CITY OF JOLIET, ILLINOIS FINAL

Transcription

1 Water and Sewer Operations Efficiency Study Implementation Plan FINAL August,

2 The implementation plan detailed on the following pages provides a path to improve efficiency in the City s Department of Public Utilities based upon recommendations made by Matrix Consulting Group in the August Water and Sewer Operations Efficiency Study. Successful implementation of the recommendations presented in the study is contingent upon the following: Maintain consensus and clarity amongst stakeholders: In order to maintain consensus and clarity amongst all involved parties, the stakeholder group shall continue to meet quarterly to discuss the status of action items identified in this plan. Evaluate the progress of the implementation plan on a regular basis: Progress on action items should be evaluated quarterly with status of items being updated accordingly. Outside review of progress may be requested from Matrix annually. Obtain a strong commitment to action: s in this plan require not only consensus within the stakeholder group but also the support of the City Council for items that require funding and additional resources in order to achieve improved efficiency. Timing of plan recommendations indicates best case scenario upon budget availability and council approval for specific action items that require funding. Support from the City Council to proceed with evaluating these recommendations will be obtained via resolution approving this implementation plan. Page 2

3 Planning and Management 1 The Public Utilities Department should continue to dedicate resources to maintaining its inventory in its GIS. Develop work plan and budget for maintaining and updating GIS. Capital Programs Engineer Have available for Budget 2. In preparation for the installation of a computerized maintenance management system, the Department should begin requiring all crew members in each division to report elements of their work each day on standardized forms. Update standardized forms that are currently being used. Review forms with operators and foremen. Plant & Field Operations with Chief Operators and Foremen. Require completion of updated forms beginning January 3. The Department should purchase and install a computerized maintenance management system. The cost of the system will depend upon the functionality chosen Schedule meeting with IT Department to discuss development of RFP for CMMS. Utilities Director and IT Director Develop RFP. Purchase software 1 st Quarter. Implementation The Department should begin to define work activities that are commonly performed. These activity definitions should be utilized consistently and should not vary from employee to employee regarding the type of work that is performed. Further, the Department should ensure that the same work activity is not defined in the inventory listing under different terms. Meet to define common work activities and agree upon naming of these activities. Plant & Field Operations with Chief Operators and Foremen Page 3

4 5. The Department should begin to define service levels for each of its major work activities. These should define the desired level of service to be accomplished, and should be reflective of available personnel and financial resources. These service levels should be communicated to both internal and external stakeholders in the delivery of public utilities services in the City. Define what services will be measured and what data needs to be collected., Director & City Manager s Office 6. The Department should develop and implement a formal plan and schedule for all major maintenance events for the year. Identify major planned maintenance activities in plant and field operations for. Plant & Field Operations 7. The Department Director should generate a monthly performance report on the accomplishment of projected work, and discuss the work accomplished with the City Manager. Review with City Manager need for this report. Director if requested by City Manager 3. Field Operations Division 8. The Division should review its usage of overtime to ensure that necessary work is not deferred solely as a cost savings measure. In addition, the Division should explore altering work shifts to mitigate the use of overtime. Review overtime usage in conjunction with defining service levels ( 5). Schedule Labor Meeting to review impacts of alternate work shifts if recommendation is implemented. 9. The Field Operations Division should continue to apply consistent standards to the decision to outsource services. Formalize standards for when work is outsourced. Develop procedure to document basis for outsourcing work. Review outsourcing with Labor/Management. Labor Leaders Page 4

5 10. The Field Operations Division should be flexible in matching crew sizes to the requirements of each task. Reducing crew sizes from the standard four members for certain tasks can substantially reduce the costs of jobs, and allow for greater productivity. Schedule Labor/Management meeting to discuss. Review in conjunction with defining service levels ( 5)., HR, Labor Leaders 11. The Field Operations Division should utilize the additional capacity of staff created through the potential reductions of crew sizes to perform a greater degree of preventive maintenance. Review staffing following outcome of items to be discussed at Labor/ Management meeting Ongoing 12. Management should institute a formal cross-training program for Water and Sewer employees in order to maintain full crews in the case of absences. Review feasibility of implementing cross training program. Schedule Labor Meeting to review impacts if recommendation is implemented. 13. The Division should finalize the development of a valve exercising program. The project team estimates that implementation will require an additional Maintenance Worker. Finalize valve exercising program & develop standard procedure. Review need for additional Maintenance Worker following outcome of items to be discussed at Labor/Management meeting and definition of service levels. 14. The Division should place a greater focus on identifying and correcting high levels of unaccounted water loss. Continue leak detection program begun in. Capital Program Engineer Ongoing 15. The Division should improve focus on inspecting and repairing fire hydrants within reasonable time periods after discovery of failure. Insure spare parts are on-hand for typical hydrant repairs. Review in conjunction with defining service levels ( 5). Ongoing 16. The Field Operations Division should discontinue the practice of backfilling all excavated areas with CA6 gravel. Evaluate recommendation further Page 5

6 17. The Division should routinely check employee driving records to ensure that they are valid and current, documenting such findings in the employee's personnel file. (applicable for all departments) Evaluate recommendation with HR. Director 18. The Division should develop a comprehensive formal training program for drivers and operators of vehicles and machinery in order to minimize employee injuries and accidents. Evaluate recommendation with HR 19. The Division should develop a formal quality assurance process in order to document the standards, policies and procedures used in the performance of field operations. Prepare plan for development of standard operating procedures 20. The City should focus on increasing the rehabilitation and replacement of both its water and wastewater lines. Obtain approval from City Council for rate increase needed to fund 5 Year Water & Sewer Rehab Plans Finance Director 21. The City should ensure that the entire distribution system water mains are looped in order to ensure adequate water pressure necessary for peak demands, repairs and emergency situations. Develop model to evaluate where improvements to distribution system are needed. Include in Budget. Present model results 4 th Quarter 22. Although staffing levels are low relative to the size of the infrastructure the department is charged with maintaining, the project team does not recommend that the Field Operations Division hire another crew at this time Evaluate following implementation of high priority recommendations such as purchase of CMMS program, cross training between water and sewer crews, crew sizes and definition of service levels. NA Engineering Division 23. The Engineering Division should adopt the State design standards or develop standards in-house, and develop checklists for designers and City reviewers to ensure that the standards are consistently met. All of this information should be readily available on the Public Utility web site. Develop/Update water & sewer standards. Page 6

7 24. The Engineering Division should create a list of inspection items for all field inspections, and a format for written inspection reports that would require the reports to confirm that all items are satisfied or, for failed inspections, what items were deficient and how they may be corrected. Prepare plan for development of standard operating procedures 25. The Engineering Division should review and update all job descriptions, including reporting relationships. (Updating job descriptions applicable to all divisions of utility department). Labor/Management committee issue, HR, Labor Leaders 26. Responsibilities within Engineering should be expanded or adjusted to ensure that the Department is responsible for a systematic CIP process as well as system quality control. Review CIP process. Civil Engineers 27. The Engineering Aid job duties should be clarified to focus on ensuring that all utility projects, both in-house and contracted, are designed and constructed to meet the utility s development standards. Review Engineering Aid job duties Engineering Aids 28. The Utility should put in place a plan to address the expected obsolescence of Fieldport and the customer service impacts from the loss of integration between the customer service software system and the Fieldport system. Modifications to Fieldport have been made as an interim solution. For long term solution, meet with IT Director to develop RFP for CMMS Utilities Director and IT Director Develop RFP. Purchase software 1 st Quarter. Implementation The Department should work with the City IT Department to develop and fund a comprehensive IT strategic plan, addressing both current and anticipated needs and priorities in utility operations. Meet with IT Director Capital Program Engineer 5. Plant Operations Page 7

8 30. Managers should track time usage by Plant Operations staff, and assess how much time is spent on unscheduled maintenance, preventive maintenance, and repair and corrections. This information should be used to inform decision-making regarding operations and equipment. Evaluate feasibility of tracking time usage prior to implementation of CMMS. 31. The Department should utilize the CMMS that has been previously recommended in this report on a phased basis with the eventual goal of using the software to track all systems in all plants. Review following CMMS selection The Utility should oversee the development of a comprehensive systems manual for each of the plants. Prepare plan for development of standard operating procedures and comprehensive systems manual. 33. The Plant Operations Division should design and implement a safety program and establish a safety committee to implement the program. (applicable to all departments) Evaluate recommendation with HR. 34. The Plant Operations Division should establish a program to rotate staff among plants to promote cross training and innovation. Review feasibility of recommendation given current staffing levels. 35. The Plant Operations Division should systematically calculate the costs of in-house versus contracted repair, or replacement, of equipment and use this calculation as the basis for deciding how to address equipment repair and replacement needs. Review current practice of determining in house vs. contracted repairs. 36. The Engineering Division should play a stronger role in overseeing CIP projects at the utility s plants. Review during CIP planning. s 37. The Plant Operations Division should develop a comprehensive annual preventive maintenance inspection program for pump stations. Review existing program with Director. Director Page 8

9 38. The Plant Operations Division should institute detailed annual inspections of lift stations to ensure proper working order of equipment. Review existing program with Director. Director 39. The Plant Operations Division should maintain current staffing levels at the wastewater treatment plants. Review staffing levels within other departments in Plant Operations Director Page 9