Process Palooza Winning in Business Excellence for Higher Ed
Davis, CA, August 14, 2018 -- At the annual UC Computing Services Conference held in August at UC Davis, the University of California San Diego’s Process Palooza: Leaning Toward Success was awarded with a gold Larry L. Sautter Award. The Sautter award program recognizes UC faculty and staff for IT innovations that allow the university to be more effective and efficient in its operations, and to better fulfill its mission of teaching, research and public service.
Hosted by UC San Diego IT Services and Extension, in its inaugural year, Process Palooza sold out at 500 participants and it only spanned the UC San Diego campus. A trifecta of engagement: it’s a conference, a competition and it’s an expo. It showcases process improvement using Lean Six Sigma and continuous improvement practices.
"Lean" refers to a method that refines a process through the elimination of waste. Meanwhile, "Six Sigma" refers to the process of data-driven decision making. A Lean Six Sigma approach to continuous improvement enables campuses to improve their business practices by designing or redesigning everyday processes in services to make them drastically more efficient.
Of the 500 attendees, half self-identified as new to process and continuous improvement and wanted to learn more. Described as a fun and intoxicating event, it offered an inviting atmosphere to share and learn.
“Gathering of individuals who want to redesign the box”
With everyone invited, it became evident that we all want to make improvements and make a difference!
“It was great having the opportunity to collaborate with folks from around campus to improve an actual process within the University! It was really rewarding to feel like we made a difference”
The results were show-stopping with 30 practical improvement ideas across two very large campus processes and the launch of two infrastructures to sustain results, Lean Bench and Business Excellence Community of Practice.
Now in its second year, Process Palooza is a UC wide event held on UC San Diego’s campus. It started as an event to focus on business process improvement and turned into a UC wide embrace of Lean Six Sigma (LSS), continuous improvement and business excellence.
In addition to presentation and panels, Process Palooza includes a red-carpet experience, tours of the UC San Diego campus, vendor fairs, games and prizes. This year, Process Palooza will be held on December 12, 2018 in the Price Center and is open to the UC system with a nominal fee for alumni and non-UC attendees.
Registration opens on November 1st . Check the site here for updates.