Delivering Sustainable, Measurable Culture Change 7 Years, $90 Million Saved and Counting

摘要

The City of Toronto’s Water Supply and Waste Water Treatment Sections have built their competitiveness on an organization driven by clear responsibilities, accountabilities, and authorities. Skills were improved, a culture of performance was fostered, and roles and responsibilities were clarified and embedded as an integral part of the Water and Wastewater Division’s Works Best Practices Program (WBPP). WBPP is an improvement program resulting in levels of performance that challenge the best in the industry with savings to date of more than $90 million ($ Canadian). Despite reducing the need for operating budget by more than $30 million/year and staff by more than 400 people, the program has enhanced security and compliance. This paper provides practical guidance for water utilities that are looking to make significant performance improvements and are interested in developing a culture of continuous improvement. It provides tools for establishing the right vision, gaining staff and management commitment to results, and measuring progress toward the vision. The two specific tools detailed in the paper are: 1. Benefits Tracking, where every dollar of improvement was captured, tracked and “normalized” back to 1996 dollars 2. Sustainability, where a report was prepared and process put in place to ensure that every new work practice, every organizational change and every new technology became a permanent part of the business. This made certain that the hand-off from the consultant to the City was designed to ensure a culture of continuous improvement was in place.