Denver Peak Academy

Grace Nelson earned her Green Belt by creating an innovation based off team work and collaboration. In Lean we look at how an individual can help raise up an entire team.

In Graces’ case she looked at something all inspectors have to do every year; pass their Professional-Food Safety Certification. Each year the city pays for all the inspectors on her team to not only take the test but also to take a training course around what the test will cover so that employees can be better prepared

Grace looked at the cost of having each inspector take the training which costs about $2,000 per year. She considered how the department might be able to save costs but still ensure every employee is adequately prepared for the test. With all this in mind, she suggested having only one inspector take the training and then make a study guide for all inspectors to use. This innovation now generates a hard savings of $1,890 per year and it has allowed the team members to create a more collaborative learning environment.

Congratulations to Grace and to her team for enthusiastically adopting this innovation!