Check out these results!
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Old Process |
New Process |
| Air Quality Construction Permitting |
62 days |
6 days |
| Clean Water Construction Project Loans & Approvals |
28 months |
4.5 months |
| Landfill Permitting |
187 days |
30 days |
| Corrective Action Decisions on Leaking Underground Storage Tanks |
1,124 days |
90 days |
| Sovereign Lands Permits & Environmental Reviews |
163 days |
86 days |
| Wastewater Permitting Time |
425 days |
15 days |
And, the actual list of results is much longer.
Check out this process!
The processes being used also intrigue me. The first process I'd like to highlight is called kaizen. The word's origin is Japanese - and translates literally to "change" (kai) "to become good" (zen). It assumes that every aspect of life deserves to be constantly improved. As a process improvement method, it has been used primarily inside the private sector, but to our knowledge, Iowa is the first to use kaizen extensively inside the public sector.
As Jim Chrisinger, Iowa's innovator-in-chief, described kaizen to me, clear goals are set up front. Then, employees and customers (or compliers) come together for a week straight, starting on a Monday afternoon. By the end of the week, they have designed a new process to accomplish the goals. Impressed? Wait until you hear this. They must also IMPLEMENT the design. For example, if reporting relationships are altered by the new design, the new reporting relationships must be in place by the following Monday, including "small" details such as moving desks, call routing, who's responsible for what, etcetera.
This process I had to learn more about! (In fact, I really want to observe it.)
Here's one story from Iowa's Department of Natural Resources.
The DNR has been the home agency for kaizen activity to date - and were themselves the first agency to participate. Their first weeklong event brought together staff, managers and representatives from outside the agency to work on an environmental permitting process.
Let's revisit that first event. In the spring of 2003, the Iowa Coalition for Innovation and Growth approached the DNR. Coalition business members expressed concern regarding the length of time required to obtain "new source review" air quality construction permits. The DNR Air Quality bureau issues about 2,000 of these construction permits annually to a wide array of businesses and industries with emissions to the outdoor air (such as boilers, paint booths, coating operations, etc.).
The Coalition proposed a process improvement focused on reducing the time needed to process standard construction permit applications, and proposed the use of the kaizen methodology. (They even agreed to finance it.)
The kaizen methodology focuses on time and variation reduction, is measurement focused, data driven and fact based, and drives cultural change.
The DNR hosted the event on June 23-27, 2003, inviting a team of natural resource staff, along with representatives from the regulated and business community, and the Iowa Business Council. The event was run by Stephen Smith of North Carolina-based TBM Consulting Group.
Design objectives included:
- Removing unnecessary steps
- Eliminating a backlog of 600 permits
- Reducing the need to obtain additional information from applicants
- Reducing the collective time required for a permit to be issued.
During the event, the team analyzed the flow of permit applications and steps involved in processing them. They developed process flow maps and collected time trials on each task. The team discovered a typical permit could travel through as many as 20 steps, with the majority undergoing 12 steps. (Examples of steps included: incoming mail handling, permit assignment, reviews for completeness, reviews by senior engineers, discussions with clients, final approval, and mailing of the issued permit.) The team discovered that about one day of work content is needed to issue a typical permit, yet the turnaround time was 45 to 80 days. The goal was to compress the turnaround time close to the actual work time.
The objectives were met!
By the end of the event, the DNR implemented a new process for its air construction permit program:
- Steps in standard construction permit processing decreased from 23 steps to 7 steps --- a 70% improvement.
- Handoffs from person to person in the process decreased from 18 to 4 --- a 70% improvement.
- Application forms were streamlined and one form was eliminated.
- 1-877-AIR IOWA: A special hotline, or help line, was set up for applicants to call to ensure the information they intend to submit is complete, accurate and suits the need of the engineer to issue a permit.
- And, as previously mentioned, the average amount of time for standard permits decreased from 62 days to 6 working days = a 90% improvement.
Let me say again, these changes were implemented at the end of that first week. And, within six months, 600 backlogged permits were eliminated.
Wait just a minute! What about compliance? What about maintaining the quality of the air?
These changes occurred without sacrificing quality control and environmental protection. The amounts of time engineers spend actively reviewing permit applications remained unchanged. All permits receive the same amount of scrutiny and attention as they did prior to the event. On top of that, the timesavings on the standard permits allowed staff to focus on the non-standard permits - the complex ones.
Since that initial kaizen event, the DNR has participated in at least 10 more as part of DNRs' commitment to streamlining processes and improving customer service. The DNR is also taking the lead in bringing kaizen business process improvement to the other executive branch agencies in Iowa. This is in recognition of the impact process improvement can have on the state's economic competitiveness and in part because the DNR has developed in-house capacity that can assist other agencies. Several other agencies held events in FY ' 05, including Economic Development, Public Safety, Human Services and Corrections. Teresa Hay McMahon has been a champion and key resource. For more information, contact her at teresa.mcmahon@dnr.state.ia.us. Again, here's Jim Chrisinger: "Without DNR's leadership, none of this would have happened. Director Jeff Vonk, Deputy Liz Christiansen, and Teresa have each stepped forward, taken risks, and made sure the resources and commitment were there."
Isn't this just terrific? This work complements our shared interests in transformation work in so many ways. To name a few --
- Clarifying goals up front, and measuring to see how you're doing
- Gaining compliance improvement, by making it easy to comply
- Gaining improved customer satisfaction
- Focusing time on strategically important work
- And, certainly not least, putting more 'wind in the sails' that change and innovation are indeed possible - and much more quickly than we have heretofore imagined.
Congratulations to all involved!
As a preview, next month, I'll be writing about another Process Improvement approach being used successfully in Iowa called Zoom. Hope Iowa has your interest piqued -- and that you'll come back to hear more.
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