Continuous Improvement

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The Continuous Improvement effort is developing a prototype process for improving how state and federal agency systems that fund, regulate, or organize ecosystem recovery might improve services to local actors working on ecosystem recovery. It is inspired by Gemba Kaizen theory, initially developed within the Toyota Production System, where improvement opportunities are identified by the people who do the work on the "factory floor" and rapid improvement efforts are enabled through standard practices, and encouraged by leadership. We work with the resources we have, because self improvement in an intrinsic part of good government. The current iteration has received support from the Puget Sound Partnership's Ecosystem Coordination Board and is being guided by Lead Entities, Local Integrating Organizations and Ecosystem Recovery coordinators. Continuous improvement emerged from inter-agency coordination work initiated during Coordinated Investment meetings. A "funding system first" strategy has led to close coordination with the Align - Washington Ecosystem Grant Coordination Workgroup, and the Floodplains by Design efforts to integrate natural resource management and Flood Hazard Management in Floodplains. Prototype 2019 - our effort to stand up a prototype improvement system List of Claims - a complete list of all complaints received to date by Continuous Improvement File:Cereghino 2019 continuous improvement proposal to ECB.pdf describing our evolving vision for Continuous Improvement in an 11x17 format. This version, with a NOAA introduction and to ECB The Improvement Network Our hypothesis is that to implement a efficient continuous improvement effort requires simultaneous collaboration among five parties: The Coordination Community must work with local practitioners to look for opportunities to improve the recovery operating environment, and in good faith work with agency programs to identify improvements. Agency Programs must allocate effort to have good faith conversations with local actors to evaluate strategies for improvement. Agency Leadership must agree that spending agency effort on improvement in this way is important. Funders must provide increments of funding to create the capacity for improvement, where countermeasures exceed the capabilities of any one actor, but where the community agrees about the importance of improvement. A Community Forum like The Ecosystem Coordination Board or Salmon Recovery Council must sustain our communities attention to complete this work in a way that is efficient, and addresses the need for work on critical areas of ecosystem recovery. Ongoing Improvement Projects Culvert Replacement Regulatory Coordination - to reduce the cost and time necessary for a local actor to get permission to modify a culvert for ecosystem improvement. Large Project Budget Standards - to reduce the cost of managing a shifting project budget over multiple grant applications and contracts. Standard Conservation Project Description - a early problem definition looking at redundant project description for funding over a project life cycle. File:MC2 2018 lead entity lean study.pdf - the report of an ongoing lean process supported by RCO focused on reducing waste in salmon recovery implementation. Supporting Materials The following materials summarize the resources and ideas used to develop the project to date: Video pre-workshop briefing to put project description standard work in context. Video proposal to "Coordination Community" following ECB agreement to ask coordination community to assist in development of continuous improvement system. File:Continuous improvement meeting 3 notes.pdf - notes from third ECB sub-committee meeting. File:Problem backlog detail.pdf - a list of improvement opportunities with some description text for each problem. File:Problem backlog.pdf - a copy of a draft google sheet with potential improvement projects identified over the course of this project. File:ECB process flowchart.pdf - a draft process flow for completing a new A3, discussed at the 7/31 sub-committee. File:A3 culvert regulation.docx - a draft document describing an evolving proposal for how to improve culvert permitting processes based on Snohomish Culvert Replacement Regulatory Coordination File:King County 2018 lean a3 training.pptx - the powerpoint used in the A3 training below. YouTube Video of A3 Training Presentation (1hr) - provided by Fred Jarrett, King County File:King County 2018 A3 training.pdf - Training in lean management for ECB sub-committee Presentation to Ecosystem Coordination Board - File:Cereghino 2018 continuous improvement concept for ECB.pdf File:Cereghino 2017 continuous improvement NTA.pdf describes a conceptual strategy for integrating ongoing work by EPA, TNC, NOAA, RCO, and Ecology on conservation system improvements, to build on each others unique capacity, and develop closer communication with local integrated teams.