Lean Government Primer: Working Smart for Environmental Protection
Ross & Associates worked with EPA and state environmental agencies from Iowa, Delaware, Michigan, Minnesota, and Nebraska to develop a primer on government agency use of Lean and Six Sigma called, “Working Smart for Environmental Protection: Improving State Agency Processes with Lean and Six Sigma.” These five state environmental agencies were among the first to implement Lean, seeing results such as significantly reduced permit application backlogs, decreased times for permit reviews by more than 50 percent, simplified permit application forms, improved consistency of permit applications, and increased staff time available for “mission critical” work.
Ross & Associates facilitated the state-led workgroup that oversaw the development of the primer, conducted interviews with each of the states, wrote and produced the primer, and prepared an associated presentation for the annual meeting of the Environmental Council of the States (ECOS). The “Working Smart” primer described Lean and Six Sigma methods and their application to government, profiled each state agency’s Lean efforts, and summarized lessons learned about key factors for success with process improvement initiatives.