State ramps up LEAN efforts

With only a few months left in her term as Governor, Gregoire is continuing full speed ahead with her efforts to cement LEAN management principles in state practice.

Adding to her prior LEAN efforts the Governor will keynote the Washington State Government Lean Transformation Conference on October 23/24 in Tacoma.

Today the Department of Enterprise Services (DES) initiated a RFQ for LEAN Consultant Services:

DES is initiating this RFQQ to solicit responses from Vendors to establish Master Contracts with multiple Vendors, in order to provide CUSTOMERS a Vendor Pool of qualified Lean Consultants. Separate Vendor Pools will be established in three (3) categories that support the Lean process.  Vendors may choose to submit a bid for any, or all of the three categories.

All three (3) categories are intended to build the state’s capacity to think and perform in a Lean way. All categories include a component of coaching, mentoring, and training state employees to become internal Lean practitioners.

Category 1: Leadership and Cultural Change - This category includes services related to coaching, mentoring, and training leaders to help organizations change their culture to become a Lean organization. This category includes a planning component.

Category 2: Training - This category includes services related to training state employees to understand and apply Lean concepts and tools.

Category 3: Facilitating Lean Process Improvement - This category includes the implementation, deployment, measurement, and follow up to Lean process improvement efforts and events as well as project management and facilitation experience and approach.

"Customers" for this RFQ are defined as "state, local, and federal agencies, local governments, and public benefit nonprofit corporations eligible to receive services from DES under chapter 43.19 RCW."

Thankfully for taxpayers, both candidates for Governor have indicated their support to continue LEAN efforts in the future.