Written by Prompted by a financial crisis, the City of Chula Vista wanted to find ways to be more efficient and effective and avoid more layoffs. City employees attended Goodrich Aerostructures’ Continuous Improvement Foundation training to learn about Lean processes.
As a result, the City of Chula Vista conducted several kaizen events in most of their departments such as:
- Improve its response to residents trying to take advantage of California’s Public Records Act (PRA)
- Eliminate over-processing in the Human Resources and Finance departments because they had to re-key large amounts of benefits data
- Streamline the process for obtaining a permit for a private event on city property
- Speed up the Public Works department’s approach to assigning and installing new curb ramps to meet the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
- Find a radical solution for the Recreation department that was struggling to offer a basic level of services due to drastic cut in staffing.
These Kaizen events resulted in dramatic service improvements without the need to further trim staff.
Read the entire article at https://www.lean.org/common/display/?o=1992