The Office of Continuous Improvement helps UC Santa Barbara make work simpler, so people can spend their time on what matters most.
We partner with departments, teams, and individuals across campus to find and fix the problems that slow work down. Using Lean Six Sigma, process mapping, and change management practices, we help people see their processes clearly, remove waste, and make improvements that last.
We support both small, everyday improvements and larger cross-campus efforts. All of our support is free to UCSB teams, departments, and individuals.
Our Mission
We build a culture of problem solving and process improvement across UC Santa Barbara. We help the campus simplify and streamline the processes we all work with, so they deliver more value to students, faculty, and staff and free up time for the work that advances research and education.
Our Vision
Faculty, staff, and students across UCSB treat continuous improvement as part of their everyday work: spotting problems, fixing what bugs them, and sharing what works.
How We Work
Our approach is "excellence through engagement." We work alongside the people who do the work, because they know it best. We help them think differently about what they do and how they do it, and then change it for the better. We do this by:
- Facilitating process improvement projects and workshops
- Simplifying and streamlining a process first, then deciding whether automation or AI will help
- Training and coaching people in improvement tools, including those who are new to this way of thinking and working
- Connecting people across departments to break down silos and share what works
What We Can Do for You
- Improve a process. Process Tuneups bring a cross-functional team together to fix a specific process.
- Learn to map your processes. We teach you how to make your processes visible, so your team can train, hand off, and improve the work on its own.
- Get coaching or consultation. Get one-on-one or team support, from choosing the right project to sustaining results.
- Bring a workshop to your team. Custom sessions designed around your group's needs.
What is Continuous Improvement?
What do we mean by continuous improvement, and how will this type of thinking help us? The main idea is that no process is perfect and there is always room for improvement. If we take a fresh look at the processes we work with on campus, we can identify opportunities to make a change for the better.
Sometimes processes fail to meet the needs of the customers they serve: students, faculty, staff, and alumni. They may have been originally designed to conform to the routines and habits of the people who developed them, but as new systems, functions and requirements were added, complexity grew while the processes became more fragile and prone to errors.
But, if we can simplify and standardize our processes, we can achieve better results for our campus customers and for ourselves, while promoting a culture of excellence. Our approach to process improvement offers a framework to ensure efficiency and effectiveness in our processes, allowing faculty and staff to focus on their vital work to advance research and education.
That’s where the Office of Continuous Improvement comes in. The Office of Continuous Improvement provides training and services to support teams, departments and individuals in their efforts to identify and solve real operational challenges, eliminate process waste, avoid costs and minimize business risk. Offerings include hands-on coaching, consultation, and experiential learning, all at no cost to teams, departments or individuals.
Questions? Contact Katie Mankins, Executive Director for Continuous Improvement, at kmankins@ucsb.edu.
Frequently Asked Questions
During late 2018, former CIO Matt Hall, former CFO Chuck Haines, and Vice Chancellor Garry Mac Pherson started a pilot program to bring Lean Six Sigma Green Belt training to key parts of our administrative, finance, and IT operations across UCSB. The first cohort started training in December 2018, and wrapped up the program with an exam and final project presentations in March 2019, earning them their “Green Belt” certificates. We firmly believe that this program represents an investment in our staff and our community and we greatly appreciate the continued support from senior leadership across UCSB.
Lean and Six Sigma are two related, but distinct, approaches to process improvement and business operations. Both have their own origins in manufacturing, but principles of each can be applied to nearly any business operation in any industry. The primary goal of Lean is to eliminate waste, which is identified as anything that doesn’t add value to the process as defined by the customer. The primary goal of Six Sigma is to eliminate defects, which are defined as being anything non-conforming to the demands of the customer. So while they are different, they tend to go hand in hand.
Lean Six Sigma and higher education may seem mismatched at first. The needs of business, manufacturing, or customer service are different from those of higher education institutions. However, a closer look at higher education shows that at its core is a business that delivers a service or product to a customer – the students. Any way that we can reduce waste and free up resources to spend more time delivering value to our customers (ultimately, our students) will be beneficial to campus.
Waste in Lean is known as the three Ms—muda (waste), mura (unevenness), and muri (overburden). Mura refers to variations or inconsistencies in a process; muri concerns overburden or unreasonableness in a process.
Muda is further divided into eight forms of waste:
- Defects—incomplete or incorrect information
- Overproduction—doing or making more than needed or before it is needed
- Waiting—people waiting for people, information, products, equipment, etc.
- Non-Utilized Talent—not utilizing an individual's full capacity (knowledge, skills, aptitude and/or creativity)
- Transportation—unnecessary movement of "things"
- Inventory—excess supplies, paperwork, information or equipment
- Motion—unnecessary movement of people
- Extra Processing—doing more than necessary to produce a product or service
Any easy way to remember the 8 Wastes of Lean is to use the acronym "DOWNTIME".
Similar to karate, Lean Six Sigma uses belt colors to represent expertise.
The White Belt level is designed for those new to process improvement. White Belt training is a high level introduction to Lean, Six Sigma and Lean Six Sigma. The objectives are to gain familiarity with the history, vocabulary and key concepts to build your understanding of process improvement.
The Yellow Belt level is for UCSB employees who are ready to contribute to process improvement initiatives. Yellow Belt training offers a dynamic learning experience along with a project simulation designed to build upon foundational skills using Lean Six Sigma tools that relate to the kind of processes we work with on campus.
The Green Belt level is for UCSB employees who want to learn how to lead process improvement initiatives within their departments and apply Lean Six Sigma principles to a real-life project. Green Belts play a key role in leading process improvement efforts, solving business challenges, and driving operational excellence.
The Black Belt level is for UCSB employees who have successfully completed Green Belt training and have worked on multiple process improvement projects over the course of 2-3 years. Black Belt training provides a systematic method to improve performance efficiencies and reduce variations, eliminate waste, determine constraints, create rapid improvements through Kaizen events, and monitor performance through balanced measurements.
At UC Santa Barbara, we are able to offer White, Yellow and Green Belt training. If you're interested in pursuing Black Belt training, please reach out to the Office of Continuous Improvement and we will be happy to provide you with available resources and options.
No. Yellow Belt training is not a pre-requisite for Green Belt training. It is intended to provide administrative staff, managers, supervisors etc. with a strong foundation in the Lean Six Sigma methodology so they can effectively support improvement efforts in the organization.
One of the most dangerous myths about Lean Six Sigma is that it is all about downsizing. This misunderstanding is most likely due to the emphasis on reducing waste and increasing efficiency, which some interpret as doing the same job with fewer people.
Lean thinking can assist organizations by improving process efficiency and reducing waste, resulting in increased efficiency and more stable employment. Furthermore, Lean emphasizes respect for people by providing employees with the tools and training to do their jobs effectively. Rather than eliminating jobs, lean encourages organizations to invest in their employees, assisting them in developing new skills and contributing more effectively to organizational success.