Lean Oswego
A byproduct of continuous process improvement is often increased efficiency, but the focus is on improving the customer experience. As another step in this direction, Councilor Joe Buck suggested creation of an automatic reply to citizens who send an e-mail to "council distribution." IT responded quickly by setting up a message that acknowledges receipt and thanks the writer for taking the time to communicate with the City Council. And it provides a quick link to our Citizen Request tracking system, so that if the writer has a complaint or service request that needs a staff follow-up, we can monitor it and make sure that action is taken.
And to help save costs for our water customers, new solar panels at our Water Treatment Plant are hooked up and producing power (June was a good month for this!).
Chuck's Coffee
Internal customers are important, too. Chuck Sciarotta offered to keep coffee supplies stocked for the various departments that share city hall. This has been previously done
separately by each department. This may seem a small thing, but the
important thing about Lean Oswego is that it's a continuous process of improvement, and many small things add up over time. Jim Collins uses the metaphor of a flywheel, spinning slowly at first but building momentum. He writes, "Tremendous power exists in the fact of continued improvement and the delivery of results."Employee Picnic
Be sure to register for the employee BBQ on August 28 (4:30-7:30 at Foothills Park). If you didn't see a recent e-mail invitation, contact Gail Hoddevik in Human Resources.
