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Lean feat

Innovation challenge honors operational efficiencies

Great Lakes Area VP Jakki Krage Strako receives the best new project award. From left, Retail and Customer Service Operations VP Kelly Sigmon; Operations Research, Insight, and Continuous Improvement Director Luke Grossmann; Delivery Operations VP Ed Phelan; Strako; Operations Industrial Engineering Manager Lauren Zalewski; and Network Operations VP Linda Malone.

Postal Service employees in two districts were recently honored for their efforts to create more orderly workplaces.

In Capital Metro Area, Greensboro District employees reduced average letter automation changeover time by 73 percent, while employees in Great Lakes Area’s Chicago District decreased wait-time-in-line at Post Offices.

Both districts received awards through the Lean Innovation Challenge, which is part of the Postal Service’s Lean Six Sigma (LSS) efforts to reduce waste and improve operational efficiency.

Greensboro District was honored for having the most improved existing LSS project.

“The project was absolutely brilliant,” said Greensboro, NC, P&DC Delivery Barcode Sorter Operator Jordan Hill. “The way we worked together as a team made us more efficient.”

Chicago District’s award — which involved decreasing wait times by eliminating unnecessary activities and adding visual controls to help the auditing process — was in the best new project category.

“This is truly an honor,” said Letter Carrier Angie Radcliffe, the team leader. “LSS works.”

A panel of judges from USPS and the mailing industry chose the winners from more than 300 submissions.

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