Lean Six Sigma Saves Texas City More Than $5 Million

The city of Tyler, Texas, recently celebrated more than $5 million in savings from their Lean Six Sigma program, according to an article in the Tyler Morning Telegraph. The program launched in 2009, with a goal of making Tyler’s city services more efficient and providing better customer service. An earlier editorial piece from the city manager, Mark McDaniel, stated that the city has, since implementing its Lean Six Sigma program, achieved a AAA bond rating, paid off all its general obligation debt, and maintained the lowest tax rate in the state for cities with more than 16,000 residents. The program empowers employees to become partners in building good government and fosters strong working relationships, McDaniel wrote. Some of the projects undertaken through the program have resulted in quicker review of legal documents, faster technician response time, and thousands of hours of overtime cut from the police department budget. As of January, 2013, the city had 7 black belts, 29 green belts, and 123 blue belts on its payroll, the city manager wrote. McDaniel pointed out that Tyler is one of the first cities to implement Lean Six Sigma throughout its entire municipal operation. However, he noted, the notion is catching on with governmental entities across the nation. The Department of Defense is using Lean Six Sigma throughout its entire operation and Iowa’s Department of Management’s Lean Six Sigma program is nearly a decade old, he stated. If you’d like to bring efficiency and improved customer service to your business, Lean Six Sigma is a powerful tool to do so.