September Newsletter
Training
Interested in learning more about continuous improvement? Introduction to Continuous Improvement introduces you to Lean principles, methodology, tools and terminology. The day will consist of a series of training modules, interactive exercises/simulations, and discussion/reflection times. At the end of the training, you should be able to start thinking Lean and apply the tools to your work. Sign up here! Training class is from 8:30-3:30pm at 2100 Fleur.
Interested in learning more about continuous improvement? Introduction to Continuous Improvement introduces you to Lean principles, methodology, tools and terminology. The day will consist of a series of training modules, interactive exercises/simulations, and discussion/reflection times. At the end of the training, you should be able to start thinking Lean and apply the tools to your work. Sign up here! Training class is from 8:30-3:30pm at 2100 Fleur.
Current Happenings
High School Master Scheduling Project
In the fall of 2014, concerns were raised regarding regular contact time with students being negatively impacted by the A/B block schedule. As a result, the district obtained stakeholder input and began intensive research. The data was inconclusive and thus no changes were made. This project is being revisited with the goal to recommend a standard student driven schedule for all comprehensive high schools that allow access to Central Academy and Central Campus. The team is set to provide their recommendation to the chiefs in October.
Print Shop
Managed print was implemented to decrease staff time printing, improve productivity, simply management of printing, increase use of Print Shop and reduce costs. A Six Sigma Black Belt project has started in the Print Shop to ensure these objectives are met and employee stratification is increased so that the focus can be on students and not printing. The goal is to establish a standardized process that meets the needs of all stakeholders and allows 2-way communication regarding requests and suggestions.
High School Master Scheduling Project
In the fall of 2014, concerns were raised regarding regular contact time with students being negatively impacted by the A/B block schedule. As a result, the district obtained stakeholder input and began intensive research. The data was inconclusive and thus no changes were made. This project is being revisited with the goal to recommend a standard student driven schedule for all comprehensive high schools that allow access to Central Academy and Central Campus. The team is set to provide their recommendation to the chiefs in October.
Print Shop
Managed print was implemented to decrease staff time printing, improve productivity, simply management of printing, increase use of Print Shop and reduce costs. A Six Sigma Black Belt project has started in the Print Shop to ensure these objectives are met and employee stratification is increased so that the focus can be on students and not printing. The goal is to establish a standardized process that meets the needs of all stakeholders and allows 2-way communication regarding requests and suggestions.
Project Updates
Purchasing to Procurement Kaizen
Have you ever thought, "why can't I order from the Central Stores online catalog myself?" The procurement team did and challenged why. After some time planning, Weeks Middle School is piloting teacher direct orders from central stores online catalog. The team is monitoring and making changes as they are needed.
Accounts Payable Disbursement Kaizen
During the disbursement Kaizen, the team reviewed some Council of Great City Schools KPIs to see how DMPS performed in comparison to other districts. One of the findings was that DMPS only paid about 2.47% of invoices electronically while the median was at 14.89%. Further, it costs about an average of $12 to print and mail out a check. The team has now implemented virtual card payments to vendors which only costs about $0.30 to process.
Employee + Asset Transfer Kaizen
The initial load of staff BEDS this year resulted in a 12% decrease in investigations needed.
Business and Finance Voice of Customer
This summer the Business Office had some good feedback from office managers by doing some cold calls. They are now asking principals to take a minute and send one (or more) suggestion, comment, or tip that will help them in their mission to improve services and processes.
Purchasing to Procurement Kaizen
Have you ever thought, "why can't I order from the Central Stores online catalog myself?" The procurement team did and challenged why. After some time planning, Weeks Middle School is piloting teacher direct orders from central stores online catalog. The team is monitoring and making changes as they are needed.
Accounts Payable Disbursement Kaizen
During the disbursement Kaizen, the team reviewed some Council of Great City Schools KPIs to see how DMPS performed in comparison to other districts. One of the findings was that DMPS only paid about 2.47% of invoices electronically while the median was at 14.89%. Further, it costs about an average of $12 to print and mail out a check. The team has now implemented virtual card payments to vendors which only costs about $0.30 to process.
Employee + Asset Transfer Kaizen
The initial load of staff BEDS this year resulted in a 12% decrease in investigations needed.
Business and Finance Voice of Customer
This summer the Business Office had some good feedback from office managers by doing some cold calls. They are now asking principals to take a minute and send one (or more) suggestion, comment, or tip that will help them in their mission to improve services and processes.
Shout Outs!
Thank you Connie Broich, Mark Mattiussi, Emily Truitt, Jessica Buchheit, Judi Martens and Densie Roorda for being part of the Lean Leadership survey pilot!
The Disbursement, Procurement and Employee Transfer Kaizen teams have done amazing work and are taking initiative on new projects.
Excellent job, Bill Good! You are modeling what it means to be a Lean Leader by discussing Lean projects at every Operations leadership meeting.
Way to go EIDC + Tom Ostrem! Thanks to them, the DMPS organizational chart is in BusinessPlus.
Thank you to Patty Deery for your efforts to reduce coding errors with the staff BEDS report!
The Disbursement, Procurement and Employee Transfer Kaizen teams have done amazing work and are taking initiative on new projects.
Excellent job, Bill Good! You are modeling what it means to be a Lean Leader by discussing Lean projects at every Operations leadership meeting.
Way to go EIDC + Tom Ostrem! Thanks to them, the DMPS organizational chart is in BusinessPlus.
Thank you to Patty Deery for your efforts to reduce coding errors with the staff BEDS report!