PowerPoint Presentation

Glendale Lean Academy 
August 26th update
The Department of Organizational Performance

Agenda
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Program Overview
Lean Projects
Lean-Inspired Applications
Employee Engagement Efforts

Program Overview
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Lean Academy Purpose
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Build on our culture of continuous process improvement
Help drive operational efficiencies, enhance our service quality 
Educate our employees on Lean Six Sigma principles
Empower staff to identify process improvement opportunities
Strengthen workforce development

Lean Six Sigma Methodology
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• Lean
o Originated from the Toyota Production System
o Focus areas: Eliminating waste, process flow, and 
customer value
• Six Sigma
o Developed by Motorola
o Focus areas: Product quality, process consistency, 
reducing defects
A proven process improvement method:

Training and Certification
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Training and Certification
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74
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• Since October 2023: 110 employees certified!

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Employee Perspective:

Lean Projects
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Lean Projects
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In Queue
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In Progress 
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Completed
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Housing Recertification
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The recertification process for public housing and vouchers was an 
inefficient manual and paper-based process
Process mapped 18 sub-processes, readied housing team for new 
software integration
Identified 18 process improvement opportunities to be incorporated 
with new software 
Digitized paper-based case worker assignment verification, allowed 
case workers to simultaneously review the recertification list
Slashed review process from 3 days to 2 hours... 83% reduction

Capital Assets
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Evaluated the limits and the process for reporting capital assets
Compared our practices to other cities and considered new 
guidance from Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA)
Increased the dollar limit from $5k to $25k
Digitized asset reporting and inventory workflow and form 
submission process
Reducing employee workload across all departments, generated 
an estimated time savings of over 1,000 hours per year

After Hours Water Reconnects
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Unclear policy and misunderstanding of resource constraints led to a 
departmental disagreement of after-hours water reconnection standards
Established clear policy and service standards
Aligned Customer and Water Field Services end-of-day hours of operation
Increased employee morale and safety, reduced organizational risk
Projected resource savings: $20,804 in overtime/vehicle use costs, and 
212 hours in process time savings annually

Lean-Inspired Applications
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Program Evaluation 
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• Goals:
o Continually assess program effectiveness
o Identify opportunities to improve task efficiency
o Eliminate unnecessary tasks where appropriate
o Establish program Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) 
and review schedules
• 491 Programs Inventoried Citywide
o 15 programs evaluated
o 574 tasks assessed
o 56% of tasks can be improved or eliminated
Kaizen = Good Change

Software Integration
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• Goals:
o Walk the process, see work in progress
o Create a shared understanding
o Show respect for the people involved
o Identify problems and opportunities for improvement
• Piloted during the Build Glendale software integration
o Step by step analysis of permitting request process
o 40 participants from 8 departments
o Positive feedback led to new IT standard & training plan
Gemba = The Real Place

Employee Engagement Efforts
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LEANCITY
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Citywide Training Course (in development) 
Aimed at increasing our commitment to 
ongoing process improvement
Values-based framework that introduces  
fundamental Lean Six Sigma principles
Encourage all employees to apply Lean Six 
Sigma concepts in their everyday work

IGNITE
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Employee-driven innovation program to 
improve how we work and serve
Easy online submission process
Review Board
Director approval

Questions