The Blog

John Batiste, Chief of Washington State Patrol

07/25/12

We at the State Patrol are in the process of saying goodbye to an old friend. Ford Motor Company has stopped making the venerable Crown Victoria Police Interceptor, which might have been the most popular form of law enforcement transportation since the horse. We are switching to the Chevrolet Caprice, but maintaining the traditional white color scheme with our badge and flash on the doors.  To speed our transition to the Caprices, we’ve borrowed a process from the private sector called “Lean.” 

With Boeing as an early mentor, we streamlined the work that we do in taking a car from the factory floor to patrol duties.  We have to install radios, lights, computers, cameras, PA system and that very special “back seat.” Who better to help us with an assembly line process than the world’s finest manufacturer of airplanes?

Lean is working. Our fleet section has gone from outfitting 10 to 12 cars per month to the ability to do 18 to 20. As the cars arrive from Chevy we’ll get them outfitted and you’ll start seeing them on the road. We’ll still have some Crown Vics out there for awhile- we just put the last new one in service last month. Our fleet section is also using Lean to assemble the cars you’re less likely to notice. We operate some lesser-known models as unmarked vehicles to catch those aggressive drivers who suddenly sprout halos-and-wings when they spot a marked car.

As the Crown Vic leaves us, we’re actually making two new friends: the Chevy Caprices will be great cars, and the Lean process will be integrated wherever possible into our agency culture. With coaching from Group Health Cooperative, we’re trying Lean in our Toxicology Lab to see if we can turn lab tests around more quickly.