Reporting CI Successes in Q2
Wednesday, August 17, 2022 - 7:15 AM
Continuous improvement projects aim to reduce waste in processes, resulting in improved lead time and turn-around time, savings on hard costs and ultimately an improved customer experience.
Here’s one of our success stories, as reported in the fall edition of the City Guide.
The Non-Profit Housing division in the Department of Community Services manages more than 400 housing rental units. On average, 65 tenant move-in or move-outs are processed by the division annually.
The Challenge
In January 2019, the Residential Tenancies Act changed the timeline requirement for refunding tenant security deposits from within 15 days of vacating a unit to within 10 days. The City’s move-in and move-out process for these units at the time was primarily manual and did not allow for this shortened turnaround time. The turnaround time for move-outs was averaging 30 plus days.
The Solution
A cross-departmental project team came together to apply continuous improvement methodology and tools with the goal of improving turnaround time and increasing the quality and consistency of the process overall. Each step in the process was thoroughly reviewed and documented; clearly identifying roles and responsibilities for all staff involved, and the following improvements were made:
- We implemented a software solution for unit inspections that helps us detail and collect information on to the condition of units on move-in and move-out. This solution also helped eliminate paper use.
- We streamlined information sharing between City departments involved in the process, reducing wait times.
- We created a process checklist for move-in tenants.
As a result of these improvements, turnaround time for move-outs decreased with 91% completed in less than 30 days. The Non-Profit Housing division continues to monitor the process to identify gaps and opportunities for additional improvements.
How you Benefit
Accessing affordable, suitable housing is essential to the health of individuals and is the foundation for a prosperous and healthy community. By streamlining and standardizing its move-in and move-out process, the City is better positioned to meet legislated timelines and more importantly, can better serve the housing needs of clients by helping ensure units are available without delay.
CI in Action: Q2 Report
To read more about how the City is using CI to improve processes and enhance the customer experience, visit the continuous improvement page. The City reports on CI progress quarterly, including the following important measures:
To read more about how the City is using CI to improve processes and enhance the customer experience, visit the continuous improvement page. The City reports on CI progress quarterly, including the following important measures:
