Regional LEAN "Train the Trainer" Certificate Program 

The TJCOG Sandbox Institute is excited to offer a Regional Lean "Train the Trainer" Certificate Program taught by NCSU Industry Expansion Solutions. Local governments can send up to four staff (to ensure organizational diversity) to this rigorous certification process that will give them the tools and expertise to teach Lean methodology to others in their organization and lead internal Lean projects and redesign efforts. All participants will be required to conduct a complete Lean Project within their own organization before completion. 

Lean Government Success Story

Wake County’s Health department participated in the NC State Lean Certificate program and selected the South Wilmington Street Homeless Center as one of their projects for certification. In scoping their lean implementation project the center management identified two primary needs 1) to decrease the time a client spent within the shelter before finding permanent housing; and 2) to maximize the use of available funds and ensure that these funds were being used effectively. After the lean project was complete, the changes were implemented within a week. These changes resulted in:

• Reduced intake wait time for clients from 96 to 36 hours - 70% reduction
• Reduced amount of paperwork
• Ensured paperwork is appropriate based on policy
• Increased the number of initial re-housing meetings from one to six per week
• Implemented a new assessment tool

Individuals in the "Train the Trainer" program will take part in the following:

• a 2-day Lean 225 Training, April 17-18 @ TJCOG Offices, that helps participants identify and apply basic lean tools, recognize improvements within their work areas and benchmark against other organizations in NC starting lean implementation
• a 2-day Lean 325 Training, May 1-2 @ TJCOG Offices that will give participants a deeper understanding of kaizen methodology; identify successful components and do's/don'ts of a kaizen event; learn how to link lean tools, facilitation skills, and Lean culture to create an internal Strategic Roadmap for Continuous Improvement; and more. 
• a Lean Certification Test (paid for through program registration) in which a participant will need a score of 70% or above to pass. 
• a Lean Project Coach who will help participants identify and scope a project within their organization to give them the real-world application of the Lean skills learned in their training. The coach will be accessible for coaching, mentoring and guidance throughout the project period to ensure the participant is on track. 
• a Lean Project Presentation to NC State IES Lean Facilitators to give participants the ability to display their presentation skills, show the value of their Lean Project from start to finish, and answer questions about the project journey. This experience will solidify participant ability to replicate similar projects in the future. 
• a Regional Cohort of like-minded professionals from across local government in the TJCOG region to connect with, learn from, and get project feedback from.

The early bird cost per participant for the Certificate program is $3,000 to cover all training fees, lunch, facilities, and IES staff time. 

About The Sandbox Institute

The Sandbox Institute aims to leverage limited public funding resources to provide local government staff and partners across diverse agency types more oppportunity to learn the skills necessary to think and act innovatively and strategically about their day-to-day work and community vision.

The Sandbox Institute is an offering of The Sandbox, Triangle J Council of Government's Innovation Initiative focused on breaking down silos in government; encouraging unique "inside-the-sandbox" ideas and solutions; and providing educational opportunities for stakeholders to think freely about the biggest challenges in our region.