Our 9 December forum on regional continuous improvement issues provided insight into great opportunities for our Community of Practice.
Virginia Senator Frank Wagner outlined the opportunity for our region to become the east coast energy capital, supporting the construction and operation of off-shore gas/oil infrastructure. Key to this is the implementation of Technical Career Educational curriculum to develop an appropriate work force.
The Just-In-Time Paint community of practice detailed the actions necessary for collaboration among users and suppliers of paint for government maritime contracts. Their techniques identified best practices from each participant and structured a future state action plan of value to all. Great example for use in a number of cases across our region!
The Panel of CI program leaders articulated challenges and opportunities for the implementation of improvement initiatives. Along with the survey conducted on forum participants, the message was clear: successful CI depends mostly on the decision and follow-up for engagement, more than resources and training. And the challenge to most organizations is the need for improved management skills to effectively deploy and execute the changes necessary.
A newsletter will be forthcoming shortly with more on the discussions, as well as information on our Community of Practice agenda for 2010. |
