State of Iowa declares Oct. 2 as Lean Government Day

Iowa Governor Chester J. Culver has declared October 2 as “Lean Government Day” to raise public awareness of the benefits of “lean” productivity improvement techniques for state government agencies and to acknowledge the State of Iowa’s commitment to streamlining public services through the Lean culture. The proclamation will be presented on October 2 in Des Moines during the Lean Government Exchange, hosted jointly by the State of Iowa and Guidon Performance Solutions, a TBM Consulting Group company.

The state of Iowa has successfully embraced lean management practices and LeanSigma methodologies, the fusion of best practices from lean and Six Sigma, rooted in the fundamentals of the Toyota Production System, in order to create responsiveness and efficiency in government. Using lean productivity methodologies, Iowa public sector organizations have transformed service agencies by achieving double-digit improvements in time savings, quality, costs and service levels.

“By embracing lean, we created a process improvement methodology that enables our state to streamline service delivery and improve customer service for all Iowans,” says Teresa Hay McMahon, performance results director, Iowa Department of Management. “We believe that lean can help create a world-class government and become a bellwether for other states.”

The Lean Government Exchange is a forum for government agencies and other interested parties to understand how to apply lean methodologies to eliminate waste, standardize workflow, reduce backlogs and decrease process complexity.

“Doing more with less is today’s mandate for local, state and federal agencies and Iowa has set an outstanding example for other state agencies to emulate,” says Tom Morin, managing director, Government Practice, Guidon Performance Solutions. “The Lean Government Exchange provides a practical hands-on workshop paired with a great networking opportunity so all public sector leaders can streamline existing processes and create more time for innovation.”

During the three-day workshop, federal, state, municipal and county government administrators will:

·     Learn how to break through bureaucracy and transform cumbersome processes using the kaizen methodology

·     Hear from leaders in world-class government who have implemented Lean by examining the progress in the state of Iowa

·     Understand what leaders must do to drive lean culture inside their agency

·     Participate in interactive round table discussions focused on lean

The Exchange will take place in Des Moines from October 2-4.