Results Ohio News

Purpose
The purpose of the IT Procurement Kaizen event was to improve predictability, accountability, and satisfaction for customers; to create a more standardized and streamlined process for IT procurement activities, and to form a basis for performance measurement and reporting.

Results
The results of the initial week included a new process with significantly reduced steps, decisions and hand-offs. Due to the new streamlined process, the team has potentially reduced lead time from 207 business days to a maximum of 106 business days. The team has also included more planning up front for alignment with agency strategic sourcing and IT plans, the creation of customized agency RFP training, a virtual collaboration tool to be used by DAS and its customers all which will reduce hand-offs internally and excessive delays to DAS customers. A strategy was also developed to address the current pipeline of projects to transition them to the new process. The new process also includes the formal incorporation of a customer feedback/survey tool to capture information to continuously improve the IT procurement process.

Additionally, the new process includes a single DAS representative provided by OIT to shepherd (Project Lead) the project through the various DAS functions including consolidated services utilization, state printing, OBG and OAKS component utilization, privacy and security controls, spending controls, and sourcing throughout the project's life ensuring that all the various DAS components and activities fit together as a comprehensive working whole. Additionally, thirteen (13) touch points were identified to ensure that both procurement and OIT functional areas were working in a collaborative environment.

read more...

The Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation (BWC) Customer Contact Center is reporting gains in the quality and timeliness of the customer service it provides employers and injured workers, affirming labor efficiencies previously credited to BWC's incorporation of the "Kaizen" management model, a key cost-saving initiative of the governor's office.
(See The Hannah Report, 10/23/08.)

read more...

Purpose: The goal of this team is to collect a minimum of $43.7 million from the Combined Proposed Adjudication Process (CPAO) by June 30, 2009.

CPAO News Today Article

Purpose: To reduce the lead time on the approval of Integrated Application (IAP) Process to 180 days or less from the current performance of 365 days or more.

Results: Lead time was reduced dramatically for each of the above processes with the JD process difference at 20-60% and the IAP process by 50% or more. Handoffs were reduced from 74 to 21 (70%) and unneeded documents were reduced or eliminated for each entity. Additionally, each agency increased their capacity for processing by at least one-fifth. Because of these dramatic improvements, the process name was changed to the CAP as it better represented the improved collaboration and processing amongst the three governmental agencies.

The Mental Health Kaizen event team held a fantastic report-out on Friday, December 5, 2008 describing how they streamlined and standardized their grant process. They achieved some transformational results that will decrease the administrative burden to applicants and will be more aligned with the Department Strategic plan. Congratulations to Director Sandra Stephenson and their team sponsor/lead Bill Harper!

read more...

Purpose: To ensure that every Trade eligible customer is invited to a Benefits Right Information Session as quickly as possible to guarantee any services in which they have right.

Results: The team had a goal to decrease the lead time for sending out invitations for a BRI session from the 32 – 35 days it currently takes, down to 28 days. By implementing the new process the team estimates it taking no more than 16 days to send out invitations once certification has been received. The new process also shortens the time from certification to actual BRI session to 30 days. The new process includes sending out an invitation instead of a packet, saving ODJFS approximately $26,000 annually. Tracking and documentation of the new process is being done electronically, saving ODJFS money on paper, printing, supplies and storage.

Agency: Ohio Department of Natural Resources — Division of Mineral Resources Management

Purpose: The ODNR Kaizen event focused on improving the non-significant Application to Revise Permit (APR) process. The lead time for the process was 106 days with a goal to reduce the lead time by 50 percent.

Results: As a result of the Kaizen process the lead time went from 106 days to 21 to 30 days, a 60 to 70 percent reduction. The team also developed a web-based tracking system that can be used by all parties, established an APR fast track process, and created a system to submit all ARPs electronically using ODNR’s existing IT infrastructure.

The philosophy behind Kaizen is the same whether it is utilized in Japan or at the Ohio Department of Taxation. It’s all about continuous improvement.

The concept came to Taxation in October 2008 as a process improve-ment tool to reduce the time it took to respond to correspondence from tax-payers and tax practitioners concerning billing and assessment notices.

read more...

The first ODJFS Kaizen team focused on ways to streamline and improve the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) process. Currently, the process runs well, but is too costly. The team used Lean Sigma tools and techniques to make changes to the process that will help ensure WOTC “lives within its means”.

The new WOTC process has 71% less steps and 87% less delays. The process was streamlined by creating a process with less non-value adding steps, meeting the customer’s needs with data extraction to the database for processing applications, and using the 5-S process - Seiri (Sort), Seiton (Stabilize), Seiso (Shine), Seiketsu (Standardize), Shitsuke (Sustain- for streamlining paper processing.

Presentation

The second agency to successfully complete a Kaizen event was in the Bureau of Underground Storage Tank Regulations (BUSTR) in July 2008. The team focused on the corrective action process from the opening of a new case to its resolution. This was the first team to have actual outside customers as members of the team to streamline the process. The team reduced the number of steps in the process from 82 to 30 steps. They have also developed a process to work with the Environmental Protection Agency to relinquish “orphaned tank sites” for cleanup.

Powerpoint Presentation

BWC piloted the first successful event in May 2008 and streamlined the adjudicatory process. The team reduced the time an employer files a protest until the time it is resolved from 142 days to 34 days. This is less than the 60 days that the statute requires. The team also developed an integrated process to resolve complaints to reduce the number of these that will continue on to the adjudication process. The goal was to reduce the number of cases proceeding to hearing from 880 cases to 440 cases a year. The team has implemented a variety of improvements and BWC is performing at the new target as of the 30 day follow-up meeting in July.

Powerpoint Presentation