This is a description of how the Lean for Non Profits program works. This was put on in Lafayette, IN by the local American Society for Quality (ASQ) section, and was a big hit. We've decided to be open with these resources, since there are tons of organizations throughout the world who need this information; and we're putting it out there for free! For the full Lean for Non-Profits resource list, see the table of contents: http://bit.ly/LeanForNonProfits This information can help the organizations in your community reduce waste and make a bigger impact with fewer resources required. In other words, Lean 'em up! If you're interested, find ASQ Lafayette on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ASQ_Lafayette

1. Lean For Non-Profits Training Workshop
Offered by ASQ Section 0917
As cutbacks continue, funding and resources are continually becoming harder to get. As this
happens, non-profit organizations find themselves having to cut back on their offering of
programs to meet the community need. A hard look at their internal workings and systems can
help them continue to improve their operations in order to do the work that meets their mission
and the community’s need. The “Lean” methodology has been used for many years in
manufacturing, healthcare and other service industries as an approach to examine the work and
cut out the unnecessary waste that consumes the resources needed to do the work.
With that in mind, ASQ Section 0917 hosted their second training workshop geared toward
“Lean For Non-Profits” in the fall of 2012. This full-day session offered strategies and
approaches for a non-profit organization to be more effective at fulfilling its mission. The aim
was to teach participants from these organizations how to look at their processes and systems to
identify opportunities for improvement. All materials were developed by our instructor, Brian
Hudson who is not only active in ASQ Section 0917, but is also the Lean / Six Sigma
Coordinator for Franciscan St. Elizabeth Health in Lafayette, Indiana. The presentation and
discussions covered value added and non-value added work, waste that is present in all systems,
as well as how to share “best practices” for implementation. A portion of the workshop was a
hands-on use of the tools being taught in order to give participants an opportunity to try them out
on some of the common issues that were identified during an extensive interview process which
was part of the preparation for this event.
The training workshop had 86 participants representing more than 40 different non-profit
agencies from across the state of Indiana (most of them from the greater Lafayette area). We
received a lot of positive feedback from the session and look forward to being able to offer more
sessions.
At the end of the session, participants were offered help from the section in getting started with
the information they learned in the workshop as well as assistance with specific projects. That
assistance has been provided to multiple agencies by members of ASQ Section 0917 who have
volunteered their time and resources to work with these non-profit organizations to identify and
implement improvement methods, helping them become more effective in their work. This
assistance is ongoing at this time.
If you would like further information and / or a copy of the training materials so your ASQ
Section can offer a similar training workshop, please contact Brian Hudson at
bhudson412@gmail.com .