The “In My Words” column in this month’s TPO is about applying Lean methods to wastewater treatment. Sometimes the temptation when these things come around is to write them off as just the latest fad.
Anyone who has been in an organization for a while has seen slogans and initiatives with clever names come and go. They last until management loses interest, or until a manager or supervisor moves on and a new one comes in. So the temptation for a grizzled veteran is just to go along and ride it out.
Methods like Lean are different. They aren’t passing fancies. They’re
