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Leading continuous improvement takes ADOT's director into the sign shop

Leading continuous improvement takes ADOT's director into the sign shop

October 4, 2016

By Caroline Carpenter / ADOT Communications

Wouldn't we all like to see our boss do our job for a day? Well, that happened recently when ADOT Director John Halikowski visited ADOT's sign shop to make and then install highways signs.

The video above gives you (and ADOT employees) a behind-the-scenes look at what goes into making and installing signs – and into a continuous-improvement technique known as a Gemba Walk, drawn from a Japanese term meaning going where work is done.

As we noted in a story about the director's visit, Gemba Walks allow leaders to not only better understand how work is performed but make employees part of examining roles and processes. Answering Governor Doug Ducey’s call for agencies to continuously improve their value to the state, this is something all ADOT leaders do, starting with the person atop the organizational chart.