The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) had increasing volumes of records to manage and the cost to store the agency’s records and documents had soared to intolerable levels. Maintaining records at the state’s primary storage and archive facilities meant the way space was utilized had to change, and something had to be done about records eligible for destruction.

The team started by:

• Creating a high-level process map
• Listing Inputs: Cost of boxes, labels, vehicles used, a retention schedule, inventory reporting system, storage facilities and personnel 
• Identifying outputs: Accuracy of schedule, inventory list, reduction of documents, storage space, and cost

Then they established what could be controlled: 

• Retention period
• How and where to store the records
• Number of personnel working on this

This team was able to get the following results from their improvements:

• A systematic review of the retention schedule
• Reevaluation of original documents to determine if they could be modified (shortened)
• A decrease in the number of years records are kept 
• Assigning a dedicated person to manage these records
• Acquiring an automated process that deletes unneeded and expired records
• Establishment of a system for submitting documents so they can be easily searched

The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation exceeded its goals, using Six Sigma, to cut costs for storing records and documents. 

Read the entire article at https://www.6sigma.us/case/texas-department-of-licensing-and-regulation/