Brad Keefe, director of Tritium Business Planning and Integration, presents an acquisition forecasting process during a rapid improvement event at the Savannah River Site.

AIKEN, S.C. EM’s management and operations contractor at the Savannah River Site (SRS) recently marked its first year under a new business system that has led to taxpayer savings of $8.9 million.

   Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS) employees celebrated efforts to improve performance, cost, and delivery through the system, Focused Improvement Transformation (FIT). 

   “The Focused Improvement Transformation is all about people, and allowing people to work as teams to improve processes, using problem-solving tools to identify and eliminate waste and non-value-added work from their processes,” said P. K. Hightower, manager of SRNS Continuous Improvement.

   In a successful FIT initiative to improve supply chain management, SRNS created an annual savings of $944,000 by shortening the acquisition approval process and increasing the number of requisitions that complete the approval process without any changes.

   SRNS reviewed “value stream analyses,” or all the activities required to deliver a specific product or service. These areas include supply chain management, information technology, project management, and the integrated priority list.

   In FIT’s first year, subject-matter experts, federal employees, and individuals with an “outsider’s perspective” took part in 20 weeklong rapid improvement events (RIEs) to lay out how processes currently work, how they should work, and how they could look in the future. 

   The improvements led to streamlined processes and the elimination of unnecessary steps, resulting in a reduction of work hours and representing a significant cost savings. 

   “The first year of FIT has been outstanding. We’re embarking on our second year with a great deal of momentum,” SRNS President and CEO Carol Johnson said. “Over the next year, more employees will have the opportunity to participate in transforming their work processes and the company, with the ultimate goal of making our work life better as we deliver results safely and securely.”

   FIT is built on the company’s continuous improvement and IDEAS (Individuals Developing Effective Alternative Solutions) programs. The continuous improvement program looks to improve products, services, and processes, and all employees have the opportunity to submit suggestions to improve and make work safer through the IDEAS program. 

   Consultants from Simpler, Inc. helped SRNS by addressing problems with the “Lean” philosophies and problem-solving tools. Lean is a system that focuses on continuous efficiency and quality improvement.

   “In today’s business environment, it’s important to gain efficiencies,” said Zachaery Todd, with DOE-Savannah River’s Office of Integration and Planning. “Simpler’s experience with implementing value stream analyses and RIEs at other DOE sites has helped the Savannah River Site achieve significant cost savings as well as numerous process and procedure improvements over the past year.”