Process Improvement Efforts

Administrative Vice Chancellor Michael Beck

Welcome to 2020. I hope the year is going well for the Administration team. As we start this new decade, it provides an opportunity for us to consider what we want to accomplish during the next ten years. As you consider this question, also consider if there are ways that UCLA might support your professional or personal goals. Don’t hesitate to take advantage of the vast array of opportunities for professional training, personal health and wellness, sports and entertainment and other opportunities.

UCLA is a large complex organization that can only succeed with the strong commitment and dedication of its thousands of employees. We work during a time when the needs and expectations of our campus constituents and the fiscal and physical environment around us are changing, which is why we spend so much time focusing on process improvement efforts. There are many ways in which we can reduce wasted time or resources associated with outdated processes that tend to be as frustrating to our customers as it is to the employees who have to implement them. It is exciting to see the work of the many Shingo and Lean Teams as they improve processes, reduce costs and free up additional capacity to work on other priorities. (Photo: Fleet Superintendent Riley Moore presenting on a LEAN teams initiative at an Events & Transportation Business Meeting.)

Fleet Superintendent Riley Moore presenting on a lean teams initiative at the E&T Business Meeting

Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Emily Carter refers to a “hub and spoke model” of service delivery. This model recognizes the benefits of the distributed service models that exist throughout the campus, but also acknowledges that we need to do a better job of linking those common distributed systems back to a core hub. That hub is often Administration, which means it is even more important than ever to ensure we are fulfilling our organization mission:

To deliver quality customer-oriented services and programs that provide the strong foundation for UCLA to excel in education, research, and public service.

I am grateful for all the thousands of dedicated Administration employees who are working hard every day to bring that mission to reality. Enjoy reading about some of the happenings in Administration and a few of the people who deliver on our mission in our latest issue of News & Views.

Thank you,

Michael Beck
Administrative Vice Chancellor