1. Operations Efficiency Review
BOE Summary
December 2015

2. Project Objectives and Scope
The objectives of the Operations and Efficiency Review were:
To investigate opportunities for improving effectiveness and efficiency using Lean Six Sigma techniques of the Operations department’s functions for HCS, which include the following functions and procedures:
To define a high-level improvement roadmap and go-forward recommendations
To identify department best practices and commendations
Corrective Maintenance
PAM Program
Preventative Maintenance
Transportation Procedures
Custodial Practices
Print Shop Procedures
Facilities Use
Security
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3. Data gathering consisted of five (5) activities:
Data Gathering for the Project
Data gathering consisted of five (5) activities:
Surveys
Maintenance Services Survey
Custodial Services Survey
Department Process Walkthrough
Annex Interviews
Warehouse Observation
Facility Walkthrough and Interviews
Warehouse Walkthrough
Annex Walkthrough
Technician Interviews
Maintenance Support Interviews
School Site Visits
Middle School Visits
Blossomwood Elementary Visit
Maintenance/Custodial Services Observations
Analysis Performance
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4. Maintenance Services: Survey Summary
Survey Item
Score (4 Best; 1 Poor)
Response Time
2.98
Confidence in Staff
3.15
Work Order System
3.08
Building Aesthetics
3.16
Lighting
3.32
Professionalism
3.46
Preventative Maintenance
3.14
Note: Surveys were conducted at the seven schools selected to be reviewed: Blossomwood, Challenger MS, McNair Jr. High, Hampton Cove MS, Huntsville MS, Williams MS, and Westlawn MS. Detailed survey results can be found in Appendix B.
Commendation: Customer service surveys show that the Maintenance staff is performing quality work, and onsite inspections of the middle school facilities showed that the facilities were in good condition.
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5. Maintenance Services: Overall Maintenance Levels
APPA Assessment Level:
3 or lower - Managed Care or Better
4 – Reactive Management
5 – Crisis Response
Item Assessed
Assessed Level 2015
Assessed Level 2011
Comments
Customer Service and Response Time
3.5 5
Service available only by reducing maintenance, with response times typically in a week or less.
Customer Satisfaction 2
Satisfied with facilities-related services, usually complimentary of facilities staff.
Maintenance Mix 4
Labor is used to react to systems that are performing poorly or not at all. Significant time is spent producing parts and services due to the high number of emergencies. PM work consists of simple tasks done inconsistently (e.g., filter changing, greasing, and fan belt replacement)
Regulatory Compliance
General awareness of OSHA, EPA, and life safety requirements, including institutional responsibilities. Adequate staff time or contracted services provide compliance for routine OSHA, EPA, and life safety requirements. Funding specifically identified but as a portion of the responsible department’s budget. OSHA, EPA, and life safety programs, training, and records adequate to pass audit/inspection action.
Aesthetics, Interior 3
Average finishes
Aesthetics, Exterior
Minor leaks and blemishes, average exterior appearance
Aesthetics, Lighting
Small percentage of lights out; generally well lit and clean
Service Efficiency
Maintenance work is somewhat chaotic and is people-dependent. Calls are typically not responded to in a timely manner. Normal usage and deterioration continues unabated, making buildings and equipment inadequate to meet present use needs.
Building Systems’ Reliability
Building and systems components periodically or often fail
Observations were conducted at the seven schools selected to be reviewed: Blossomwood, Challenger MS, McNair Jr. High, Hampton Cove MS, Huntsville MS, Williams MS, and Westlawn MS. Detailed survey results can be found in Appendix B.

6. Maintenance Services: 2011

7. Maintenance Services: 2015

8. Ratio of Maint. Staff to Support
Maintenance Services: Peer Staffing Comparison
School System
Total Sq. Ft.
Maint. Staff
Support Staff
Sq. ft. per Maint Staff
Ratio of Maint. Staff to Support
Huntsville City Schools
5,080,200 43
5**
118,144
8.6*
Mobile County Public Schools
9,500,000
104 7
91,346
14.9
Montgomery Public Schools
3,189,432 32 3
99,670
10.7
Shelby County Schools
2,965,943 31
95,676
10.3
Tuscaloosa City Schools
2,076,216 24 4
86,509
6.0
Cullman County Schools
1,690,141 20 2
84,507
10.0
National Average
107,439
6.8
Commendation: Maintenance Services is servicing an optimum number of square footage per maintenance technician, performing above peers and the national average at 118,144 sq. ft. Maintenance head counts appear to be correct for the district.
*Total number of Maintenance staff (excluding Ed Technology support) divided by number of support staff.
**One support staff member has been on extended medical leave for over one year.
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9. Custodial Services: Survey Summary
Survey Item
Score (4 Best; 1 Poor)
Cleanliness of Restrooms
3.08
Cleanliness of Classrooms
3.01
Cleaning Frequency
3.06
Professionalism
3.57
Reporting of Safety Issues
3.45
Inspection Frequency
3.18
Overall Cleanliness
3.15
NOTE: Surveys were conducted with teachers and administrators at the seven schools selected to be physically reviewed: Blossomwood, Challenger MS, McNair Jr. High, Hampton Cove MS, Huntsville MS, Williams MS, and Westlawn MS. Detailed survey results can be found in Appendix C.
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10. Recommended Cleanliness Level
Custodial Services: Levels of Cleanliness
School
Audit
Cleanliness
Level
Recommended Cleanliness Level
Recommended Staffing
Actual Staffing
Blossomwood
3.01 3
3.8 4
Challenger MS
2.99
4.6
3.5
McNair
3.13
Hampton Cove MS
3.04
3.7
Huntsville MS
2.92
2.6
Williams MS
4.3
Westlawn MS
School Review Totals 26
25.5
Commendation: Cleanliness inspections show that a consistent cleanliness rating is being achieved and is in line with APPA standards for K-12 facilities.
NOTE: Recommended staffing based on APPA Level 3 Cleanliness Levels for K-12 facilities.
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11. Sq. Ft. per Custodial Staff
Custodial Services: Peer Comparison
School System
Total
Sq. Ft.
Custodial
Staff
Sq. Ft. per Custodial Staff
Mobile County Public School System
9,500,000
486
19,547
Huntsville City Schools
5,080,200
166.5
30,512
Montgomery Public Schools
3,189,432
198
16,108
Tuscaloosa City Schools
2,076,216 52
39,927
Cullman County Schools
1,690,141 45
37,559
Peer Group as Whole
21,535,989
948
22,729
Commendation: Custodial staffing is in line with national averages and scores high on the customer satisfaction survey, indicating staffing levels are appropriate for the district.
National Comparison
Low
Median
Best in Class
22,893
25,501
29,617
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12. Warehouse: Value of Inventory
Average Value of Inventory April 2014-April $ 759,233.00
Inventory Value of items issued April 2014-April 2015 $ 591,234.00
Number of items issued April April ,011
Inventory Turn Ratio April 2014-April times
APICS Benchmark times
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13. Commendation Highlights
Facilities Use Billed for the school year: $267,427 to users of the HCS facilities with a collection rate of 99% of Facilities Use invoicing.
An increase in preventative maintenance (PM) items, such as a coil cleaning contract for HVAC equipment, shows an effort to increase PM and reduce the amount of failures to lack of PM.
The assessment team reviewed Maintenance department procedures for parts, tools, and equipment procurement. Significant improvements have been made to the lead time for procurement of parts, tools, and equipment since the assessment.
HCS Facilities-Custodial Services has a comprehensive and thorough training program and is considered a “Best in Class” program compared to peers within the state.
Custodial paper and chemical supplies are managed through a service, reducing the need for excess inventory to be supplied at the schools and providing better monitoring of costs.
The Security Department has improved the Organization Structure improving the way security is managed and improving the bandwidth of responsibilities across leadership per the Efficiency Review Recommendation.
The Security Department has implemented an improved training system to ensure access to training by all security personnel and has conducted CSO (Certified Security Officer) training as it relates to Restraint and Code of Conduct by Certified Resources.
The Security Department has implemented security systems upgrades including the use of ID cards.
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14. Commendation Highlights
The PAM program is utilizing the COLTS system to provide real time condition of usable assets across the district. This allows for better distribution of assets and provides data for planning and identifying future upgrade opportunities.
The PAM program is utilizing the work order system to better track and align resources.
According to the Value Added Report from COLTS, there is a steady year over year increase (FY12-13 through FY14-15) of 45% in the value added on surplus from reuse, auctions, used books, and metal recycling.
The Maintenance Warehouse has made improvements from the previous assessment in the following areas:
Inventory items were adjusted to be more in line with work order needs. This was accomplished by utilizing the Inventory Direct reports to identify slow moving items that tie up dollar and space resources by sitting on the shelves. This inventory was auctioned off or scrapped to recover dollars and space. The Maintenance Manager compiled a list of items frequently purchased from vendors and added these items to inventory as department budgets would allow. These actions allowed the warehouse to be more responsive to work order requests as well as reduced the time needed to provide parts to the Maintenance staff.
Inventory cycle counts were implemented in the summer of 2014 to improve inventory controls and stock availability.
Improvements were also made in the area of purchase requests, PO tracking, inventory receiving, and vendor invoice payment processing.
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15. Recommendations
Improve corrective maintenance completion times through reducing the number of unassigned work orders and exploring approaches to improve completion times by trade.
Improve work order entry accuracy at the school level and review schools using a General Manager (GM) approach to compare quality level of service with traditional maintenance approach.
Look deeper at maintenance and operation’s cost and perform a build or buy analysis to determine the optimum level of contracted services.
Increase leveraged purchasing of items with high volume to lower overall costs.
Inventory Direct reports indicate there are opportunities to reduce stock based on an inventory turn ratio of turns per year verses APICS bench mark of 2-3 turns.
Explore possibilities to partner with vendors to reduce the amount of inventory that the department warehouses. (i.e., returns, swaps, etc.).
Inventory that was absorbed when the warehouse was created in 2013 should be reviewed and non-critical items should be auctioned off or disposed of to make room for high velocity items and project-based inventory.
Look into alternative ways to staff and conduct custodial services like a “Tiger Team” approach, with the intent to reduce the amount of absences of custodial workers and to maintain quality service.
Conduct a “yellow book” review to look at processes that the Security Department has implemented to identify any gaps or opportunities for improvements in the next assessment.
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16. Final Summary of Observations
The Operations Directorate is displaying continuous improvement trends during the period 2011 to 2015.
The Operations Directorate is achieving “Best in Class” performance levels in the State of Alabama.
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17. Questions?