Bishop BEST aims to create efficiencies in processes at OWU. This initiative focuses on continuous improvement (CI) in order to better serve the greater OWU community.

BEST stands for "Building Efficient Strategies Together" and is guided by a three person board (Brian Rellinger, Megan Ellis, and Jason Cox). Anyone from the by the board and our continuous improvement facilitators. The team will utilize CI tools to streamline processes and work with the appropriate stakeholders to implement improvements.

Faculty and staff can attend workshops offered throughout the year to increase their knowledge of the CI strategies and tools, such as Plan Do Check Act, Kata, 5 Why's, Affinity Diagrams, and Cause and Effect (Bonefish) Diagrams. Participants will learn how to identify and minimize wastes in processes.

CI Tools Overview:

• PDCA (Plan Do Check Act)
• Kata - Rapid PDCA tool that emphasizes experimentation and practice.
• Newspaper - document that lists current ideas, problems, solutions, and responsible parties.
• 5 Whys - Root cause analysis brainstorming tool
• Affinity Diagram - Brainstorming tool for teams.  Helps bring order to fragmented or uncertain information.
• Cause and Effect (Fishbone) diagram - root cause analysis tool when the problem is known
• 5S - Sort, Shine, Set in Order, Standardize, & Sustain - Useful for improving flow, reducing hazards, eliminating waste, and to sustain improvements.
• A3 - A structured way to do problem solving using PDCA.  A repository of tools, analysis, metrics, and countermeasures developed during a PDCA cycle.
• ICE (Impact, Control, and Ease) and PACE (Priority, Action, Consider, Eliminate) - commonly used after a brainstorming session to prioritize countermeasures.
• Kanban - “signboard”, a task focused tool to visualize and prioritize work.
• Force Field Analysis - A change management decision making tool that seeks to identify forces for change vs forces resisting change.

The following employees are certified in CI:

2021 CI Facilitators:

• Darrell Albon  
• Dale J. Brugh 
• Jason Cox 
• Megan Ellis
• Julia Hatfield  
• Amy Kaple
• Mel Nelson 
• Emily Paetz 
• Brian Rellinger  
• Doug Zipp