Several employees have recently completed CLASS training and earned certifications.
Officer Training
On February 24 and 25, the entire Officer team completed Lean Leadership training and became certified Blue Belts. The Lean Leadership course is based on the book, “People: A Leader's Day-to-Day Guide to Building, Managing and Sustaining Lean Organizations" by Robert Martichenko, Roger Pearce, Steve Gran and Walt Miller. Citizens’ Lean Leadership training and certification program provides leaders the opportunity to discuss leadership tools, struggles, and ideas while creating a common approach for supporting and leading lean thinking. Prior to this, 89 leaders in the organization have also become certified Blue Belts.
The Officer team also completed Gemba Walk training, further illustrating their commitment to a lean culture and Citizens’ Lean and Six Sigma (CLASS) initiatives.
Mark Jacob, Vice President, Capital Programs & Engineering / Quality, said, “Our continuous improvement culture has been evident for decades. But, as our CLASS program evolves, it takes continuous improvement to a new level not seen before at Citizens. It is transforming how we all do our everyday work. It truly prepares us for today’s competitive and evolving business environment and positions us well for the future. The program supports each of our four Pillars: Customer Satisfaction, Employee Engagement, Financial Integrity, and Performance Excellence.”
CLASS Certifications
Several employees completed training on the use of Continuous Improvement tools and documentation and completed a project to receive certification.
Beth Smith (Market Development) – Green Belt, Justin Redman (Water Quality) – Yellow Belt, Jamie Burks (Legal) – Yellow Belt, Jeff Brown (Corporate Affairs) – Yellow Belt, John Harz (Wastewater Operations) – Yellow Belt, Chris Kennedy (Wastewater Operations) – Advanced Yellow Belt and Keesha Garner (UE&C) – Yellow Belt
Ed Bukovac (Westfield) – Yellow Belt
Vicky Anderson (Supply Chain) – Yellow Belt
Not pictured: Joni Staten (Wastewater Operations) – Advanced Yellow Belt
Yellow Belt Training
Ten employees completed the two-day CLASS Yellow Belt Training on March 12. They will now work on Continuous Improvement projects for certification.
Mike Bartone (Gas Supply), Mandy Saucerman (Corporate Affairs), Gary Kyle (IT Ops & Infrastructure), Nick Polley (Gas Transmission & Distribution), John Scott (Gas Transmission & Distribution), Robert Edwards (Water Distribution), Jim McLaughlin (Billing & Customer Services), Latasha Stewart (Supply Chain), Todd Fuller (Thermal) and Mike Elliott (Water Distribution)
Blue Belt (Lean Leadership) Certifications
Seventeen employees completed the eight-week Lean Leadership Training on March 3. This training is designed for Supervisors, Managers, and Directors and focuses on leadership skills in a lean organization.
John Trypus (UE&C), Ryan Taylor (Plant Engineering), Gary Young (Shared Field Services), Alana Gessert (Energy Distribution Engineering), Paula Birdsong (Shared Field Services), Jennifer Bailey (Program & Technical Services), Joel Gallagher (Billing & Customer Services), Jim Allen (Water Distribution), Christina Nigh (Shared Field Services), Crit Crabtree (Facilities), Breann Cooper (Water Quality), Rich Newell (UE&C), Jeff Guinn (Environmental Stewardship), Mike Elliott (Water Distribution), Tony Taylor (Wastewater Collections), Dan Considine (Corporate Affairs) and Joe Anthis (Shared Field Services)
