Using Lean Six Sigma and Kaizen Techniques To Improve Air Quality Permitting Process

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Using Lean Six Sigma To Improve Air Quality Permitting Process

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Client: State of Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ)
Industry: Government
Service: Kaizen event

Challenge:

Increase number of air quality permit applications
A substantial backlog of applications
Time to complete permit process took over 300 days

Solutions:
Over a five-day Kaizen event, the cross-functional team:

Documented the process flow
Analyzed current performance data
Identified opportunities for improvement
Developed a new material flow
Conducted multiple pilot tests of the new process

Results:

Reduce the number of steps in the permitting process from 221 to 55
Reduced backlog from 50 to 8
Processing permits in less than 50 days

Under the Federal Clean Air Act and the Rules for the Control of Air Pollution in Idaho, any business or industry in Idaho that emits, or has the potential to emit, pollutants into the air is required to have an air pollution control permit. Permits are issued when new sources begin operation and when existing sources modify their facilities. The Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is the state agency delegated to issue air quality permits in Idaho.

As with most states in the country, Idaho wanted to ensure that economic development in the state was not hampered by a lengthy permitting process that would be a possible roadblock to new business or business expansion. DEQ was also coping with the reality that no additional funds or staff would be available in the foreseeable future to help with air quality permitting – as the director stated ”We have to do it with our existing resources.”

A team of 13 people gathered for a Lean Sigma Kaizen Event. As the team began mapping out their permitting process, they starting to realize how complex it really was. With subject matter experts from each area of permitting present, they observed not only the challenges each area faced on a daily basis, but also how their actions impacted other parts of the process. They saw the multiple “approval” or “sign-off” steps, the rework loops, the hand-offs of documents and information from one functional area to another, the decision points, and all the delays these activities created.

The Kaizen team began to brainstorm how they might eliminate these wastes or non-value added activities. They started to see their process from the customer’s point of view: “If I were the customer, what do I really want out of this process? Does it give me what I want, when I want it, without defect?”

The team discovered that a large number of the rework loops were created by incomplete or inaccurate applications so they went after the source or “root cause”. They put in place a toll-free hot line that customers could call for help, arranged pre-meetings with customers, posted better information on their web site, and revised the permit application to be less confusing. With a little extra effort up front, they were able to reduce the application error rate from more than 90% to less than 10%.

The team looked at all the levels of required approvals by supervisors before an application could move to the next step and discovered that these activities never or rarely changed the path an application might take. They empowered the staff to make these decisions so instead of 4 or 5 signatures only one was required at the end to issue the permit.

These events are more than just numbers – one begins to see a culture change. Before the team began their “journey,” they operated in their own silos or departments without ever knowing (or sometimes caring) what others were doing. They now have a much greater appreciation for all parts and people in the process. The administrator recently said, “My clerical now get along with my managers and visa versa, I never thought I would see the day.”