Good afternoon,   Two of the important concepts Operational Excellence team members introduce frequently when starting a new initiative are Design Thinking and Continuous Improvement. I’ve referenced these concepts individually a number of times in the past but like a lot of the work we do, sometimes they work best when … Read more

Good afternoon,   Last week, the chancellor and provost provided an update on campus planning for Fall 2021 including our anticipated return to in-person instruction. The Operational Excellence team has been supporting the University’s COVID-19 response in several ways since early 2020, and as the University takes steps towards a more typical residential academic experience next fall, the OE … Read more

Good afternoon, If you have been a member of an Operational Excellence design team, you know that we often start out meetings with an energizer to get everyone talking and thinking. This week, Transformation Manger Jason Derrick started out his J Scholar Process Design Team meeting … Read more

Good afternoon, Back in February, I discussed how the Operational Excellence team employs the concept of continuous improvement in our work. This week, I want to talk about another strategy our team uses: problem-solving sessions. A problem-solving session, or PS … Read more

Good afternoon, A few weeks ago, I introduced the concept of lean thinking with the stick figure cartoon in my weekly update. I encouraged you all to think about a process and ask yourself, “Why is the glass twice as … Read more

Good afternoon, I mentioned in my email last week that the Operational Excellence team was planning on attending the UNC Health Care Lean Six Sigma Blue Belt training. We enjoyed learning more about lean methodology and how to plan for … Read more

Good afternoon, I hope you all got a chance to get outside this week before the temperatures dropped again! The Operational Excellence team has been focused on advancing initiative goals while building capacity to facilitate transformations around campus. We got … Read more