Army Lean Six Sigma Excellence Awards Program
What is it'
On Oct. 15th, the Army held the third Lean Six Sigma (LSS) Excellence Award Program (LEAP) ceremony for LSS practitioners leading superior process improvement and project execution. Developed by the Secretary of the Army and Chief of Staff of the Army, the LEAP Award is intended to recognize individuals and teams who demonstrate excellence in building, sustaining, and implementing results-driven process improvement projects.
The Under Secretary of the Army, the honorable Dr. Joseph W. Westphal, and Army's first Chief Management Officer (CMO), presented awards to winners at a ceremony in the Hall of Heroes, in the Pentagon.
What has the Army done'
Last year, those individuals who won the 2010 LEAP Awards, and thousands of others across the Army, produced $1 billion in cost savings and $3.3 billion in cost avoidances during fiscal year 2010. This financial benefit translates to supporting Soldiers and Soldier families with stronger processes and quicker results with fewer mistakes.
What continued efforts does the Army have planned for the future'
LSS is a concept that American manufacturer, service and healthcare industries have successfully pioneered and adopted to achieve a continuous process improvement in all areas of the business. The objective is to utilize a data-driven approach and methodology for eliminating defects and variation reduction from product to service. LSS attempts to make more cost-effective use of taxpayer dollars while better serving Soldiers and their families.
LSS is one of the main methodologies being used to help the Army meet the efficiency savings goals established by the Secretary of Defense. These savings will be realized by using LSS to transform organizations, management practices and systems that have created inefficiencies and waste.
Why is this important to the Army'
LSS uses a set of data-driven tools to improve operational and organizational processes. Applied to the Army, this total systems approach encourages enterprise-wide synergy. Typically, processes that seem localized and self-contained start to spread across the organization and require total Army leadership support. By embracing the enterprise approach, the Army can continue to benefit from and duplicate the success of LSS as a business organization, institution and culture. The LEAP Awards, as a part of the Army's LSS program, are helping the Army be better stewards of the taxpayer dollars.
Resources:
<a href="http://www.armyg1.army.mil/leansixsigma/whatislss.asp" target="_blank">G-1's Lean Six Sigma website</a>
To see a list of 2010 winners: <a href="http://www.armyobt.army.mil/news-2010-leap-awards.html" target="_blank">Army Chief Management Officer Presents LEAP Awards</a>
Social Sharing