The Colorado Department of Transportation recently won a Harvard Award, which is a testament to their fervent approach to inspiring employees to “fix what bugs them”. Since the inception of the Lean Everyday Ideas program (LEI), CDOT has captured 569 ideas from employees within the organization, in which 340 have been implemented as solutions and 277 have been vetted to become organization wide best practices.
“We encourage everyone in the department, and especially front line staff, to improve our day-to-day operations, which ultimately enhances safety and improves the lives of the users of our system,” explains Colorado Department of Transportation Executive Director Michael Lewis.
From eliminating wasted labor when collecting roadkill, to improved safety signage at facilities, LEI has created a formalized, centralized system to create, foster and publicize new ideas.
“The Lean Everyday Ideas program provides a crucial platform for CDOT’s more than 3,300 employees to engage in continuous improvement,” said Office of Process Improvement Innovation and Improvement Lead Geneva Hooten.
When an organization is this good at process improvement, it comes as no surprise when rewarded with such a prestigious award.
