The County of Santa Clara (California) Department of Planning and Development identified a need critical to the County’s ongoing competitiveness: to improve the customer experience of the many different stakeholders in their permitting process: applicants, agents, consultants, developers, builders, and property owners. Simply stated, the process was not transparent, was on average taking many months too long, and was inconsistent in its execution.
John Dunham, working as a consultant for Dimension Data, applied the tools, techniques and know-how he acquired through Rutgers University’s Lean Six Sigma (LSS) Green Belt and Black Belt Training to the County’s problem. John’s LSS project yielded measurable results that met and exceeded his client’s expectations.
Key year-over-year results tied to the project’s objectives were:
- the average duration of the application process was reduced by 65% +
- estimated cumulative applicant (customer) time saved: 416,838 days
- estimated internal labor cost reduction: $12.2 Million
Said one Senior Civil Engineer at the Department, “We’re hearing from our customers that this process is becoming more and more predictable, and that they can do things on a more timely and cost effective basis.”
Kudos to the Department of Planning and Development, to project leader John Dunham – who also earned his Black Belt Certification in the process – and to Dimension Data!
Learn more about this very successful application of Lean Six Sigma in this video produced by Dimension Data:
Business Process Optimization – A Case Study (YouTube)
Rutgers is proud to be a leading provider of Lean Six Sigma Green Belt and Black Belt Training in partnership with Lockheed Martin. Please check our schedule for more information and don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions.