Lean Government
OARM Reorganization Review and Approval Process
Lean Event Case Study
Summary
In September 2013, the EPA Office of Administration and Resources Management (OARM)'s Office of Human Resources (OHR),
Program Management and Communications Staff (PMCS) began a Lean project on the Reorganization Review and Approval Process
for the agency. The Lean team consisting of the reorganization process stakeholders (i.e., ERD, OCFO, ITD, PMO/HRO, SSCsand
Union/LER) sought to shorten the timeline needed for the review and approval of reorganization packages. Managers must submit a
reorganization request to realign staff or to change the name of an office or division. After the event process changes are
implemented, EPA will be able to review and process reorganization requests 42 percent faster.
This Lean initiative took a different approach from a conventional Lean project where improvements are usually identified through a
kaizen or value stream mapping event. Instead, the Lean team scoped the project, identified goals, and created a map of the current
process—all without holding an event. They also solicited improvement ideas through stakeholder interviews. As of September 2014,
the project has been completed and the team will hold a one-day Kaizen event by the end of the year to celebrate project successes
and lessons learned.
F
T
E
tesults
he Lean project expects to reduce lead time by 42 percent from 105 to 65 business days. The process improvements will allow
PA to review and process reorganization requests faster and with more time to address stakeholder concerns about proposed
Metric
Lead time
Old Process
105 business days
New Process
65 business days
Percent Change
4,42%
*Results are anticipated based on the new process design
Scope of the Lean Project
Project Scope: The scope of this Lean project was the OARM Reorganization Review and Approval Process (Levels 1-3), starting
from the initial receipt of a reorganization package (regardless of completion status) to the implementation of the organization code
changes in EPA's automated HR system (the People Plus System). The scope excludes the four to six month Congressional Review
period required for packages classified as Level 1.
Goals:
Process Time Goals
• Reduce the 105 business day review and approval process to 65 business days, a reduction of 42 percent.
Product Quality and Customer Communication Goals
• Reduce the number of incomplete reorganization packages OARM receives.
• Better understand the criteria used to determine whether a package requires Congressional Review.
• Reduce the number of complaints.
• Increase the level of customer satisfaction and improve customer and union relationships.
• Understand the role of unions in the review process.
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Process Changes and Improvements
After creating a process flow map (Figure 1) to outline the existing reorganization review process, the team restructured the
consecutive reviews of reorganization packages by all of the stakeholders into concurrent reviews, which will reduce the amount of
time needed. The project team also worked with the Information Technology Division in the Office of Human Resources to expedite
changes to reflect the reorganization in the People Plus System, EPA's automated HR system. In addition to expediting the review
process and IT changes, the project team also addressed process inefficiencies from the high number of incomplete packages being
sent to OARM. OARM implemented a training for EPA offices to clarify the signatures and completed documents required to submit a
package and have it continue in the review and approval process.
To complement the process mapping exercise, the project team interviewed stakeholders that participate in the review process to
further identify areas for improvement. These interviews established the role and needs of each stakeholder group and provided an
opportunity to communicate Lean principles and the importance of achieving a shorter timeline to stakeholders.
Critical to stakeholder outreach, the team also worked with Labor and Employee Relations (LER) staff within the Office of Human
Resources to better incorporate union review and prevent process delays. EPA program offices are encouraged to involve their Shared
PMCS Agency Reorganization Process
Figure 1: OARM Reorganization, Old Process and Proposed Future Processing Time
The green boxes indicate the processing time for each step in the original process prior to the Lean
event. The yellow boxes indicate the proposed processing time for the new process.
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Service Center representatives and unions early on in the development of reorganization plans to avoid issues that may arise later during
union review and delay the approval timeline. With concurrent review in the new process, unions will automatically receive the
reorganization package at the initiation of the review period, allowing more time to address union concerns.
The table below summarizes the process changes identified by the Lean project team to address issues in the current reorganization
review and approval process:
Old Process
Large number of incomplete packages
Clock starts after receiving complete package
Extensive time to prepare complete package
Sequential stakeholder review process
105 business days to complete review
1 check-in/update at business day 50
Manual system with fillable forms
Interaction with difficult customers
New Process
Small number of incomplete packages
Clock starts upon receipt of initial package
Reduced time to prepare a complete package
Concurrent stakeholder review process
65 business days to complete review
More frequent check-ins/updates
Completely automated system
More friendly customer interaction
Implementation
After conducting interviews, all reorganization stakeholders accepted the proposed Lean process changes and timelines for simultaneous
review. As a result, the Reorganization Review and Approval process is currently functioning on the 65 business day timeframe set out in
the project goal.
The team has also conducted trainings for offices submitting reorganization packages on the requirements for completion. Since the
implementation of trainings for EPA offices on submitting a reorganization package, 8 out of 10 packages sent to human resources for
review are complete packages upon first submittal.
The Lean team continues to work to identify ways to improve communication and customer interaction between OARM and the office or
person submitting the reorganization request. The team will have a Kaizen event with stakeholders to complete implementation in
November or December 2014. As a continued success of the new 65-business day streamlined reorganization process, the team is
embarking on another Lean initiative to make the process paperless by automating the submission, review and approval process
engaging customers and stakeholders.
For More
Information:
Lean Event Contacts:
Cheri Hembrey, EPA Office of Administration and Resource Management, Office of
Human Resources, (202)-564-6223, hembrey.cheri@epa.gov
Yvonne M. Watson, EPA Office of Policy, (202)566-2239, watson.yvonne@epa.gov
EPA Lean Government Initiative:
Kimberly Green-Goldsborough, EPA Office of Policy, (202) 566-2355
green-goldsborough.kimberly@epa.gov
http://www.epa.gov/lean/government/
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of Policy
(1807T)
December 2014
EPA-100F14005
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