Lean Government
Region 8 Tribal Underground Storage Tanks Grant Award Process
Lean Event Case Study
Summary
EPA Region 8 awards underground storage tank (LIST) grants to
tribes in the region every year. With a 5.5 month lead time,
Region 8 identified the LIST grants awards process as having
several inefficiencies that created frustration among Tribal grant
recipients as well as program staff. Unclear expectations of what
tribes should include in grant applications, incomplete
applications, version control issues with documents sent
between tribes and Region 8 staff, and inconsistency in grants
review among Region 8 staff all resulted in extra time
investment by staff and excessive processing time.
In January 2014, the Region 8 office held a kaizen event focused
on the LIST tribal grants award process. The team created an
improved process which, when implemented, is anticipated to
result in grants being awarded 2-3 months earlier than in the
current process, a 48 percent reduction in process time.
Figure 1: Underground Storage Tank Removal
Results
The Lean project team expects this Lean project to reduce the time needed for UST grant awards by an average of 48 percent. The
table below contains estimated results based on the implementation of the process changes.
Metric
Lead Time
# of Process Steps
Old Process
Average: 5.5 months
Range: 2.5 months to
more than lyear
177
New Process
Average: 3 months
Range: reduce variation greatly
110
Percent Change
vU48%
vU38%
*Results are anticipated based on the new process design
Other anticipated results:
• Improved consistency in how Tribal UST grant awards are processed
• Improved communications between Region 8 project officers and grants specialists
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Scope of the Lean Project
Project Scope: The scope of the project was the time between when a draft workplan arrives from a Tribal grantee through the
time when the grant award is made.
Goals and Objectives
The goals of the project were to revise the Tribal LIST grant award process to reduce re-work and instances of miscommunication
throughout the process. Specific objectives include:
• Process Steps: Reduce number of iterations of workplan revision
• Lead Time and Processing Time: Award grants earlier in the year by reducing:
• Workplan and budget review time;
• Time for the grants specialist to notify the project officer of the receipt of the final application;
• Time for the project officer to complete the grant entry into IGMS; and
• Time for the grants specialist to finalize and distribute the award
• Participant Satisfaction: Increase customer, grants specialist and project officer satisfaction with the process
• Consistency: Improve consistency in how Tribal LIST grants are processed
• Communication: Improve communications between Region 8 staff (project officers and grants specialists)
• Ensure that no new negative effects are created by implementing the new process
Process Changes and Improvements
The following process changes and improvements will be implemented over the two grant cycles following the Lean event:
• Conduct a pilot for two-year grant awards, in which tribes will engage in workplan negotiations for a grant that covers a
two-year period instead of completing a new workplan every year.
• Engage tribes early in the process, face-to face- if possible, to help them understand and complete grant requirements.
• Encourage grantee use of the Office of Management and Budget MAX website, which provides a standard place for tribes
to submit workplans, budgets, and application forms for review. Use of the site can help reduce version control issues and
miscommunications regarding document status.
• Develop an internal standard operating procedure that documents expectations throughout the process for Region 8 staff.
• Develop and utilize a shared tracking spreadsheet, for project officers, to document progress in meeting milestones
throughout the process, including when the final application is received and when the grant specialist makes the final grant
award.
• Create Integrated Grants Management System (IGMS) templates for grant project officers to improve consistence and
accuracy in completion of documents and to reduce rework.
• Improve the process of metrics tracking for the grant award process.
Figure 2: Mapping the Current Process
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Implementation
The Lean team plans to implement many of the process improvements by September 30, 2014, and to fully implement all process
changes and improvements by September 30, 2015.
The team created a detailed implementation plan that lists all of the improvement items and team members responsible, with a timeline
for those improvements to be applied. Items in the implementation plan include:
• Encourage grantees to use the MAX website
• Develop a shared tracking spreadsheet for project officers to track milestones in the grant award process
• Collect pre-event metrics for the process
• Create IGMS templates for grant project officers to use with accompanying guidance documents
• Develop a standard operating procedure for the improved process
• Launch a two-year grant pilot for LIST Tribal grants in FY 2015
• Provide early engagement and face-to-face communication with Tribes in the FY 2015
The first year of implementation concluded on
September, 30 2014. The team completed
implementation of strategies to encourage use
of the MAX website by providing a hands-on
training with tribal grantees and ensuring all
tribal grantees had login information to access
the website. In addition, all project officers
now use the shared, tracking spreadsheet to
track milestones and the IGMS templates
provided by the Grants Office. The Lean team
collected metrics for the first year of
implementation and will continue to do so in
fiscal year 2015. Measureable results are not
anticipated until after September 30, 2015
when all action items are fully implemented and
process improvements are fully adopted by the
Lean team.
Figure 3: Lean Event Team
For More
Information:
Lean Event Contacts:
Stephanie Vuong, Facilitator, (303) 312-7824, vuong.stephanie@epa.gov
Ben Bents, Team Leader, (303) 312-6435, bents.benjamin@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-100F14008
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