Continuous Improvement at Savannah River Nuclear Solutions is all about eliminating non-value added steps in processes. Making changes in little ways has resulted in significant savings for the company. 

In fiscal year (FY) 2014, SRNS achieved $45.7 million in cost savings by engaging in CI initiatives, exceeding its CI goal for the year by more than $30 million. Since SRNS assumed the contract in 2008, CI productivity and efficiency cost savings total over $200 million.

“Through cost avoidances, productivity and efficiency improvements, SRNS employees have returned significant value to their customers. The Continuous Improvement program at SRNS strives to improve our processes in a highly-regulated environment while saving taxpayer dollars,” said PK Hightower, Manager, SRNS Continuous Improvement. 

An example of a CI initiative from FY14 is the Corrective Action Program (CAP) Project, which will save 14,000 man-hours per year, or $1.24 million in productivity savings. A program required by the Department of Energy (DOE), CAP serves to correct and prevent recurrence of issues affecting personal safety, operational safety and regulatory compliance.  

Over 2,000 employees at the Savannah River Site (SRS) use software called STAR (Site Tracking and Reporting) to track corrective actions. The CI initiative not only made usability improvements within the software but also streamlined the overall corrective action process. 

“I use STAR as part of my job as the Analytical Lab F Area Operations STAR and Assessment Coordinator.  Since STAR was improved upon in early August, I’ve been able to save a lot of time and the interface is a lot easier to use,” said SRNS employee Janice Steadman Shipes.

SRNS has continued on its operational excellence journey by hiring Simpler Consulting, a proven leader in Lean Transformation, to help develop Lean experts within the company. Simpler will also help implement a Lean Business System to improve employee satisfaction, reduce costs, increase productive capacity, improve quality and timeliness of product delivery, and ultimately, increase value to SRNS customers. 

“Simpler’s successful track record for implementing Lean management initiatives in the government sector will be invaluable for SRNS during our Lean transformation,” said Hightower.