💧 Case Study: Turning Around a Troubled Water Project with Lean Practices
🧭 At a Glance
- ⏱ Latrine construction time cut from 3+ months → 1 month
- ⛏ Borehole drilling reduced from 6 months → 2 months
- 💰 $500,000 saved and reinvested in repairs, training, and water access
- 📈 On-time reporting improved to 90%
- 🤝 Community contributions delivered in 4 months instead of 8
🚦Stage 1: BEFORE- Fragmented Workflows
- 💸 13% budget overrun created funding strain
- ⏳ Delayed activities left Year 2 targets unmet
- ⚠️ Poor-quality work increased rework and repair costs
- 📉 Stakeholder confidence was falling as timelines slipped
🚦Stage 2: DURING -Lean Redesign
- 🔍 Root cause analysis identified bottlenecks in drilling and latrine quality
- 📝 Standardized processes and clarified roles for accountability
- 📊 Introduced weekly reporting and value stream mapping for visibility
- ⚡ Embedded proactive risk mitigation practices
- 🤝 Increased community engagement to speed up local contributions
- ✅ Issues identified early, reducing costly rework
- 👥 Team alignment improved through clear responsibilities
- 📈 Community trust rebuilt via faster, more transparent progress
📈Stage 3: AFTER – Project On track
- ⏱ Latrine construction reduced from over 3 months → 1 month
- ⛏ Borehole drilling cut from 6 months → 2 months
- 💰 $500,000 saved and reinvested into serving 30% more beneficiaries
- 📊 On-time reporting climbed to 90%
- 🤝 Community contributions delivered twice as fast (4 months → 8 months)
