Continuous Improvement Blog

Tag: Teamwork

A Blooming Relationship: Lean and MTU

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It’s been nine years since China hosted the summer Olympics, nine years since the United States elected Barack Obama as the 44th President, nine years since the stock market crashed, and it’s been nine years since Michigan Technological University began it’s lean journey.

In 2008, University President Glen Mroz introduced Michigan Tech to Lean. In relative terms, nine years really isn’t that long, however, not a second was WASTED since the opening of our office, the Office of Continuous Improvement. After nine years, 236+ Kaizens (Improvement Events), 70+ Facilitators, 10 PICs, 2 Directors of Process Improvement, two classes, and one student organization, it is safe to say that our relationship with MTU’s campus is now BLOOMING.

We recently hosted our 2017 facilitator graduation ceremony and introduced 16 new facilitators to our pool! Congratulations to the new facilitators who are: Joan Becker, Debra Charlesworth PhD, Paul Charlesworth PhD, Johnny Diaz, Christina Fabian, Megan Goke, Timothy Griffin, Lori Hardyniec, Kristi Hauswirth, Brian Hutzler, Austin Kunkel, Lauren Movlai, Katherine Purchase, Joseph Snow, Madeline Mercado-Voelker, and Maryann Wilcox. These 16 people come from 13 different departments campus wide, and one has now left the university and is continuing their Lean journey in the community. These facilitators are another chapter of growth for this university and the mission is simple, to IMPROVE. It’s been said time and time again that probably the greatest aspect of Lean is the people and the culture. The culture is one of open-mindedness, collaboration, humility and respect. However, without the people, the culture would fail. We are proud to welcome this group of 16 to our culture.

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A picture from the Facilitator Graduation Ceremony as Lori Hardyniec gives her speech.

Our growth on campus has not only impacted the faculty and staff, it has also been growing within our student population as well. On the same day of graduation our office hosted it’s first ever Student Information Session. At this session our PICs taught students a little about what lean and continuous improvement is, along with an activity on personal kanbans.  A few days after we hosted our information session, our student organization, Leaders in Continuous Improvement, received the award for the Most Improved Student Organization for the 2016-2017 academic year (how fitting).

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LCI leaders Martine Loevaas, Tom Strome, and Rachel Chard with the Most Improved Award.

These three events all happened within the last week, highlighting the success lean is having at the university.

With our culture expanding and the amount of people involved rising, I know our university will soon be flourishing with Lean, and our students will be leaving here with skills that they not only learned in lecture and lab, but also from the environment that they are being surrounded by. This environment will provide everyone immersed in it with skills that companies, coworkers and employers are looking for such as team collaboration, problem solving, and again RESPECT for everyone. Lean and Continuous Improvement has proven over and over again that it is a way of life, a way of change, and a way of growth that anybody can take and adapt into their lives, and it has proven this to all that have hopped on board with our journey.

It’s been nine years since Michigan Technological University began it’s lean journey, and it is our DREAM that the blooming culture we have will flourish, and in nine years we’ll be able to look back on this time in our journey and have no words but “wow,” and no emotion but delight.

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Meet the PIC- Aspen Holmes

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Hey everyone!
My name is Aspen Holmes and I am a first year Communications major here at Michigan Tech. Over break I was hired as the new Student Process Improvement Coordinator and will be joining Elizabeth and Nate in Lean and Continuous Improvement activities around campus. I’m still finishing up my training, but find I have already caught the improvement bug. I’m enthusiastic about Lean philosophy!

I grew up in the Keweenaw and with that I carry a hefty amount of Yooper pride. I can’t imagine a better place to live and hope to raise my own kids here. Along with this Yooper pride comes a sense of exploration, a willingness to be pushed out of my comfort zone, an insurmountable appreciation for the outdoors, and a tough-as-nails attitude towards everything I do. I grew up in a household that tried to continuously improve the community around us. As a result of this I see the world through a humanitarian-based perspective, trying to find ways to help in any situation that crosses my path.

Graduating a year early from Hancock Central High School in 2014 I spent the following year abroad in Blumenau, Santa Catarina, Brazil as an ambassador of the Rotary Youth Exchange program. While there I integrated myself into the culture and the community- I went to school, adapted Brazilian habits, learned the language, and volunteered. I am conversationally fluent in Brazilian Portuguese and am in the process of learning German through Michigan Tech. It is my goal to eventually speak a language from every continent. I am an avid traveler and will never say no to a proposition of adventure. I miss, and think of Brazil every day. The transition through reverse culture shock was definitely a difficult one, but I finally feel at home again here in the United States. Michigan Tech has pushed and aided me in the process of rediscovering the area, finding new hobbies, and making many new friends. I strive to utilize every opportunity that comes my way and will continue to do so throughout my time as a Husky.

I look forward to my time in this position and am already passionate about the work I will be doing. I am truly blessed to work with all of the wonderful people in the Office of Continuous Improvement and look forward to what the year will bring. I am incredibly thankful for this amazing opportunity. I will continue to learn everything I can about Lean initiatives. I hope to make a substantial impact on the university by utilizing my quirkiness and unique perspective to find unconventional solutions throughout my collegiate journey.

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Lean in Their Own Words

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This is the third installment of Lean in Their Own Words. At the April graduation ceremony for our new Lean facilitators, the graduates each said a few words about what Lean means to them. Many of them have given me permission to share their thoughts with you. This week, we’ll hear from Todd Van Valkenburg, Senior Programmer/Analyst in IT’s Enterprise Application Services. 

Todd Van Valkenburg graduation“What does Lean mean to me now that I’ve gone through Lean facilitator training? At the end of every class day, and much to my dismay, Ruth had each of us get in front of everyone and give a quick presentation of what resonated with each of us. At the end of that first day, what popped into my head was the adjective “HEALTHY,” as in a healthy problem solving process. And that word has stuck with me throughout the class.”

“The Lean approach to Continuous Improvement is HEALTHY because: 1) At its core, it’s a non-blame, respectful approach to problem solving. Contributions are taken seriously and all voices are heard. 2) The process encourages people from different departments, backgrounds, skill levels, and experiences to come together to work on common objectives. 3) This approach relies on teamwork, learning from each other, and developing skills that each participant can bring back to his/her own department to share. And finally, 4) we are addressing problems/opportunities head on by carving out the time to really look at them instead of dealing with them later or hoping that they will just go away.”

“I’d like to conclude today with some imagery that also represents what Lean means to me. First, imagine that I’m working alone on solving a complex problem that impacts a few departments on campus. I am NOT using the Lean principles of continuous improvement. Now, further imagine that the challenges, obstacles and constraints I face are gusts of wind pushing against me causing me to literally lean. I could lean too far one way or the other, lose my balance, and fall right over. Now here’s the second image. Instead of working alone, imagine that I’m working right alongside a few others folks in those departments trying to solve that very same problem. This time, we ARE using the principles of Lean. We interlock arms and form a circle. Now, as these gusts of wind hit the group, some of us may lean but the others in the team provide the support and counter-balance to spring us back upright and put us right back on track. To me, this imagery demonstrates that working as a team and applying Lean principles is a very healthy way to solve problems at Michigan Tech.”

Todd working on a training exerciseTake a look at the list of our campus facilitators. Any one of them would be happy to talk with you about Lean and continuous improvement!

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