A City’s journey towards building a culture of continuous improvement, everyday

Case Study | Canadian Municipality

Population of City 100,000+ citizens

Departments & Functions

- Community Services

- Finance and Administration

- Planning Engineering and Regulatory Services

- Public Works

- Human Resource Management

- Internal Auditing

- Marketing and Communications

- City Solicitor

- Risk Management

- Regional Fire Department

Goal

Program

Enhance a culture of continuous improvementThe City is committed to advancing its core value of ‘doing things better’

and enhancing a culture of continuous improvement (CI) within the

municipality. In fact, a specific municipality division was established with a

key priority to develop and embed a CI culture across the organization.

The City identified that continuous improvement training and strategic

support from Lean experts would be key to meeting its objectives. To this

end, it sought external expertise, and Leading Edge Group was successful

in its bid to provide this support.

Establish a precise plan

Empower staff and management through training

Expert guidance to embed the culture

The City underwent an initial planning phase to identify

where it was on its Lean journey and to determine a

precise, tailored plan to achieve its goals.

Training workshops were developed and delivered to staff

at different levels across all functions of the municipality.

The City developed its strategic vision and a roadmap for

CI deployment. Various measures were identified to help

embed a culture of continuous improvement.

1.Establish a precise planLeading Edge Group led the City through an initial planning

phase to identify where the municipality was on its Lean

journey and to determine a precise, tailored plan to

successfully achieve its objectives.

Upskilling of management and staff across

the entire organization through continuous

improvement (CI) training.

Developing a continuous improvement

‘Community of Practice’ to drive Lean

improvements across the organization.

Key requirements for a CI vision, strategy and

roadmap including effective governance, change

management and communication .

Ongoing mentoring and regular ‘health checks’

with a Leading Edge Group expert, including

hands-on support in the deployment of certain

Lean projects.

A suite of Lean tools and techniques accessible

by all to further enable continuous improvement

throughout the organization.

The planning phase resulted in a specific program

of support for the city:

Empower staff and management through training

Senior Leadership:Continuous Improvement Introduction

This workshop was attended by the Mayor, key Councillors, City and Deputy City

Managers. It illustrated how continuous improvement could benefit the City and the role of

senior leadership in its success and sustainability.

Management Groups: Continuous Improvement Introduction

Delivered to over 100 managers and directors from across the organization, these

workshops focused on the role that managers play to ensure that continuous improvement

is successfully and sustainably deployed within their area of responsibility.

Union Executives: Continuous Improvement Introduction

During this workshop, internal and external union executives explored how continuous

improvement works in municipal settings. The need for employee engagement to ensure

sustainability and the associated benefits for employees became apparent to unions

through this training.

100 + management and stafftrained in continuous improvement

Advanced Training

The City selected employees and managers from a number of divisions including

Facilities, Water Treatment and Fire Prevention to form a ‘CI Community of Practice’.

These staff members received advanced CI training to develop the capability to lead

continuous improvement projects.

Train-the-trainer

A hand-picked group of participants who had already received advanced CI training

attended a train-the-trainer workshop that equipped them with techniques for training

preparation, delivery, engagement and follow-up. These participants also received an

adaptable CI train-the-trainer toolkit, providing a support framework for best practice

training, as well as relevant subject matter expertise.

CItric Cube - CI management softwareLeading Edge Group’s cloud-based continuous improvement management

solution - CItric Cube – enables relevant City staff members to manage

and track continuous improvement projects and to generate performance

reports, highlighting costs and benefits.

Continuous improvement resource packDelivered through CItric Cube, the resource pack provides staff at all levels

with a range of tools and templates for continuous improvement including

templates for A3 reporting; problem quantification; ranking of causes and

solutions prioritization and approval.

Ongoing ‘pulse checks’Monthly mentoring and coaching provides effective ongoing support -

from advice on executing projects to guidance for in-house trainers. Senior

leaders also have access to expert support on all aspects of the CI roadmap.

Green Belt certificationA number of participants from the City’s CI Community of Practice are

undertaking Lean Green Belt certification.

Strategic vision and roadmap for deploymentAfter analyzing progress to date, the City’s leadership team focused on linking

the municipality and continuous improvement strategies. A workshop helped

create a deployment and sustainability plan. Elements of this plan included

a strategic vision for CI, as well as governance; change management and

communication; tracking and reporting and ongoing capability building.

Expert guidance to embed the cultureLeading Edge Group worked with the City to develop its strategic

vision and a roadmap for deployment. Various measures were

identified to help embed a culture of continuous improvement.

Outcome

Office services Accounts payable

Permits

Fire inspections

Network drive

Capability, strategy and framework to deliver sustainable results

Several improvement projects have started across areas that include:

100+ management and staff trained

Over 100 management staff and nearly 200 front line employees

trained in continuous improvement across all functions of the

organization

Community of Practice

CI Community of Practice established with the capability to deliver

improvement projects across the organization

In-house training capability In-house trainers and training framework established with delivery

for front line staff already underway

Union support

Appreciation, understanding and commitment to continuous

improvement from internal and external union executives

Tools & resources

Bank of continuous improvement materials and tools available

Roadmap & governance for deployment

Governance structure with terms of reference and strategic

roadmap for continuous improvement developed and deployed

Leading Edge Group helps Canadian municipalities to

achieve operational excellence and increased quality of

services through tailored training programs and consulting

support, delivered by Lean for Municipality experts.

Training can be delivered on site at your facility, with some training programs

also available online. Our programs provide options to suit municipality staff at

all levels, and across all functions of the organization.

Get in touchJohn Whelton | Program Director

+1 (416) 637 5074

JWhelton@leadingedgegroup.com

www.leadingedgegroup.com

60 St. Clair Avenue East,

Suite 805, Toronto,

ON, M4T 1N5, Canada