jan 2017

Summary In this podcast, I share a presentation I gave at the Greater Portland Sustainability Education Network (GPSEN) Sustainability Symposium back in January 27. 2017. I was still working at Rockwell Collins at the time. I discuss how Lean and Six Sigma techniques have been used for sustainability initiatives, as well as with Lean Portland

EC 031: Process Improvement for Social Responsibility – IISE Conference in Orlando May 2018

Summary On this podcast, I share a presentation I did on the Institute for Industrial and Systems Engineers Annual Conference in Orlando in May 2018. The presentation was called Process Improvement for Social Responsibility and it was with myself and Billy Ingram, who works at Interface in the Lean Development Group. We both went through a

EC 030: Lean and Green and the 8 Wastes – GoGreen Portland Conference 2017

Summary In this podcast, I share a video taken at the 2017 GoGreen Conference held in Portland last October. The presentation talked about how Lean concepts can be used to address the people and planet side of sustainability. I co-presented with Matt Horvat, the founder of our nonprofit volunteering group called Lean Portland. We show

EC 029: Lean Principles within Reuse Organization Nonprofits

Summary In this podcast, I share a presentation about the employee-led improvements taking place at reuse nonprofit organizations Free Geek and The Rebuilding Center, with coaching and assistance from Lean Portland, a volunteer Benefit company of Lean consultants in Portland, Oregon. Free Geek is working on a daily management system and trying to increase the

Getting Green in the Lean Conversation

This article was originally posted in the Lean Green Institute website by Sasha Neser. If you were to think of ‘lean’ as a pair of glasses you wear to view the potential to increase value and engage the people in your organisation, then ‘green’ is the same pair of glasses with a slightly different tint