Improved Personnel Requisition Process

Examples of Improved Government Services at all Levels Using Lean Six Sigma

The city of Springfield, Massachusetts used Lean Six Sigma to remove waste from its financial and administrative processes; saving $96 million over five years. Similar cost savings and efficiency improvements have been realized by: the Army’s office for installation management, Red River Army Depot and U.S. Army Europe; Naval Air Systems Command; the U.S. Government Accountability Office; Department of Energy and the Louisiana State Police Crime Lab.

 

The Army’s Red River Army Depot performs rebuilding work on the Highly Mobile Multi-Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV); also known as the Humvee. In the mid-2000s, the depot was rebuilding three Humvees daily. After using LSS to revamp its operations, the depot’s output increased to an average of 23 vehicles per day. (4)

In 2008, the Army’s Office of the Assistant Chief of Staff for Installation Management used LSS techniques to revise the method for estimating on- and off-post housing requirements. The results showed that the current method was over-estimating the requirements for on-post housing by more than 5,000 combined units. The net cost avoidance in not building and/or maintaining these units was projected to be $829 million through fiscal year 2013. Other benefits included preserving scarce land for training and other purposes. (5)

Also in 2008, U.S. Army Europe used LSS to significantly reduce processing time needed to review contracts and to approve contractor personnel entering Italy. These improvements resulted in net cost avoidance of $1.1 million through fiscal year 2010. (6)

Naval Air Systems Command used LSS to develop a new approach to managing the Joint Standoff Weapon Block II program. This project generated savings of more than $133 million in fiscal year 2006 and is projected to save more than $420 million over the life of this Navy/Air Force program. (7)

When Stephen Chu became head of the Department of Energy in January 2009, he learned that the department was authorized by Congress to provide approximately $80 billion in loan guarantees for various public and private sector energy initiatives. He was surprised to hear that despite being authorized four years earlier, none of the loan guarantees had yet made it to any end users. Secretary Chu was told it would take at least another year for the funds to be dispersed. The delay, he was told, was due in part to laborious internal process steps. In response, he charged his team to apply LSS methods and to get the funds to deserving constituents within 90 days-- which the team did. The ultimate lesson learned from this example is that if established processes get in the way of carrying out tasks, no amount of money will be the answer to the federal government’s problems.  (8)

 

  1. http://sorensonforensics.com/forensics-press/?=80, October 2010
  2. R. Wince, Squeeze Maximum Value Out of ARRA Funds, Step One: Process Improvement, The Federal Manager, Summer 2010 Issue
  3. R. Wince, summer 2010
  4. B. Robinson, Department of Defense Rallies Around Lean Six Sigma, Federal Computer Week, February 2008
  5. Army Lean Six Sigma Award Citation, 2008
  6. Army, 2008
  7. Robinson, February 2008
  8. R. Wince, summer 2010