'Continuous Improvement' in WPB

West Palm Beach Officer In Charge Joe Molfetto (background) delivers Lean Six Sigma (LSS) continuous improvement messaging to Retail Associates. Photo: West Palm Beach Customer Relations Coordinator Curlita Rogers-Saunders

West Palm Beach Officer In Charge Joe Molfetto facilitates Lean Six Sigma (LSS) White Belt training to Retail Associates who attended a “Deliver the Brand” training session at the West Palm Beach Processing and Distribution Center (P&DC). 
 

White Belt training is the first segment of the LSS certification designed for craft employees. As in martial arts, a “belt” signifies experience, with darker colored belts representing more training, more knowledge, and skills.

 

"My goal is to empower the employees to change the way we have traditionally tackled problems, and give them a new methodology to improve any process in their unit," Molfetto said. "I want them to focus on small improvements that will lead to continuous improvements, thus developing cross functional cooperation and team building.”

 

Like any forward-thinking business, the USPS constantly is working to improve its processes. Continuous improvement involves understanding what caused the problem and using that information to reduce waste, and improve speed, quality, predictability and consistency in how work is done.

 

LSS relies on a team-based approach to focus on the customer, on removing waste, and on improving processes. The “lean” portion focuses on increasing speed and efficiency by removing waste, such as unnecessary materials. Lean also eliminates unneeded resources, as well as wasted energy or time. “Six Sigma” looks at improving quality and consistency by using data analysis to correct workflow variation and defects.
 

Currently, Molfetto is working on a project for Green Belt certification in the LSS program.