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Bureau/Division Director’s Meeting

July 20, 2005

Commissioner’s Conference Room

                                                                        

 

The following are points of interest that were discussed at the Bend the Curve portion of the Bureau/Division Director’s meeting on Wednesday, July 20, 2005.

 

  • Bill Peabody, John Dorrer and Jane Gilbert reported on the trip to ConnDOL they took to observe LEAN.  ConnDOL has been using LEAN principles since 1998 and their sense of urgency is different than MDOL.  They identify one big project at a time to work on with the focus on continuous improvement. 
  • ConnDOL is not happy with the state consolidation they are experiencing.  They feel they have to compete with other state agencies in order to get things done.
  •  They have Worker’s Compensation within their ranks, but do not have Rehabilitation Services.  Overall, the trip was valuable.
  • There was a big contrast between ConnDOL and Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation.  At Sikorsky, they capture the big picture and use visual graphics all over the building so employees can see what is going on at all time. Employees have a sense of ownership in the changes.  The number of employees has been reduced while the output has increased.  They have set up a five to six-year timeline and have posted it for all to see.  Postings are everywhere and all employees are conscious of what the Company is doing.
  • MDOL employees need to see LEAN done right. Need to post numbers and measurements everywhere in order to have a LEAN operation.  The necessary information is not getting out to the employees.
  • Management is convinced LEAN can work for state government and will establish more teams.
  • Every Bureau and Division has to come to the same conclusion and implement LEAN.
  • With help from MEP (Manufacturing Extension Partnership), the Department will identify the same kind of LEAN manufacturing in Maine and take employees on a few field trips.
  • Everyone is welcome to attend VSM Fairs, whether they are on a VSM Team or not.  It is important to keep up-to-date on happenings.
  • ConnDOL will be invited to come to Maine and speak at the ELT meeting in either August or September.
  • A discussion followed on how to get all necessary information to the employees.
  • . Have powerful visuals.
  • Have a Center for LEAN Government on the website with links to other sites.
  • At the next ELT meeting on July 26, the six departmental Goals will be discussed and Directors will be asked to show how they are integrating the Goals into everything we do. 
  • VSMs need to relate to program areas.
  • Steve Campana distributed and discussed a paper listing five suggested areas where VSM methodology could be applied:
    • Common Intake:  Individual
    • Common Intake:  Employer
    • Expansion of Initial Claim Process
    • Common Case Management
    • Common Registry Across State Departments.
  • There is a need for a Strategic Plan before IT Projects can be done..
  • Consolidate services MDOL delivers so they make sense.
  • A discussion on next steps produced the following

 

LEAN

VSMs

Goals

Steve Campana’s five suggestions

1.  Are we doing what we should be doing?

Integration on employer audits/visits/surveys.

2.  Consolidation and organization around functions.

Customer Service Unit regarding Intakes

 

Consolidation of Training/Cross Training