CT DEP Nationally Recognized for Their Lean Results Commissioner Gets Nominated to Federal Position in EPA

CT DEP Nationally Recognized for Their Lean Results Commissioner Gets Nominated to Federal Position in EPA

Being eco-aware does not just mean doing your bit to save the planet; it also means being able to convert Lean activities into results and real business benefits, which is exactly what the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protections (CT DEP) is doing.

Leanovations enjoys a “Lean Partnership” with the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), assisting, teaching and coaching Lean Enterprise Strategies and Tools via Kaizen Workshops to the CT DEP organization on a regular basis. CT DEP organization is enthusiastically embracing Lean to improve their own business processes, to improve environmental performance for the state by collaborating with other state agencies, professional organizations and businesses. The April 2009 Ecos Green Report entitled "Lean Case Studies: Continuous Improvement in State Agencies”, .By Lee D. Garrigan, Senior Project Manager Environmental Council of the States, highlighted three outstanding Kaizen Team accomplishments by Connecticut’s DEP Lean transformation:

- Evaluation of the Air Planning and Standards Division Permit Modeling Program
- Office of Long Island Sound Structures, Dredging, and Fill Permit Application
- Evaluation of the Water Permitting and Enforcement Division’s Enforcement Program

To learn more about the three CT DEP Lean Kaizen Success stories in the April 2009
ECOS Green Report you can contact Karen Caliendo, DEP Agency Lean Coordinator through e-mail at: karen.caliendo@ct.gov or go to : http://www.ecos.org and click on the April 2009 featured report or you could read about the CT DEP results on Leanovations website at: www.leanovations.com

Connecticut State Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Gina McCarthy, known for her accessible, pragmatic and plainspoken leadership style in her four years heading the agency was a key ingredient to a successful Lean transformation. Commissioner McCarthy visited with and encouraged every Kaizen Team at the CT DEP. Due to her success and leadership approach to environmental management in her career, President Barack Obama nominated Commissioner McCarthy for a key post at the Federal Environmental Protection Agency, for Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation.

For those who are not aware, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has made available a Lean and Environment Toolkit, which is available on the website at: www.epa.gov/lean. The EPA’s intent in developing this toolkit is to enable Lean practitioners to improve both their business performance and their environmental performance by identifying and eliminating environmental wastes at their organizations. The toolkit offers practical strategies and tools for integrating environmental considerations into Lean initiatives in ways that support Lean’s focus on the elimination of waste and non-value added activity.

Leanovations teaches and coaches the elimination of environmental wastes in addition to the traditional Toyota Production Systems 7 wastes, which is inherent in all processes. What is environmental waste? Environmental waste is an unnecessary or excess use of resources or a substance released to the air, water, or land that could harm human health or the environment. Environmental wastes can occur when companies use resources to provide products or services to customers, and/or when customers use and dispose of products.

Fred Shamburg, President of Leanovations will be a guest speaker at the Northeast Department of Environmental Protection - State Park Directors Conference, on May 6th, 2009 presenting “Lean and What it Means”.