If you’ve been living in a cave for the past two years, you may have missed the obstreperous use of the word “kaizen” in Finance & Facilities (F2). Even if you’ve heard it, it may not be clear exactly what it is, or why this Japanese word is used by Lean teams.
The summer of 2011 was a very interesting time for those of us at UW who spend their days fretting about credit ratings, financial ratios, and interest rate spreads. The federal government’s flirtation with financial fiasco through congressional brinksmanship on the issue of the debt ceiling caused the US government’s gold-plated Aaa credit rating to be placed on “credit watch”.
Administrators in academic departments at University of Washington have a broad range of responsibilities, most of which require knowledge of compliance with federal, state and University policies, including finance and budget management, human resources operations and payroll documentation requirements.
Mystery money in a UW bank account is a problem! Funds from sponsors, government agencies, private businesses, international agencies, students, and parents are transferred electronically into our bank accounts every day. We receive as many as 1000 electronic payments each month. Most of them can be quickly identified and applied. Unfortunately there are a few that are not so easily processed.
As we address the immediate needs of our unrelenting state budget crisis, change is happening at breakneck speed in Procurement Services and elsewhere in Finance & Facilities. Lean has been the great savior in our rapid process improvement effort in year two of our engagement. For many, Lean is a way of life. It’s our methodology for continuous process improvement.
Every year the team in UW Financial Accounting (FA) has a major goal: to produce the University of Washington’s Annual Stakeholder Report. This is a collaborative effort involving FA, Grant & Contract Accounting (GCA), Student Fiscal Services (SFS), UW Information Technology (UWIT), Treasury and additional information from Housing & Food Services (HFS), UW Physicians (UWP) and Capital Projects Office (CPO).
As you pass GCA’s front desk (as you walk by, make sure to say “hi” to the Q team of Kate and Ann,) take a right, past the safe and you’ll find an open area with Husky purple table cloths, a picture of earth with spaceships rocketing to the moon, and a couple of white boards with sub-headings like “launch pad” and “refueling." By this time, you may be wondering, “where in the world am I?” or “what does any of this have to do with GCA?”
When Real Estate dipped its toe into the Lean waters in summer 2010, not everyone in our organization directly participated in the initial 3-day workshop, including our director. The thought then was to have those “doing the work” actively map the process and identify the various impediments and therefore opportunities to improve our work flow.
Maybe it was the chance to see and hear UWPresident Michael Young in person. Or maybe it was the Spirit Award Lunch. Or maybe the approximately 250 people who attended the 2012 Town Hall Meeting really did want to know more about what’s going on in Financial Management and Strategy Management these days. In any case, you all showed up!
The Recognition Quality Team has been busy organizing recognition events, reviewing awards and thinking of new and creative ways that Financial Management and Strategy Management can say ‘Thank You’ to our peers. FM/SM have continued to do their part by recognizing peers with 19 Bravos, 6 CARE awards, 32 recognition treats and 6 Team Spirits!
If you’ve been living in a cave for the past two years, you may have missed the obstreperous use of the word “kaizen” in Finance & Facilities (F2). Even if you’ve heard it, it may not be clear exactly what it is, or why this Japanese word is used by Lean teams.
The summer of 2011 was a very interesting time for those of us at UW who spend their days fretting about credit ratings, financial ratios, and interest rate spreads. The federal government’s flirtation with financial fiasco through congressional brinksmanship on the issue of the debt ceiling caused the US government’s gold-plated Aaa credit rating to be placed on “credit watch”.
Administrators in academic departments at University of Washington have a broad range of responsibilities, most of which require knowledge of compliance with federal, state and University policies, including finance and budget management, human resources operations and payroll documentation requirements.
Mystery money in a UW bank account is a problem! Funds from sponsors, government agencies, private businesses, international agencies, students, and parents are transferred electronically into our bank accounts every day. We receive as many as 1000 electronic payments each month. Most of them can be quickly identified and applied. Unfortunately there are a few that are not so easily processed.
As we address the immediate needs of our unrelenting state budget crisis, change is happening at breakneck speed in Procurement Services and elsewhere in Finance & Facilities. Lean has been the great savior in our rapid process improvement effort in year two of our engagement. For many, Lean is a way of life. It’s our methodology for continuous process improvement.
As you pass GCA’s front desk (as you walk by, make sure to say “hi” to the Q team of Kate and Ann,) take a right, past the safe and you’ll find an open area with Husky purple table cloths, a picture of earth with spaceships rocketing to the moon, and a couple of white boards with sub-headings like “launch pad” and “refueling." By this time, you may be wondering, “where in the world am I?” or “what does any of this have to do with GCA?”
Maybe it was the chance to see and hear UW President Michael Young in person. Or maybe it was the Spirit Award Lunch. Or maybe the approximately 250 people who attended the 2012 Town Hall Meeting really did want to know more about what’s going on in Financial Management and Strategy Management these days. In any case, you all showed up!