Spreading Innovation at Maintenance Roadeos
By Niles Koenigsberg, Process Improvement Intern
April 25, 2018
While rodeos have been a tradition involving the handling of livestock, Roadeos have been something else entirely. Originally starting in the 1950s, Roadeos are competitive driving events for motor vehicles in which drivers pass through a variety of obstacles in the shortest amount of time.
As for CDOT, the first Roadeo dates back to the 1980s. Simply put, a "Roadeo" is a "rodeo for equipment."
Instead of focusing on the driving capabilities of buses or trucks, Colorado's Maintenance Roadeo challenges one's ability with operating maintenance equipment (e.g., plow trucks, motor graders, loaders etc.). CDOT is proud of all their Maintenance workers and Patrol employees that compete yearly in these events. Kyle Lester, CDOT's director of maintenance, believes "the Roadeos celebrate not only the abilities of our employees but the wonderful communities that exist within CDOT."
However, the Roadeos are changing this year with some help from the Office of Process Improvement (OPI). Members of the Lean Everyday Ideas (LEI) team will be attending each Roadeo to facilitate and spread awareness about innovations both manufactured and abstract from one patrol to the next. OPI is striving to keep everyone at CDOT committed to the common value of excellence.
"There is untapped potential," Lester commented. "If our employees can get this aggressively involved in Roadeos, imagine how many more improvements to transportation maintenance we could see."
Lester hopes that Roadeos will help spread great ideas across the state, the generation of enthusiasm for improvement, and inspire our employees to borrow great ideas from each other. These Roadeos will not just be rodeos for equipment, but also for ideas.
At the end of the eight regional and one state Roadeo this summer, the LEI team hopes to have had roughly 1,350 face-to-face interactions with CDOT employees, received 800 completed surveys and seen an 80 percent reduction in LEI storeroom stock.