Municipality of Rijssen-Holten: The customer is central

“Lean Six Sigma improvement project will contribute to desired culture change and ‘Way of working'”

“Symbol BV presents itself compared to other agencies as a professional agency, where contacts are pleasant. Appointments are kept and in case of questions or remarks they are adequately responded to.” Ask about options using the form below (text continues below)

Lean game

“We had Symbol BV provide a number of Lean games within our municipality. The day begins with explanations of the Lean concepts, going into practical examples. The trainers are professional and have a lot of practical experience. The afternoon then follows a business simulation in which the Lean concepts are applied. Here, an order processing process is simulated. The advantage of this is that the participants are often already involved in administrative processes, so there is a good connection to daily practice. This is also explicitly stated by the participants.”

Lean Six Sigma Green Belt and certification

“In addition, I myself took the Lean Six Sigma Green Belt training through Symbol. I had taken some Lean courses before this, but I was still missing the Six Sigma component, where numerical approach to processes is in the foreground. The trainers are very practical and knowledgeable: lots of real-life examples and expert answers to questions. The training can be concluded with a theoretical exam at the University of Twente. In addition, a practical diploma can be obtained by submitting 2 assignments that, among other things, must comply with the DMAIC structure. I passed the theory. As a practical assignment, I examined and improved the WABO process.”

Optimization WABO process

“As is well known, a municipality must provide a decision on a permit application within eight weeks of the application. In our case, an application took an average of 54 days, so in many cases we exceeded the deadline set by law. The goal was to always be able to provide a ruling within the legal deadline and on the right grounds. First, I assembled a team. We then analyzed the process. Some 18 to 20 permit applications we closely followed through the organization, mapping out exactly when the permit was where, a so-called Value Stream Analysis. These measurements showed that the actual work around permit applications never exceeded 16 hours.

So it was clear that we couldn’t improve that much on the work itself. Even if we could make this process twice as fast, it would lead to only one day’s gain. So the problem was in the waiting times between operations. This is what we then started to focus on. It turned out that after booking the permit, it stayed for 2 to 3 weeks before it was looked at substantively. After optimization, we were able to eliminate these two to three weeks by reviewing the application for completeness immediately upon submission. If not, the application goes right back. In the event the application is submitted correctly, complete with all attachments, then it moves further into the process. This already led to nearly two weeks of time saved.

We could take the next step by having someone spend a certain number of hours a week in a segregated office, equipped with all the things necessary for the substantive and efficient processing of the application, handling the decisions on the permits. Thus, this person was not disturbed in the process and on this day had making the dispositions as his work and priority. This gained another nearly 10 days.

Actually, you can conclude that simple interventions in the process led to a huge reduction in lead time. In retrospect, you then wonder, if it’s so simple, why didn’t we see it before? Actually simply because the focus was always on working harder. A familiar phenomenon, a natural reaction I think. If something takes a long time, you have to work harder. Whereas we needed to look more intelligently at the process and at the priorities. We had the focus on the 16 hours of work on the permit, rather than the 52 days the application was idle somewhere in our organization. However, these issues must surface naturally. For example, as we have done, by forming a team and working according to the DMAIC structure.”

Social innovation

“The change process is also explicitly addressed at Symbol BV. Attitudes and desired behaviors of employees are positively influenced by this.”

Continuity

“Symbol BV’s added value lies mainly in the fact that we can apply Lean as well as Six Sigma to the process optimization, allowing for a more structural approach and assurance. All in all, a pleasant company to work with, where professionalism and fun are paramount.”
Martin Oplaat
Municipality of Rijssen-Holten