Development Services Lean Systems Review

Following agreement to the formation of a tri-council partnership in November 2014, the three local authorities of West Dorset District Council, Weymouth and Portland Borough Council and North Dorset District Council, are seeking to engage an external agency to assist with a lean type review of the processes and systems within the Development Services department across the partnership.

We are looking for an agency to train staff in a lean/systems thinking type methodology, carry out analysis of mapped ‘as-is’ processes and then work with staff to remap new, optimised and customer focussed processes.

Intended outcomes are:

1. New processes which enable staff to deliver their service more quickly (with applications not meeting national targets being the exception), and to a higher quality by being more efficient, containing less waste work and being explicitly customer focussed.
2. New processes which provide customers with a service which is easier to use and delivers their needs more quickly and at a higher quality than the current systems allow.
3. Increased staff knowledge of a system thinking type methodology with an increased ability to analyse their own work demands against a customer focussed purpose.
3. A structure and internal culture which enables staff to suggest and implement ongoing iterative improvements to service delivery.
4. Greater awareness of and plans for opportunities to channel shift appropriate customer contacts.

Intended outputs are:

1. New processes for Development Management work streams.
2. Process maps for each of the processes including options for discretionary functions.

Intended benefits are:

1. Cost savings due to a reduction in waste work and realisation of options for income generation.
2. A rise in the percentage of planning decisions which meet the national standards for determining Major, Minor and Other applications due to processes which are easier for customers to use and more efficient for officers to use.
3. Greater customer satisfaction levels around speed and ease of use of the service than measured currently.

The final date for submissions is mid-day on Friday 23 October. For further information, to obtain the information to quote and supporting documents, please contact Lynden Swift, West Dorset-Weymouth District Council. L.swift@westdorset-weymouth.gov.uk or phone 01305 252397