city of salina-continuous process improvement records (updated monthly)

Continuous Process Improvement

Record of 450 improvements between November 2012 and July 2015 (updated monthly)

City of Salina, Kansas

Arts & Humanities

1. Reduced costs and increased capacity by replacing old laser printer with a new copier that (1) improved color quality, (2) reduced reloading frequency, (3) saved print jobs for future use, (4) eliminated one computer work station and (5) an internet line, and (6) provided professional folding and (7) stapling capability for booklets and other documents.

2. Increased capacity by standardizing and then streamlining the process for preparing press releases3. Increased capacity by combining multiple mailings into a single letter sent to all prospective Art Patrons.4. Increased efficiency by training the new Arts Services Coordinator how to set up an email distribution list so that she can

complete correspondence to CAD members directly without involving anyone else.5. Increased capacity by creating a computerized template for processing hand written checks at the Festival.6. Increased capacity by redirecting paid staff duties to volunteer leaders at the River Festival.7. Increased capacity by using digital proofing of ads and spots for the River Festival instead of printing hard copies.8. Increased capacity by relocating the River Festival Sponsor Booklet, postcards, and mailing labels, along with the Museum’s

color brochure and note cards, to an easy-to-reach shelf adjacent to my computer desk9. Increased capacity by combining the delivery of Seasonal Guides with the First Thursday Flyers.10. Increased capacity by creating document or email folders specific to individual accounts, instead of combining multiple

accounts into one folder.11. Increased capacity by redirecting paid staff duties to volunteer leaders. We now have 90 percent volunteer renewal from

year-to-year.12. Reduced costs by replacing aging copiers that no longer work properly and require extensive maintenance with newer

copies that work great and are less expensive.13. Increased capacity and reduced costs by doing more on-screen proofing of news releases specific to Arts Education.14. Increased capacity by standardizing 80% of the Smoky Hill Museum and River Festival sponsor proposals to color digital

documents..

Arts & Humanities

15. Reduced costs and increased capacity by reducing the number of pages in the 2015 Festival Food applications and guidelines from 16 down to 3. This meant that 4,000 fewer pages were printed. This form was also made available on the website in an easy to use fill-able form document.

16. Improved efficiency, and reduced excess movement by applying 6S principles to reduce excess inventory, re-organize the remaining supplies, and re-organize the entire office workspace Increased capacity by redirecting paid staff duties to volunteer leaders. We now have 90 percent volunteer renewal from year-to-year.

Museum

1. Reduced costs over the lifetime of the LED bulbs by initiating a 3 year program to replace halogen light bulbs with LED bulbs in track lighting located in the Museum gallery, the back hallway and the store. This will also increase capacity by reducing the time spent replacing the halogen light bulbs. In addition, the LED lighting (1) eliminates the potential damage of artifacts due to UV IR rays, and (2) improves the overall visual display.

2. Improved (1) customer service by re-organizing the way phone calls were answered by the Museum staff3. Decreased (1) interruptions, and (2) reduced wait time for obtaining use of the credit card assigned to the Museum by

placing all of the required items (credit cards, tax exempt forms, tax exempt cards, sign-out sheet) in a portfolio at a location readily accessible to Museum staff

4. Streamlined the payment process by affixing printed labels for purchases of large dollar items directly to the invoice before it is given to the administrative assistant for payment.

5. Increased capacity and reduced costs by placing the monthly budget report on the T drive, thereby eliminating printing and distribution costs

6. Improved storage and preservation standards for museum artifact dolls by reviewing doll storage processes, rewrapping dolls in tissue paper, replacing decayed boxes, and photographing the artifacts during this process. This effort created more storage space and provided a digital documentation of each artifact.

7. Improved efficiency by upgrading software to Past Perfect 5.0, which eliminated the requirement to add terms or adjust hierarchal settings each time the registrar added a new object term. In addition, the new software’s security setting gives more staff members access to the artifact collections database. This has streamlined the processes related to exhibit development, access to photographs, and educational inquiries. It has also promoted a more collaborative work among team members.

8. Improved efficiency by creating a batch for all “bill pay checks” no matter the number of checks. The previous policy limited this batch to not more than 20 checks.

Museum

9. Improved customer service by creating a second drawer for Cash Register 3, which could be used to swap out the primary cash drawer, so that it could be balanced independently while continuing customer transactions.

10. Improved efficiency by scheduling a set time once a month to prepare Facebook posts for the Museum11. Increased capacity by ordering handouts from the Brownh computer, rather than the Fallisp computer that is networked with

the color printer. Printed twice as many handouts in virtually the same amount of time.12. Museum staff contacted church administrators that receive press releases and verified address information in order to

eliminate returned items. Thirteen organizations agreed to receive electronic press releases, which will decrease costs and improve communications.

13. Increased capacity by getting rid of extra and old brochures that had been in storage for a long time and consolidating everything left into one storage location.

14. Improved safety and prevented possible damage to artifacts by installing an adjustable tie-down on shelving that will hold the collections storage room door open when needed. This eliminates the awkward lifting and twisting, sometimes required when bringing heavy artifacts through this door and no one is available to assist.

15. Increased efficiency of the Exhibits Team by writing assignments down and tracking them to completion, insuring that each major task is signed off on by the entire team as completed.

16. Increased efficiency by storing miscellaneous information and magazines, that were being circulated from person to person, in a file box kept just outside the Administrative Assistant’s office. The information is readily available to anyone who desires to peruse it and after 3 months is either discarded or given to the Registrar for archive filing.

17. Reduced costs and increased capacity by proof reading exhibit labels in an electronic format, rather than from a printed copy.

18. Increased capacity by relocating the milling video remote to the same location as the TV screen. By doing this, it is now possible to start and close the main gallery in one loop around the exhibit space.

Museum

19. Increased capacity by relocating the milling video remote to the same location as the TV screen. By doing this, it is now possible to start and close the main gallery in one loop around the exhibit space.

20. Improved security by relocating the security system monitor adjacent to the main computer screen monitor. The greeter can now easily see both the screen monitor and the security screen from one location

21. Improved security and increased efficiency by removing the small apron worn by attendants to make change at the mini golf course and attaching it to the golf shack’s bench where the balls and clubs are kept. This reduced the number of money belts needed, and kept funds at a centralized location near to where it was needed.

22. Increased capacity by eliminating the duplicate processing of volunteer hours by both the administrative assistant and the museum director.

23. Improved sanitary conditions and reduced energy costs by replacing an old dishwasher that no longer cleaned effectively with a newer, energy efficient model.

24. Increased capacity by providing printed labels to purchasers of large dollar items, and affixing them to invoices, thereby providing the Administrative Assistant the opportunity to enter the fixed asset into the database on the same day.

Community Relations Department

1. Improved safety by creating (1) an accessible workspace where (2) client consultations can be held in private, but which will also (3) accommodate children, and (4) which provides a safe meeting place for staff.

2. Reduced costs by merging the Human Relations Administrative Assistant position with a Part Time clerical position in Finance.

3. Reduced costs by eliminating the Outreach Specialist position.

Computer Technology Department

1. Increased capacity by installing shelving, and removing the E-Waste items and desktop systems from the floor and walkways.

2. Increased capacity by placing patch cables into their own individual plastic bags marked with the cable’s length, and then organizing them by color and length.

Community & Development Services Department

1. Increased capacity by setting up a cash box system in Development Services for use in paying for the Register of Deeds. 2. Improved customer service by streamlining the processing of requests for DVDs of public meetings.3. Increased capacity and reduced costs by eliminating a courtesy letter prior to issuing a violation notice for performing work

without a permit.4. Reduce costs and increased capacity by switching from providing business cards in protector sheets to DRT meeting

attendees to providing a printable handout with the same identical information. 5. Reduced costs and increased capacity by switching from using mailing labels on property owner mailings to printing directly

on the envelopes. 6. Increased capacity by combining inspection schedules for slab homes in GovPartner. These changes include grouping

inspections as follows: (1) Radon under slab, drain time, plumbing ground run, (2) electrical service, electric meter release, (3) gas service, gas meter release, and (4) footing and concrete encased electrode.

7. Increased capacity by simplifying meeting notes to key points, decisions, code references, and homework items. Uses Olympus digital recorder to record the meeting proceedings verbatim.

8. Increased capacity by using the GovPartner Building module software for the Plan Review Process. Plan review comments can be entered directly into the GovPartner software resulting in automatic compilation into a letter format. This letter can then be distributed for approval, edits made, and the final copy provided to the permit applicant.

9. Increased capacity by eliminating the delivery of approved plans to the job site (which has not provided any significant benefit) and instead required the permit applicant to pick up approved plans from Building Services.

10. Increased capacity by designating a “Planner of the Day” that administrative staff can route citizen inquiries to. By designating a single planner to handle these types of inquiries, the other planners are better able to focus on their work

11. Improved organization by numbering envelope boxes (i.e. 1 of 10, 2 0f 10, etc.) and attaching a note on the last box that instructs staff to notify the appropriate clerk that new envelopes need to be ordered.


12. Increased capacity by creating an automatic recurring calendar alert that notifies/reminds staff to submit their timesheets. 13. Reduced friction by placing keys to meeting rooms in a centralized, but discreet location, rather than having a single person

as the keeper of the keys. 14. Increased capacity by implementing the use of an electronic signature for the Planning & Zoning Administrator so that letters

that have been approved can be sent out immediately. 15. Increased efficiency and reduced friction by preparing Board of Zoning Appeals and Planning Commission packet envelopes

in advance, and by providing a current list of packet distribution instructions at the location where the packet envelopes are stored.

16. Increased capacity by redesigning the process for releasing meters to just 2 steps, instead of 5 steps.17. Improved efficiency by asking all staff involved in plan checks to provide plans/documents to a designated person for check-

in and tracking. This will also ensure that all related plans/documents are stored in one location (GovPartner project file)18. Improved efficiency and reduced costs by switching from a paper survey for commercial projects to Survey Monkey. We

now send a link to the survey in an email and all responses are collected online.19. Avoided spending by repurposing two boxes of folders that were placed on a giveaway table in the copier/mail room.20. Increased capacity by obtaining 6 volunteers from the Volunteer Connection, who assisted us prepare a 1,200 piece

certified mailing (Star Bond). 21. Reduced paper storage by scanning Code Enforcement files into electronic files.22. Increased efficiency by placing both Neighborhood Services and Building Services electronic files into a single folder, on a

single drive. 23. Development Services and Finance reduced costs during the life time of copying equipment by replacing 3 older copiers

with 2 newer ones. This also placed a 6 color copier into the Development Services area, which has reduced excess movement of employees.


24. Increased capacity by revising the required submittal documents to incorporate additional design details for proposed accessory structures. This included the creation of an Accessory Structures Compatibility Checklist

25. Increased capacity by eliminating the confusion and duplication or work that sometimes occurred when inspecting fire lines, sewers, and backflow. We simply clarified who was responsible for what so that in the future inspections can be done right the first time

26. Improved presentations in room 107 by installing an application that allows a laptop to become a remote host to the room 107 workstation. This gives the presenter direct control over the slides without the need of another person at the workstation.

27. Increased capacity by utilizing a tool available in GovPartner software, which will prevent inspections from being scheduled until all required submittals have been received.

28. Reduced costs and increased capacity reducing the number of packets mailed to the Planning Commissioners and members of the Board of Zoning Appeals .

Finance Department

Accounting1. Increased capacity by eliminating duplicate processing of the No Check Acceptance List. 2. Increased clerical capacity by converting payroll records into an electronic form. 3. Reduced costs by auditing the telephone system and reconfiguring it for maximum efficiency. 4. Modified the leave request process for finance employees to increase capacity by sending it electronically in the form of a

meeting request. 5. Increased capacity by replacing a daily report from Development Services with a monthly report to be used by Finance in

the preparation of invoices distributed to contractors.6. Increase capacity by changing the golf course report to automatically print the revenue codes. This eliminated the need for

the clerk to code each line item prior to entering it into the system. 7. Reduced costs, decreased the likelihood of data entry errors, eliminated excess movement, and reduced unnecessary

supplies by streamlining the way the money is handled when transferred from the Police Department evidence files to Finance. The Police Dept developed a spreadsheet to keep track of the amount of money that pertains to each case file. The funds are removed from each file, verified and the totals entered into the spreadsheet, and then the funds along with the spreadsheet are delivered to the City Clerk’s office for receipting. The clerk prepares just one receipt for the total amount, rather than receipting the amount of money that pertains to each case file.

8. Reduced overtime costs by releasing the City Clerk from duty in those cases where no action is anticipated when the City Commission goes into executive session. Other City staff at the meeting will record any actions taken by the City Commission and provide that information to the City Clerk.

Finance Department

City Clerk’s Office9. Increased capacity and improved efficiency by eliminating transporting of paper stock from the basement to the 2nd floor as

well as (1) provided easier access, (2) improved efficient use of recycle bins, (3) eliminated the need to move the electric binding machine to an outlet, (4) facilitated the correct use of the mail cart, (5) improved organization of storage cabinets, (6) removed excess storage cabinet.

10. Reduced costs and increased capacity by creating a single nuisance abatement report to be filed after certification. 11. Increased capacity by processing incoming mail just once per day, instead of twice. 12. Expedited the processing of documents that require certification by delegating the authority to sign these documents to any

clerk, rather than limiting it to the City Clerk or the Deputy City Clerk. While the increased capacity is minimal, 7 the increased efficiency is (1) notably appreciated by the City Clerk and the Deputy City Clerk.

13. Reduced costs and increased capacity in the Cemetery and the City Clerk’s Office by creating a PDF form of the permit and then emailing the information to the City Clerk’s Office.

14. Increased capacity by eliminating excess movement and transporting by streamlining the process for archiving license applications and renewals.

15. Increased capacity, reduced filing errors, decreased the amount of movement, and decreased the time needed to pull expired agreements by adding a field to the database that would automatically generate a contract number.

Finance Department

Water Customer Accounting16. Reduced costs annually by reducing OT pay in the Water Customer Accounting Division. This was done by transferring the

daily update from the front desk clerk to the Water Customer Accounting Tech. 17. Reduced costs by discontinuing the Dillon’s water bill drop pickup. Customers may pay by phone, internet, City/County

Circle Drive and the Water Customer Accounting Office. 18. Improved efficiency in Water Customer Accounting by reassigning the printing of the daily deposit reports to a clerk other

than the WCA Tech. This eliminated the wait times previously experienced and has facilitated the Daily Revenue Analysis to be completed quickly and efficiently.

19. In order to reduce excess movement and motion of employees the file cabinet containing adjustment forms, correspondence, bank draft information, returned mail, and identification verification forms was moved from the back storage room to a central location in the office.

20. Increased capacity by developing a query that checked on the status (whether or not they had been paid) of shut off accounts.

21. WCA – Reduced expenses by reusing the second page of certain types of service orders, rather than discarding them as waste.

Fire Department

1. Reduced vehicle costs, and increased capacity by converting the Training Request Form into an electronic form, rather than hard copy. The electronic form also (1) expedites the processing of training requests resulting in a faster turn-around for the submitter.

2. Reduced costs by changing the service interval with Safety Kleen to a bi-yearly replacement of solvent at Station #3, instead of quarterly.

3. Standardized the use of operational channels on Fire calls by (1) having dispatchers assign channels to apparatus (change to channel 3) when in route in order to eliminate communication problems between the Fire Department and Dispatching.

4. Reduce the cost of fuel and increased capacity by having all supplies delivered directly to sub stations from Office Max, rather than delivered to a central location and then transported to each station.

5. Reduced costs by switching to Pageplus “Pay as you go” plan for cell phones, which eliminated the $25 monthly charge for 10 phones. Pageplus charges $10 for 100 minutes, which must be used during 120 days – this plan is great for low minute cell phone users.

6. Automated the dispatching of fire and EMS calls. This will eliminate dispatching errors, while providing fire station specific calls.

7. 7. Reduced costs and increased capacity by eliminating the need to hire Weis Fire to perform annual maintenance on existing rescue tools. The EVT specialist will be sent to technician school in order to learn how to perform required inspections and make repairs.

8. 8. Reduced costs by combining a purchase order of “Trash Hooks” from both the Salina City and Saline County Fire Departments.

9. To facilitate easier access the personnel shift assignment board was reduced in size and mounted to the wall in the Lieutenants office.

Fire Department

10. Increased capacity by creating three different scenarios in the code red system. This will facilitate contacting Salina Fire Department personnel to notify them of a call back. This system can be activated by dispatch, the incident commander, or by any station officer.

11. Increased capacity and improved accuracy by obtaining access in CAD viewer to view the phone numbers listed in the CAD paging system. This will permit the fire department an opportunity to ensure that all employees are added and that the most current numbers are listed in case of a call back.

12. Increased capacity and improved functionality by updating the daily staffing form in Data tracker. It can now be emailed and saved in a spreadsheet format.

Human Resources Department

1. Improved efficiency and standardized costs by issuing gift cards to retiring employees, rather than having them select from a catalogue. Also eliminated wait time, storage, and the costs of wrapping paper.

2. Increased capacity and streamlined the hiring process at Kenwood Cove by resolving 7 significant problems that created delays when hiring.

3. Reduced costs by allowing the Personnel Manual to be accessed electronically instead of printing paper copies. 4. Reduced costs and increased capacity by eliminating the requirement to include Return Receipts when mailing COBRA

notices. 5. Increased capacity by moving the dispatcher examination from the CT training room to the CMO intern’s office. 6. Reduced costs and increased capacity by eliminating the need to change the position title on employee ID’s. (By deleting

the mandatory field requirement in design settings, mildly adjusting the layout, and expanding the size of the employee picture, the title was removed from the printed employee ID).

7. Streamlined processing of the “Employee Name/Address/Phone Change Form by setting up a “rule’ in Outlook to send these forms directly to both the Benefits Coordinator and the HR Specialist, rather than to only one of them.

8. Increased capacity by submitting leave requests to the HR Director using a meeting planner from the HR/CMO calendar. The HR Director can now instantly accept/decline the request, and employee’s can see what days have already been requested prior to sending their leave request.

9. Reduced costs and increased capacity by eliminating the requirement to print several reports that were not being used. This included payroll reports, one for the Fire Department regarding FLSA, and monthly reports for Departments.

10. Increased capacity by creating an electronic payroll spreadsheet for employees in HR. This eliminated the need to re-type it from the original hand written spreadsheet and reduced the possibility of mistakes.


11. Increased capacity by creating an electronic timesheet for Human Resources staff. Staff members now enter their own times directly into the timesheet for review by the HR Director.

12. Increased capacity in the PD Department by obtaining permission to allow PD officers to wear uniforms when attending New Employee Orientation. Historically, officers were required to change into civilian clothing while attending the New Employee Orientation.

13. Increased capacity and reduced costs by scanning position descriptions into Laserfische that are normally filed in the red binder and kept for historical reference. A file folder named “PERMANENT RETENTION (Red Binder)” was also created to hold all newly revised position descriptions until they can be entered into Laserfiche.

14. Reduced costs by emailing notices of the flu clinic to retiree participants in our health insurance, instead of sending them by mail.

15. Increased capacity and reduced costs by changing our payment plan for Survey Monkey from a monthly charge to an annual charge.

16. Increased capacity, reduced costs, and expedited processing by scanning PAFs, savings them as PDFs, and then emailing them to the directors, instead of making paper copies and distributing them through interoffice mail.

17. Increased capacity and reduced costs by improving the accuracy of payroll data on the AS400 regarding part-time employees. This update reduced the number of required notices that had to be mailed regarding “New Health Insurance Coverage Options & Your Health Coverage.

18. Increased capacity and reduced costs by combining all payroll reports into one book, instead of 8. And by placing the one report Finance might occasionally look at the beginning.

19. Increased capacity and reduced costs having the cover message on gift cards printed at the same time the City logo is printed on the cards.


20. Improved efficient management of benefits meeting by streamlining and scanning forms as pdf documents, printing by sections, and then binding them into a book with a table of contents and dividers for easier use. This significantly helped organize the Benefits Meeting and provided the employee with a reference for later use if they had questions. This also reduced excess inventory of the individual forms. Books are now made as needed.

21. Improved capacity by using extra space in the new employee’s personnel manual to hold the benefit book, rather than binding it as originally done. This simplified the process to printing/hole punching vs. having to bind the book. Books are now only bound for employees not electing a paper copy of their personnel manual.

22. Increased capacity by streamlining the New Hire Checklist and eliminating the requirement for the employee to initial over 25+ times. Items were deleted that had been included in previous documents; the checklist was condensed to 5 lines matching the sections of the new benefits book, and under each line, important information was listed in a bulleted format. This makes for an easier, more efficient experience for the new hire.

23. Expedited training on EAP, Harassment, and Workplace Violence by including these training videos as part of the Benefits Meeting that occurs in the first few days of employment, rather than during orientation, which may not occur for several months after being hired.

24. Increased capacity by eliminating the signature required from the Department Head on the “internet/email usage policy form”. The employee signs the form and it is placed directly in their employment file.

Municipal Court

Court Services

1. Expedited the processing of court documents by placing them in between the two front counter clerks. As time permits in between customers both clerks now work from the same pile.

2. Added a hearing type of “Walk-in” when defendants check in for “Walk-in Court” in order to eliminate the possibility that a defendant might be missed or skipped over.

3. Increased capacity, reduced the chances for mistakes, and reduced transporting of work between employees by placing the payroll time sheet on the shared drive and requiring each employee to input their own payroll information.

4. Increased capacity by modifying the process for making daily deposits. The new process used a spreadsheet to make calculations, eliminated duplicate data entries, reduced transportation time, and eliminated work that added no value.

5. Streamlined the process for setting appointments with the Probation Officer by standardizing the process used by court clerks, thereby making it easier for defendants to schedule appointments.

6. Increased capacity by converting a manual ledger to an electronic spreadsheet to keep a running balance of the bond account.

7. Reduced supply costs and excess movement by replacing faxed copies sent to the Kansas Department of Corrections to electronic email versions.

8. Increased capacity by replacing vacations requests logged onto a calendar to an electronic version.9. Increased capacity by moving the deposit book and the endorsement stamp from the Court Supervisor’s office to the front

counter.

Municipal Court

10. Increased capacity by developing a database that recorded vendor information into a drop down list. This facilitates paying vendors by using the drop down list, thereby eliminating the need to write out this information each time.

11. Eliminated non-value added work by eliminating the requirement to maintain a copy of the City of Salina’s receipt of deposits that are sent to Finance. Once the yellow duplicate comes back from Finance it will be attached directly to the daily cash balance report.

12. Increased capacity by depositing cash bonds once a week instead of daily, and eliminating the manual register.13. Increased capacity and reduced costs by standardizing the amount of cash each clerk begins with, printing the cash

balance report at 4:00 pm, and permitting the clerks to close out earlier. Funds that come in after they close out will continue to be processed as before, but will be reported as part of the next day’s business.

14. Improved efficiency and customer service by processing 7-day and 30-day “over parking Notices” daily instead of weekly. This will provide the information to the customer quicker and will provide an opportunity to receive more timely payments.

15. Increased capacity by storing closed files on top of the current year’s file cabinet in bins that are labeled by year.16. Reduced costs and increased capacity by replacing the purple paper used for community service worksheets with white

paper. This will eliminate the need to rescan the worksheets because the contrast is too dark due to the purple paper.17. Increased capacity by eliminating the daily mail run to the City County Building. The Police Department will have their staff

member pick up the Municipal Court’s mail at the same time that they pick up their mail.18. Increased capacity by purchasing a wire step file holder to place files that have pending paperwork due. This will facilitate

retrieval of these files.

Municipal Court

19. Improved customer service by revising the Financial Affidavit form so that it is easier to understand and to fill out. Provide clip boards and pens to the defendants so that they can sit on the benches in the lobby and fill out the affidavit. Have a clerk (notary) meet with the defendant in the lobby to review the application and notarize it. And establish guidelines that the clerk (notary) will use to ensure that the form has been filled out correctly.

20. Increased capacity by using FullCourt to receipt the fees for open records requests, updating the Open Records Request form with instructions on how to fill out the form, and using Laserfiche to store these documents.

21. Reduced costs by eliminating the cost of traffic jacket cards, sleeves, and files; and increased capacity as the result of the Police Department implementing Digiticket software that processes traffic tickets electronically.

22. Increased capacity by ordering envelopes that have “Prosecutor’s Office” instead of “Municipal Court”. Returned mail can now be sorted directly to the Prosecutor’s Office, eliminating double handling by Municipal Court clerks.

23. Increased capacity in the Municipal Court (also impacted Finance) by streamlining the way over parking payments was processed. The new process has the clerk receipt the over parking payments into Full Court under Miscellaneous. This allows the clerk to verify the amount of money collected, include it in her daily cash drawer, and eliminate the requirement to create a separate daily deposit for over parking.

24. Reduced costs by eliminating the requirement to complete a separate form that is filled out by a clerk and sent to the Prosecutor’s Office and the Court Supervisor, for those cases where a NONCOMPL ROA is notated and in the ROA it is referenced “Surety bond hearing ordered”. Instead the clerk will highlight the surety bond hearings on the NONCOMPL ROA code report..

Municipal Court

25. Improved efficiency and reduced transporting of work by changing the way “motions to revoke or be released from probation or diversion” were processed. Instead of the Court Services Coordinator processing these actions in FullCase, sending them to the Clerks’ Office to process through FullCourt, and then having them returned to the Coordinator to mail out to the defendant and attorney; the Court Services Coordinator now attaches copies and envelopes of actions taken, which are sent to the Clerks” Office. After processing these actions into Full Court, the clerk mails the motions in the envelopes provided. They are no longer returned back to the Court Services Coordinator.

26. Improved efficiency by eliminating the requirement to manually calculate the number of Digitickets imported into Fullcourt. With access to Digiticket reports and the daily citation import report this information is readily available.

27. Reduced the possibility of mistakes by sending all Digitickets (and handwritten tickets entered by a clerk) to the Prosecutor’s Office routinely, rather than sending information only as requested.

28. Eliminated the possibility of error when the Court Officer notifies the front counter clerks as to whether the defendant would be seen or taken into custody by creating an email rule that automatically routes information to both front counter clerks so that paperwork can be processed expeditiously. In the past this did not always occur, which slowed the process when the clerk receiving the information was not available.

29. Reduced costs and increased capacity by eliminating the requirement to make a copy of each journal entry as part of court clean-up. The original journal entry is now scanned directly into the case files.

30. Increased capacity by moving the time stamp used for filing court documents from the back of the room to the front adjacent to the clerk’s window counter, and by placing the in-baskets for the Prosecutor’s office, the Judge, and Probation Officer in the back of the room closer to their offices.

31. Increased capacity by reducing inquiries at the window counter. A set of detailed instructions was created that explained more fully how to do an inquiry using the public access computer in the lobby.

Municipal Court

32. Improved customer service by entering citations into FullCourt in a timelier manner, thereby providing the defendant an opportunity to take care of their citation earlier. In the past handwritten tickets that were incomplete (need Date of Birth) sometimes delayed processing.

33. Increased capacity and reduced costs by authorizing all clerks to use FullCourt to cancel warrants (instead of printing a form to send to a supervisor to cancel), and by using Full Court’s Case Mail feature to notify dispatch of the cancellation.

34. Increased effectiveness by clarifying how to process out-of-county warrants, which affected both dispatch and the court staff.

35. To facilitate processing and eliminate delays labels were put below the verification signature on the fingerprint order to now require the KDR reference number. This will help track the KDR when it gets separated from the fingerprint order.

36. Reduced costs by switching from a small sticky note to a red stamp that says “Defendant has copy” when processing journal entries.

37. Increased capacity by affixing labels to government agency requests for background checks that are to be forwarded to the District Court that says “There are no records with Municipal Court. Please contact the Saline County District Court: Phone 785-309-5830 Fax 785-309-5845.

38. Reduced costs and expedited processing of DC-66 forms by emailing the completed form, rather than mailing it to the Kansas Department of Revenue.

39. Increased capacity by scanning files that are pulled for whatever reason. By scanning these files, they are made immediately available and no longer have to be filed away. The front screen of each case will be annotated to show that it has been scanned

40. Increased capacity by printing 2X4 labels that include information that is written down when taking credit card payments by phone. After the receipt has been printed and the transaction processed the label is affixed to the back of the receipt, instead of having to write down all of the pertinent information again.

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Municipal Court

41. Increased capacity by replacing the usual court note with a form that can be used for defendant’s that come to court regarding fines owed. This form will automatically fill in the defendant’s name, address, date and amount owed. The clerk will just need to enter the payment agreement at the prompt. The layout of the form has also been set up so that it can be mailed using a window envelope.

42. Improved customer service by updating the Stay Order form to include the address of the defendant. The defendant now only needs to verify that the information is correct and sign the form. This also expedites the processing of these forms, and thereby increases capacity.

43. Increased capacity by eliminating the need for the Court to print the Ownerless Outstanding Tags report from the overparking TTrak program and sending it to the Police Department for action. By providing the Police Department with the access to this menu item they can access the information needed directly without Court Services involvement.

Municipal Court

Prosecution44. Increased capacity by having complaints placed in ascending order the first time, and thereby eliminating the need to

rearrange them later.45. Increased capacity by stopping the deletion of video and walk-in-dockets in FullCourt. This information was automatically

synced with FullCase, which the Prosecutor’s Office was using to print hearing reports and pull all necessary files for their docket. After the hearing took place, the Court Clerks were in the habit of deleting the hearing information from FullCourt, which also deleted it from FullCase. The Prosecutor’s Office then had to re-enter the hearing information back into FullCase in order to enter the disposition or continuance information from the Court notes. By stopping the deletion of the hearing information in FullCourt, the Prosecutor’s Office no longer has to re-enter this information into FullCase.

Parks and Recreation Department

Administration

1. Reduced costs by reassigning the printing of the Kenwood Cove Daily Admission pass from the Bicentennial Center to the Parks and Recreation Administrative Office. This will also permit (1) Just-in-Time printing, rather than placing orders for bulk quantities and discarding those not used at the end of the year.

2. Increased capacity by inputting payroll information from the Golf Course by eliminating the faxed payroll sheet and replacing it with an Excel Spreadsheet that could be emailed to the Administrative Assistant.

3. Consolidated paper and supply storage from two rooms into one in order to improve efficiency and eliminate wasted motion.4. Improved effectiveness by holding staff meetings more frequently in order to provide better customer service and clear communication between

staff members regarding changes affecting classes/programs, etc.5. Reduced costs and increased capacity by coordinating the number of shopping trips for essential supplies through the Administrative Office in

order to reduce the number of shopping trips made by multiple divisions.6. Increased capacity: In the past, we have allowed team gymnastics parents to sign their children up for an entire session, and then allow them to

pay us monthly. Parents would frequently forget to pay for a month and get behind on their payments. This led to staff having to try and collect from them, which was time consuming and ineffective. We changed this process and set each level of gymnastics up as a separate program, requiring parents to sign up monthly and pay when they signed up. We also offer parents the option of setting them up on automatic payments which debit their credit card each month.

7. Increased customer feedback by creating an evaluation tool that can be used to obtain customer feedback throughout the year by placing signs in designated areas with a QR code, and requesting customer feedback. A survey comes up when the QR code is scanned by a cell phone. Survey information is gathered electronically and processed by Survey Monkey.


8. Increased efficiency by changing the desk layout in the Administrative Office in order to help staff see customers and vice/versa. This also created more space in individual work area, as well as providing easier access to the copy machines.

9. Reduced gasoline costs by adopting a policy that encourages driver’s of City owned vehicles to turn off the engine, if a vehicle will be stopped for more than 30 seconds.

10. Improved service to customers of the animal shelter by eliminating the shelter closure between 1:00pm and 3:00pm daily. This resulted from changing procedures related to cleaning kennels and performing lab work.

11. Reduced costs and increased capacity by switching waste removal providers from Salina Waste Systems to Salina Iron and Metal.

12. Reduced costs and increased capacity by placing monthly budget reports on the T drive, rather than printing and distributing them. An e-mail is sent advising supervisors when the reports are available.

13. Increased capacity and reduced costs by using volunteer’s to keep the official scorebook and run the scoreboard for older youth baseball/softball teams, rather than City employees. Most of these teams already play in tournaments where no scorekeeper is provided. And as a result, each team has someone experienced in keeping the scorebook. In addition, many spectators know how to run the scoreboards.

14. Increased capacity and reduced costs by making it easier for customers to pick up their reservation key to neighborhood centers and reducing the amount of assistance required on the weekend.

15. Increased capacity and reduced costs by reducing the number of times flyers were distributed from eight to four, and by using two-sided flyers instead of one side with two pages.

16. Reduced costs and increased capacity by changing the format of the Advisory Board Report to be the same as the CIM Report.


17. Reduced costs and increased capacity by reducing tennis program staffing from five coaches to four. Even with this reduction we maintained a ratio of one coach to every seven tennis players, which still keeps the group small enough for individual attention.

18. Reduced costs by and increased capacity by eliminating the yearly rental of a helium tank, balloon regulator, and other related charges that had been needed to support four special events.

19. Reduced costs and increased capacity by rescheduling our youth dance and cheer classes to Memorial Hall, instead of holding them at the StepZ Dance Company.

20. Reduced costs and increased capacity by reducing the number of free give-a-ways at the Annual Halloween party.21. Reduced costs while increasing productivity and accuracy by consolidating three paper forms into one computerized “Intake

Record” for the Animal Shelter. We previously used 3 separate forms that each had duplicate carbonless transfer sheets attached and required that they be prepared by a printer.

22. Reduced costs by (1) reducing the number of activity brochures printed to approximately 8,000 copies, (2) asking customers to pick them up at designated areas, (3) encouraging individuals to use online resources, and (4) switching to an RFP process for the printing of future brochures.

23. Increased productivity and customer service at the Animal Shelter by consolidating 5 filing cabinets into 2, then moving a copy machine and supply desk into our workstation area. This keeps all paperwork and customer supplies within our reach.


Animal Control Services24. Animal Services – Increased capacity by attaching a USB cord used to download photos to all computers. They previously

only had one cord and had to wait until other employees were done.

Building Maintenance Division25. Reduced costs and increased capacity by organizing HVAC air filters at the Community Theatre, labeling the shelves, and

creating a master chart that displays the storage layout.26. Replaced the key lock system at the Oakdale Park storage facility with a pass code lock mechanism in order to reduce

costs and facilitate easier access.27. Increased capacity by installing a jumbo roll toilet tissue in dispensers at the Police Department Administration building. In

addition, this eliminated the requirement for custodians to check on toilet tissue levels over the weekend.28. Reduced costs and increased capacity by applying 6S to supplies and products stored in Memorial Hall. Removed old

products, and created a more efficient storage arrangement for the remaining products.29. Issued electronic keys to the exterior building doors for use by inspectors who need access to the building. This will permit

inspectors to work outside of their normal work hours due to project scheduling.30. Purchased an electric snow blower for use by the Salina Art Center in order to remove snow quicker, and thereby make it

safe for employees and the public. The Arts and Humanities Department will use this equipment, instead of depending on Parks & Recreation employees for snow removal services.


31. Increased capacity by purchasing a Milwaukee Impact Driver and a hand held nut driver with a 4 in 1 tool capacity in order to improve the efficiency of removing panels and making repairs on large HVAC condensers.

32. Increased capacity and reduced costs by closing restrooms in Sunset Park, and opening the northwest one in Oakdale Park only as needed for seasonal events like the Smoky Hill River Festival or the KKOA car show.

33. Increased capacity and reduced costs by purchasing a flip razor knife that can be clipped to the pocket while working, and thereby eliminate trips back to the truck for tools.

34. Increased capacity and reduced costs by purchasing a 2’ air blow tube with handle. This tube makes it quicker and easier to clean out heaters and HVAC units.

35. Increased capacity and reduced costs by adding an extra sheet metal shelf to the service truck (#1600) to keep drills and drill bits readily accessible.

36. Increased capacity by purchasing a water wand that fits on the end of a garden hose to clean out condenser coils.37. Reduced costs and increased capacity by replacing an exterior light with a LED light fixture. This change will also reduce

electricity.38. Reduced costs, increased capacity, and reduced chemical hazards by switching to a pH pen to save time and reduce the

amount of chemicals needed for testing Boiler pH levels.39. Reduced costs and increased capacity by switching to a conductivity pen for testing Boiler Conductivity. It is also easier and

safer to operate.40. Increased capacity by relocating two trash receptacles from the back of the water park (which were rarely used) to the front

of the water park (where they are used regularly). This relocation helped eliminate trash liner waste and employee time. The trash liners are now being filled with waste, instead of being thrown away almost empty.


41. Reduced costs and increased capacity by replacing the double doors at the Carver Center with a single door.42. Facility Maintenance – Increased capacity and reduced costs by switching from copper tubing to a flex line when connecting

water lines to toilets. This change also reduces the chance for leaks.43. Facility Maintenance – Increased capacity and reduced expenses by moving cleaning supplies to the ECRA shop, and

thereby reducing the number of trips required to transport supplies.44. Facility Maintenance – Increased capacity by obtaining a core key from the Parks Division that can be used to remove locks

from neighborhood center doors or to lock them after citizen use. This will also reduce the number of Parks personnel that have to be called in after regular hours.

45. Facility Maintenance – Increased capacity and reduced costs by replacing wax rings commonly used to seal toilet seats to sewer lines with rubber toilet seals. This change has eliminated the mess associated with wax rings and will provide a secure seal for a longer period of time.

46. Facility Maintenance avoided spending money for a new metal storage cabinet by finding a used one that could be converted to meet their needs.


Cemetery Division

47. Increased capacity and reduced costs by using Round Up to control weeds and grass around head stones, rather than trimming them with a weed eater.

48. Reduced gas and electricity costs by shutting off the furnace in the Cemetery Mausoleum when not in use. 49. Reduced costs and increased capacity by creating a PDF form for the issuance of Cemetery Marker Permits. This permit can now be

filled out on a computer and emailed to the Cemetery, rather than requiring that they be hand delivered. 50. Increased capacity by replacing 8 gallon trash cans with 33 gallon trash cans. Six will be purchased in 2015, and another six in 2016 Golf Course Division

51. Reduced costs and increased capacity by eliminating the requirement to print logo’s on golf hole location flags. 52. Reduced costs by improving the number of golf balls recovered nightly as well as improving the overall condition of the golf course. 53. Reduced the likelihood of damage to golf carts and increased storage capacity by re-organizing the parking stalls from parking on an

angle to parking straight. 54. Reduced golf ball costs and increased capacity by establishing an exclusive stocking agreement with a single manufacturer. 55. Reduced costs and increased capacity by switching to Nitroform fertilizer for both the Golf Course and the Parks Division. This fertilizer

applies more nitrogen per acre and will eliminate one application. 56. Increased capacity and reduced costs by converting an old TV cart into a new portable golf ball washing unit. 57. Reduced costs by obtaining 400 used range balls from a Kansas City golf course that they were disposing. These golf balls were given

to our golf course at no charge for use in our Youth Golf Program.


58. Increased capacity and reduced costs by replacing wooden tee markers on the golf course with metal markers that have been painted with a long lasting powder coating material. The return on this investment equals less than one year.

59. Increase revenues and improved service to customers by providing hot dogs in the golf course snack bar. Other area golf courses are selling over 1,000 hot dogs per year, and we anticipate doing the same.

60. Reduced costs by meeting with the Nike Sales Representative and obtaining authorization to return some of the clothing items that didn’t sell.

61. Increased revenue during the 2014 golf season by including 20 free buckets of balls with a “Bronze” membership. This resulted in more “Bronze” membership sales.

62. Increased revenue by standardizing green fees to be the same every day of the week. Previously weekend rates were higher than weekday rates.

63. Increased capacity by switching payment procedures for procuring cereal malt beverage for the golf course to an automatic debit.

Parks and Forestry Division 64. Increased functional capacity and reduced costs by removing aging posts and cable systems in Lakewood Park, Indian

Rock Park, Steve Hawley Park, Oakdale Park, Bill Burke Park, and Bondy Field. 65. Established a division wide staff meeting once a week to better communicate goals, priorities, and to leverage resources

more effectively.66. Purchased three new mowers (2012 models) using GSA pricing. This will reduce costs, while still meeting new emission

standards. 67. Reduced vehicle expenses and increased capacity by using the old pool bath house across from the Oakdale shop to store

supplies and equipment. We were also able to move supplies that were previously stored outside at Oakdale inside at the new storage facility.


68. Created a more efficient means of filtering water at the Jerry Ivey water playground by switching from a paper filter to a sand filter. The ROI is calculated at 1.8 years to fully recover the cost. In addition, this change will result in increased capacity.

69. Increased capacity and reduced fuel costs by having Salina Iron and Metal place a container at the shop, which they pick up at no cost to us, rather than hauling this material to the junk yard.

70. Increased capacity and reduced safety risks to the public by converting a small 2’ deep pond into a rain garden. This was done as an Eagle Scout project at no cost to this City.

71. Reduced costs and increased capacity by developing different design standards for placing landscaping beds in large city-wide parks, medium use parks, and small neighborhood parks.

72. Reduced costs and increased capacity by establishing different levels of landscapes: Top Priority, Medium Priority, and Low Priority. This change will have the overall effect of reducing the amount of time and money spent on medium and low priority landscapes.

73. Improved safety for patrons exiting Bill Burke Park by (1) subscribing to the Salina County Emergency Management Alert system to heighten the state of severe storm awareness, (2) installing a weather alert system (Weather Bug) to detect lightning, (3) Installing an emergency egress to the north allowing two exiting destinations, instead of one, (4) developing inclement weather action plans for patrons, user groups, public and staff, (5) purchasing resources to carry out the staff inclement weather action plan, and (6) training staff to follow through with the staff inclement weather action plan.

74. Used 6S principles to reorganize the Park Superintendent’s office into a different configuration that is more user friendly and more inviting to visitors.

75. Reduced costs by replacing an older black/white copier and 2 color printers with one multifunction color copier. It is not only faster, but it is cheaper. It will take only 2.11 years to recover the cost based on current usage.


76. Reduced Utilities mowing costs around water stations and pumps by assigning these responsibilities to Parks & Recreation. This was an increase in productivity of 43%.

77. Increased capacity by reorganizing the greenhouse, adding additional shelving to provide storage for annual flowers, and thereby reducing travel time to the Fair Grounds, where the flowers are normally stored.

78. Increased capacity by replacing large overgrown landscaping around Jerry Ivey Memorial to size appropriate plants that require less maintenance and eliminate the need for shearing. This change has also improved the overall appearance of this area.

79. Increased capacity and reduced costs by reducing the number of windows at the Indian Rock Lodge from 13 to 6. With fewer windows the time spent repairing vandalism will decrease to less than ½ of that previously required.

80. Reduced costs by switching from a powder form of the insecticide “Merit” to a liquid form of the same insecticide. The labor required to spread this insecticide over 54 acres of property is the same.

81. Reduced energy consumption in the Sunset Park Shop by replacing three old wooden single pane windows with three energy efficient double pane windows.

82. Reduced expenses by collecting native seeds from flowers and forbs in order to grow the plants Parks & Recreation needs. In addition, there is a potential for selling native plants that we grow that are surplus, thereby creating a new source of revenue. There is an initial purchase cost for plant grow lights.

83. Increased capacity by converting three small areas into a “pocket prairie”. These areas have been converted into a wildlife conservation area with native plants and herbs instead of being manicured by mowing and seasonal grooming. These areas will also provide a learning station, which is easily accessible to staff for educational purposes.

84. Increased capacity by moving the storage location of the loader tractor from the far side of the building to the front of the building. This move will reduce excess movement and increase efficiency. It will also increase the visibility of the tractor to help ward off security issues.


85. Reduce energy costs and increase capacity by replacing an older scoreboard at James Matson field (which used incandescent bulbs) with a newer one taken from Bondy Field (which uses LED lights)

86. Reduce energy costs by replacing a metal halide light fixture in the Jerry Ivey Park gazebo with a new LED fixture. The next light fixture cost $600, but should last 20 years with a ROI between 4-5 years.

Police Department

Administration

1. Created an online database for employees to report broken or malfunctioning computer hardware, or software glitches. It also empowers employees to make suggestions and allows technicians to report back on what they did to correct the problem.

2. Increased capacity by reducing the frequency and length of meetings held for the Police Department command staff and supervisory staff. These meetings were conducted to cover all arrests, uses of force, criminal reports and personnel issues, and normally lasted 1 hr to 1 ¼ hours. They have now been reduced to Monday and Friday, and are covering the same topics in approximately 1 hour on only two days, instead of five.

3. Reduced taxable fringe benefit costs by branding the uniform trousers and boots, marking each as being the property of SPD. The cost of the letter stamps, permanent ink pad, and permanent ink was $757.

Community Service Technician

4. Reduced costs in wages and benefits by eliminating one full-time Community Service Technician position. This was made possible by making a number of changes that included: (1) Modifying the parking areas to be focused on and the frequency of monitoring (focus enforcement on downtown business and the City/County Building), (2) Changing the location where their vehicle was to be parked (park at PD instead of CG), (3) Eliminating or reducing the number of fine boxes to be collected (the current tickets are designed to be mailed), (4) reorganizing the CST work schedule, (5) turning software related problems over to CT, and (6) reducing CST vehicles from two to one

.

Police Department

Dispatch

5. Created a 12 hour work schedule for Police Department dispatchers, which will run for a 6 month trial period. This will increase the number of dispatchers available on a daily basis, while reducing the number of dispatchers required. It will provide dispatchers more weekends off. This change is expected to significantly reduce over time.

6. Streamlined the timely processing of warrants by Dispatch by dividing them equally between all shifts. Each shift will then divide the warrants among all those that working, and they will be processed in alphabetical order. This will more fairly distribute the workload, assist all dispatchers to become proficient in entering warrants, and most importantly it will improve the timeliness of warrant data entry, thereby making this information available in the Kansas Wanted Files sooner.

7. Scanned the Communications Standard Operating Guidelines and the Resource Directory into a PDF format. These documents where then put on the department web server. A link was created to common web sites used by dispatch on a daily basis. All dispatchers can now access resource manuals at their work stations without the need for paper manuals.

8. 7. Increased capacity by eliminating the requirement for dispatchers to record driver operator information into the access database. This information is now available directly from the Computer Aided Dispatch System.

9. 8. Increased efficiency and expedited processing by transferring Open Fox notifications of watches and warrants to dispatch station #2.

10. 9. Increased capacity by eliminating one step in the process when Dispatchers complete the NCIC Entry Worksheet.11. 10. Increased capacity by eliminating the NCIC report prepared by dispatch. The dispatcher takes the required information

directly from the police report.

Police Department

12. Increased capacity and reduced the likelihood of errors by creating 2-digit CAD commands that expedite processing at Dispatch.

13. Increased capacity by eliminating the requirement for officers to advise dispatch of the vehicle they will be driving. This

information is now obtained automatically and can be obtained from the Computer Aided Dispatch System without going to a

different screen or database.

14. Increased capacity by eliminating the requirement for Dispatch to file “Protection from Abuse and Stalking Orders” from the

Sheriff’s Office. This information is already being scanned into the computerized records management system by the Sheriff’s

Office Records Clerks. Training will be provided to Dispatch on how to access this information directly from the computerized

records management system. 15. Consolidated CAD commands, fax numbers, and phone numbers that are used most frequently onto a single, easily accessible list.

16. Improved the ability of officers in the field to have correct information regarding BOLOs (Be On the Lookout) by placing this information

directly onto the Web Server used by the officers. This eliminated the need to contact the Police Department or the Sheriff’s department

when issuing BOLOs, and dispatch no longer has to rely on someone else to do part of this process.

17. Increased capacity by expediting the processing of the hot sheet that tracks information for items that need to be easily accessible;

such as locates, stolen vehicles, and runaways. This was done by authorizing officers to add and make edit entries on the hot sheet

directly without having to go through dispatch.

18. Improved efficiency and reduced traffic for the Law Ops dispatcher during daily and weekly pager tests by reassigning the responsibility

for making pager tests to the Fire 1 or Rural Fire dispatcher. This will keep the Law Ops dispatcher available to listen to Law Ops radio

traffic. 19. Improved efficiency by leveling the workload for dispatchers by having the channel 2 dispatcher take over one of the fire channels during active

incidents on multiple fire channels.

Police Department

20. Increased capacity by obtaining an “on call” list from Investigations that will clearly identify who is to be contacted when an incident occurs.

21. Increased the accuracy and efficiency of evaluating new dispatchers by streamlining and updating the Daily Observation Report and creating a color coded chart that allows a new dispatch trainee, their trainer, and the supervisor to see at a glance how the trainee is progressing

22. Increased efficiency in the dispatch unit by discarding paperwork that was no longer required and condensing file cabinets from four to three.

23. Improved quality assurance, prompt service, and tracking of services and workload by creating a tracking system in the MSP CAD system that documents services provided to the public that are resolved by the dispatcher without any other referrals.

24. Increased the accuracy and efficiency of evaluating new dispatchers by updating the Training Task List Form.25. Increased capacity and expedited processing by creating four new icons (controlled burns, road closings, bridge closing,

and high water), rather than being limited to a single generic descriptor for CAD Map Events. 26. Increased capacity by adding an Electric Utilities layer to the CAD Map that displays the name of the Utility Company based

upon location. 27. Increased capacity by adding a Railroad layer to the CAD Map that displays the name of the railroad. 28. Increased capacity by creating an additional CAD Command that will process a Drivers License and attach them to calls for

service by just typing on the command line. The use of these commands will save 10 to 20 seconds off of each occurrence29. Increased capacity by adding a CAD Map Layer that includes street names and locations 5 miles into neighboring counties.

This allows dispatchers to more quickly identify locations during vehicle pursuits and other emergencies. This also is a more efficient way of finding locations of pinged cell phones that are near Saline County, but fall into a neighboring county’s jurisdiction. .

30. Increased capacity by condensing, sorting, and organizing cabinets that contained NCIC paperwork and warrants. During this process file labels were standardized and duplicate folders removed.

Police Department

Evidence 31. Reduced the cost of poly tubing material used by Evidence to bag and seal evidence bags by switching from 5 sizes of pre-

cut bags to a roll that could be cut to any size needed. Increased capacity by creating a Stamp entitled “Destruction Order Requested” with the date of submission entered. This Stamp is to be used by all evidence employees, rather than copying the destruction order and attaching it to the original evidence custody sheet.

32. Increased capacity and reduced friction by replacing the boxed rolls of evidence tape with tape dispensers that have an open design, thereby permitting evidence to determine when additional rolls of tape were needed and make supplies always available to officers for packaging evidence.

Investigations 33. Required each investigator to summarize their work daily and send it to everyone.34. Reduced inclement weather clothing costs by replacing the lined leather coat issued to new recruits with the “Elbeco” liner

and shell. These liners and shell provide a higher degree of protection from the elements, they look professional, and they can be machine washed.

35. Increased capacity by combining four monthly crime reports prepared by the Detective Division’s Crime Analyst into a single PDF file and then emailing it, rather than printing and distributing hard copies.

Police Department

Patrol Officers 36. Increased capacity for Patrol Officers by transferring the responsibility for the pickup and processing of found bicycles, and large

found property to the Evidence Unit. Also (1) improved the efficiency of collection, (2) reduced the number of items logged into evidence, and (3) eliminated duplicate entries into two separate data bases.

37. Increased capacity of the Deputy Police Chief by streamlining the preparation of the Monthly Police Vehicle Mileage Report. 38. Reduced the amount of time it takes to process warrants and improved coordinated efforts between the Police Department,

Prosecutor’s Office, and Court Clerk’s Office so that citizens are not arrested twice for the same criminal case.39. Increased capacity of the Canine Supervisor and Canine Handlers by using a Web based application to create and maintain Canine

records. 40. Reduced costs by switching to a cheaper taser cartridge for use during training exercises. 41. Minimized travel time, and reduced excess movement of Patrol Officers by relocating the copier/printer used by Patrol Officers into

the same room where they work42. Eliminated excess movement of police officers and the need to wait for supplies or equipment by moving certain consumable items

and minor pieces of equipment to a centralized location, which does not require authorization to access. 43. Increased capacity of Patrol Officers by switching from a digital audio recorder to the AXON Flex on-officer video camera. In addition

to reducing hours the AXON Flex has also proven effective in resolving internal affairs complaints. The ability to accurately portray what really happened in each incident protects the officer from false accusations and expedites the processing of criminal cases.

44. Increased capacity by developing an electronic work schedule for the Patrol Division. The previous method stored all three shift’s schedules/rosters in a large three ring binder. This binder would have to be passed to each Watch Commander; and any time an officer wished to see it they would have to come to where it was stored. The new electronic schedule can be viewed on any officer’s computer or smart phone. And when a change is made to the patrol schedule it is now updated immediately, providing officers with the most current information.

Police Department

45. Improved and standardized the selection process for specialized assignments (e.g. K9 Officer, Detective, School Resource Officer, Traffic Officer, SWAT, Field Training Officer, and Municipal Court Officer). The Deputy Chief worked with representatives from different divisions to standardize the selection process. Their recommendations were reviewed by their fellow officers and then approved. The new selection process includes: (1) review of annual evaluations, (2) supervisory review, (3) oral assessment, (4) reprimands/suspensions, (5) the compilation of scores into a specialized assignment score sheet, and a final ranking of the candidates by their scores. This new process was implemented in January of 2015.

Police Department

Records 46. Provided the Animal Shelter staff the link to our database on the public safety web server. This eliminated their calls to the

Police Department requesting information that is in that database. 47. The last step in the Records data entry process required transportation of the paper field interview cards to the Criminal

Investigations Bureau (CIB) to be filed by the Crime Analyst. This happens about once a week. The question was asked, why file and maintain a paper copy of the field interview cards if all the data has already been entered into the MSP records management system. It was determined after consulting with the Investigations Bureau Command and CIB Crime Analyst that there was no longer a need to keep a paper copy of the field interview cards. After data entry, these cards will be shredded by the records clerk.

48. Traffic and warning citations are both printed and emailed to the City Manager. It was determined that the hard copy was no longer needed.

49. The Saline County District Court sends copies of journal entries from cases that are disposed of in the court system to the Police Department’s Record section. At one time these journal entries were used to update disposition on arrests the Saline Police Department referred to. However, with new technology we no longer need to transfer this information into our records management system. The Police Department has access to the District Court’s Full Court software and Records can retrieve the disposition on an arrest at any time .

50. Increased capacity of Records Clerks by (1) standardizing the Offense Report Process for all clerks, (2) transferring reports to the Kansas Bureau of Investigation electronically, and (3) eliminating a redundant email notification to the County Attorney’s Office upon updating each case.

51. Increased capacity in the Records Division by eliminating the duplicate printing and scanning of the State DC66 form, and eliminating the steps of opening the mobile client, sorting, and reviewing accident reports. This step is unnecessary as it can be done within the merge client feature.

Police Department

52. Reduced costs by not replacing one Police Records Clerk when she retired. This was made possible by reviewing all processes for this position, streamlining them, and then determining the Takt Time required after the final changes were implemented. This included increased capacity as the result of adopting the Digiticket ticket system, as well as other improvements.

53. Increased capacity by eliminating printing and mailing of arrest reports to KBI. 54. Increased capacity by installing an automated call attendant service, which provides customers with three options for

service: (1) Sheriff’s office, (2) Municipal Court, and (3) Police department.55. Improved efficiency and avoided additional scanner purchases by reconfiguring the network copier in the Records

Division to scan documents and automatically store them in a shared network folder. 56. Increased capacity by eliminating the requirement for the Police Department to issue gas vouchers to individuals who

are stranded in Salina. The Salina Food Bank has agreed to make other arrangements. 57. Increased capacity when Patrol Officers stopped issuing hand-written defect tickets. Defect tickets were not part of the

conversion to electronic ticketing initiated in 2013 and have continued to be handwritten. However, effective April of 2015 Patrol Officers were instructed to issue a warning ticket for defects, in lieu of the hand-written defect ticket. This completes the conversion of hand-written ticketing to an electronic format, and provides officers quicker access to this information.

58. Increased capacity and reduced costs by changing how driver’s license checks are made. Previously the Police Department did all the checks and paid the State a fee of $10 each. By switching to the Kansas.Gov website to process driver’s license checks 6 city employees are now authorized to process Driver’s License checks for $8.70 each. This has expedited processing and reduced costs. There is an annual fee of $95 for this service.

Police Department

59. Increased capacity by eliminating the requirement to maintain a monthly Death Report form, which was started during Chief Hill’s tenure. After reviewing it with Chief Nelson, it was determined that it was no longer needed.

60. Increased capacity by providing the Prosecution administrative staff access to the network drive where color photos are stored, so that they can print photos that are needed

61. Increased capacity by no longer providing information to other City Departments that should not be shared outside of the law enforcement community. Per Kansas Administrative Regulations 10-12 access to background information which the Police Department gathers is restricted to law enforcement agencies only. The time saved will be redirected towards developing a review process of offense and arrest reports.

Police Department

52. Increased capacity by eliminating printing and mailing of arrest reports to KBI. 53. Increased capacity by installing an automated call attendant service, which provides customers with three options for

service: (1) Sheriff’s office, (2) Municipal Court, and (3) Police department.54. Improved efficiency and avoided additional scanner purchases by reconfiguring the network copier in the Records

Division to scan documents and automatically store them in a shared network folder. 55. Increased capacity by eliminating the requirement for the Police Department to issue gas vouchers to individuals who

are stranded in Salina. The Salina Food Bank has agreed to make other arrangements. 56. Increased capacity when Patrol Officers stopped issuing hand-written defect tickets. Defect tickets were not part of the

conversion to electronic ticketing initiated in 2013 and have continued to be handwritten. However, effective April of 2015 Patrol Officers were instructed to issue a warning ticket for defects, in lieu of the hand-written defect ticket. This completes the conversion of hand-written ticketing to an electronic format, and provides officers quicker access to this information.

57. Increased capacity and reduced costs by changing how driver’s license checks are made. Previously the Police Department did all the checks and paid the State a fee of $10 each. By switching to the Kansas.Gov website to process driver’s license checks 6 city employees are now authorized to process Driver’s License checks for $8.70 each. This has expedited processing and reduced costs. There is an annual fee of $95 for this service.

58. Increased capacity by no longer providing information to other City Departments that should not be shared outside of the law enforcement community. Per Kansas Administrative Regulations 10-12 access to background information which the Police Department gathers is restricted to law enforcement agencies only. The time saved will be redirected towards developing a review process of offense and arrest reports.

Department of Public Works

Administration1. Increased workspace and efficiency and eliminated potential safety hazards by re-organizing the administrative area at the

Public Works facility on Ash Street.2. Eliminated the requirement to travel to the City Office building in order to scan documents by asking CT to create an

electronic pathway that would activate the scanning feature on equipment already in service.3. Created a single directional traffic flow plan in and out of the Public Works Facility in order to eliminate the safety hazard

when pulling out of the driveway next to the Building Maintenance building at 418 Ash Street. Parked vehicles obstruct the view of east bound on-coming traffic.

4. Improved efficiency of the PW administrative staff at the City/County building by re-organizing, and renaming all of the files within their protected folder. They deleted duplicate files, combined folders, and relocated files to an unprotected folder when appropriate.

5. Administrative staff at the Public Works facility improved employee morale by adjusting employee clothing requirements to better fit the work environment; authorized administrative employees in this facility to wear jeans.

6. Used 6S principles to reorganize the GIS Office by removing little used office furniture and reorganizing the rest. This resulted in doubling the amount of free space available and creating a new work area for training or technical support.

7. Increased capacity and reduced friction by eliminating unnecessary keys, reorganizing the remaining keys, making new key tags, labeling the key boxes, and preparing a simple spreadsheet that identified how keys are organized for facilities and vehicles/equipment.


Central Garage8. Reduced replacement costs by removing the ejector wall from the sanitation truck and repairing it on site.9. Installed a telephone in the closet near the southeast work bay at the Central Garage to reduce travel time.10. Developed a file on the P Drive where the Central Garage Monthly Reports could be stored, thereby providing all

departments with direct access to their information, while eliminating printing and distribution costs.11. Reduced costs by converting the Account Clerk II position at Central Garage to a Part-time position temporary position.12. Reduced costs by rebuilding a high mileage police vehicle with parts from a recently wrecked police vehicle. They were able

to purchase the wrecked unit back from the insurance agency and salvage the good parts.13. Increased capacity by at the Central Garage and potentially increased vehicle engine life for the fleet by purchasing a

coolant vacuum to remove damaging air trapped in coolant systems.14. Increased capacity and reduced costs by eliminating the hydraulic oil drums, hand pump, and barrel cart, and replacing

them with a pneumatic dispensing system.15. Increased capacity by developing a check sheet that lists the 28 most common reasons customers call, along with space

available for a description of the problem. This form enables clerical staff to quickly record pertinent vehicle information without requiring a detailed explanation or use of technical jargon.

16. Reduced costs over and above the savings already captured during the initial Process Review Report that reduced the Account Clerk II position in Central Garage from full-time to part-time temporary. This position had been staffed by a temporary until processes could be documented for the two administrative positions at the Public Works facility. Based on this new review these two administrative positions absorbed the workload from the clerical position in the Central Garage and the temporary position was eliminated.


17. Increased capacity by installing a 25 gallon oil drain/dispensing unit in the lube pit to reduce 1) the number of trips up/down the lube bay stairs, 2) the risk of slips, trips and falls while carrying buckets of waste oil, and 3) the likelihood of employee knee and back injuries while emptying buckets of oil.

18. Increased capacity by installing a universal air coupler on the air jack, so only one hose is now required to complete a tire change operation on heavy trucks. In the past, two hoses were needed; one for the jack and one for the impact wrench.

19. Reduced exposure to employee hand and arm injuries or damage to vehicle components by providing technicians with a fan clutch assembly removal tool.

20. Increased capacity by purchasing a service cart that reduces the number of trips to and from the mechanic’s main tool box. 21. Improved shop cleanliness by installing castors on the bottom of the brake lathe, so that employees can easily move it and

clean debris off the floor. The castors cost $55.96. 22. Improved safety by building two 4’ X 6’ portable welding screens that can be moved to wherever welding is to be done.

Materials cost $40.23. Increased capacity by purchasing a brake caliper removal tool in lieu of using general tools, which could damage the caliper

and increase the likelihood of employee hand injuries. It cost $77.20.24. Increased capacity by purchasing a brake caliper removal tool in lieu of using general tools, which could damage the caliper

and increase the likelihood of employee hand injuries. It cost $77.20.


Engineering 25. Eliminated the requirement to file excavation permits in two separate locations within the Public Works Office (clerical and

inspector). The change has eliminated duplicate work. 26. Increased capacity in the administrative office by re-organizing the mailboxes alphabetically, and by moving the clerical

mailboxes to a central location. 27. Reduced errors when enforcing safety codes pertaining to sidewalk violations. This was done by clarifying criteria that

identify sidewalk code violations and adding guidelines that will make it easier to spot them. 28. Increased capacity by eliminating the requirement to provide a Road Construction Update, since this information is already

being provided through other means.29. Increased capacity by eliminating the requirement to maintain bi-weekly timesheets that tracked hours worked each day.

The City Engineer felt that with three years of data already collected, the continued collection of this data was no longer relevant.

30. Issued electronic keys to the exterior building doors for use by inspectors who need access to the building. This will permit inspectors to work outside of their normal work hours due to project scheduling.

31. Reduced clutter and duplicate files by using the 6S approach to organize materials kept in the fire proof vault: Excess items were disposed of or transferred to another department, plans were scanned and archived, flat surfaces that encouraged clutter were eliminated.

32. Improved efficiency and reduced friction by installing a white board that can provide quick access to project information needed by inspectors when completing forms and reports.

33. Increased capacity, reduced excess movement, and reduced friction by purchasing an “APPROVED” stamp for the Civil Engineer II to use, instead of requiring the Civil Engineer II to retrieve and return the one assigned to the Administrative Assistant II’s work area.


34. Increased capacity by creating a drop down menu in the GovPartner Plan Review database to eliminate cutting and pasting the information from another department.

35. Improved community relations by creating a separate distribution list for road construction news releases to include all schools, colleges, Salina Regional Hospital, OCCK, and the Salina Airport Authority. This will help keep them informed of any road construction that may be in their area.

36. Reduced costs and expedited processing by scanning and emailing excavation permits to employees, rather than printing them and having them delivered through the internal mail system.

37. Increased capacity by obtaining a key to Room 103A, which is often used for meeting, but has been closed in the past. 38. Increased capacity by creating a Quick Fix Form that was fill-able, just requiring that you tab to the next entry. Other

departments are also able to use this form, thereby increasing its value multi-fold.39. Increased capacity in the Land Surveying process by “exporting data – creating text file”, while still in the field. This task had

previously been done in the office, but by starting it while still in the field it expedited processing and improved efficiency. 40. Avoided paying the City’s share of a joint project with the Corp of Engineers to stabilize the Smoky Hill River bank. This

money was to be set aside beginning in 2016 based on a 65/35 split (65 Federal/35 City). After a flood event on July 13, 2013, the City argued that this project qualified under the Flood Control Act of 1954, which required the Federal Government to pay for the entire project. This argument was accepted, federal funds were applied for, and on 21 November 2014 a Cooperation Agreement was signed between the City and the Corp of Engineers, which states that the Corp of Engineers will complete all work to stabilize the embankment at no cost to the City. This was a joint project involving both Utilities and Public Works.

41. Increased capacity by adding additional language to the form used by inspectors. This language prompts them to provide status data that is needed by the administrative staff when entering the inspection information into GovPartner.


42. Avoided spending money to purchase a new magnetic locator. When the City Surveyor’s magnetic locator stopped working, he repurposing a discarded utility line locator that could provide the same function.

43. Increased capacity by redesigning the sanitary sewer wye locate process to pre-populate much of form, “Record of Sanitary Wye Location”. Redesigning this form has also reduced the number of routine interruptions experienced in Engineering.

44. Increased efficiency and improved customer service by modifying an application form that property owners use to request a time extension for repairing sidewalks. Instructions were added that clarified which sections of the form the customer was responsible for filling out.

45. Increased capacity by accessing Google Maps/Street View when conferring with customers, rather than performing on-site visits.

46. Improved customer service by creating an electronic distribution list for processing the application for licenses to move an oversized load. This distribution list includes the Railroad, Kansas Gas Service, Westar Energy, Cox Communications, AT&T, City Forester, Building Inspector, Fire Chief, General Services, City Engineer, Police Department, and City Clerk.

47. Improve customer service by using just one system (GovPartner) to issue all permits, sidewalk concerns, and follow-up inspections. Each employee who is part of the system has a “dashboard” that identifies the tasks that need to be accomplished.

48. Improved customer service by updating and clarifying the guidelines for Dumpster Permits. These updates make it easier for our customers and staff to understand where to place a dumpster and when a permit is necessary, thus reducing friction.

49. Facilitated the transition for the new Public Works Director by organizing the paper files, eliminating duplicate files, and scanning relevant documents that need to be retained.


Flood Control50. Increased capacity by installing a hitch mounted, tank chemical sprayer for the back of a pickup truck. This has allowed Flood

Control to more efficiently control weed and tree growth in smaller areas. With this new sprayer, the Flood Control Foreman can spray areas of the levee on an as-needed basis, while he is checking gopher traps, etc.

51. Facilitated faster response times at the onset of floods or other disasters by reconditioning an unused trailer, building supports to hold barricades, and pre-loading barricades inside the trailer.


Landfill52. Improved the timeliness of opening at the Landfill on Monday mornings by having the Saturday crew prep Monday’s work

area at the end of their shift.53. Increased capacity by performing a 6S project at the Landfill where they created specific locations for tools, equipment, and

supplies in each of their storage buildings so that they could be readily found.54. Standardized the “customer greeting” at the Landfill in order to provide clarity and consistency for customers.55. Standardized the hand signals used by the Landfill staff to communicate with equipment operators in order to eliminate

confusion and more effectively communicate.56. Assisted in preparing the future construction area of Cell 19 by removing an abandoned 16” water line that ran through it

and selling it as scrap metal.57. Increased capacity by fabricating and installing grease gun racks in all three landfill shop buildings. The racks are highly

visible and make the grease guns easily accessible.58. Reduced costs by making minor repairs on the landfill compactor (replaced a broken hydraulic line), rather than requesting

service from the equipment provider.59. Avoided the purchase of a new weighing scale at the landfill by having it repaired on site. A new prefab deck replaced the

older concrete deck which was falling apart. 60. Increased capacity by using jail trustees to pick up litter at the landfill in lieu of employees. Jail trustees are used when high

wind events occur and the Landfill Staff cannot meet KDHE requirements.


61. Performed a process review of landfill operations and identified ways to reduce costs over the next 5 years by: (1) pre-excavating cells as far as possible, (2) creating a leachate pond and using gravity fed leachate conveyance lines, (3)switching to electrical pumps in lieu of pneumatic pumps when pumps are still required, (4) reducing the amount of sand use for leachate conveyance, (5) having the D7 Dozer and the 826H Compactor undergo a Cat-certified rebuild, rather than replacing them with new equipment – this reduced replacement costs by 56%, (6) reducing hours on Saturday (open 1 hour later), and by (7) balancing the workload of the landfill staff.

62. Reduced the purchase costs of grease used to lubricate large landfill equipment by nearly 2/3rds by switching vendors.63. Increased capacity of employees by relocating the copy machine at the Landfill from the Superintendent’s office to the

conference room, where all employees have immediate access to it.64. Increased worker capacity by increasing the litter hauling capacity of the Landfill’s two UTVs, which enable staff to collect

litter from locations that are unreachable by full-sized vehicles. By using scrap materials from previous projects staff constructed two large wire cages that fit into the hauling space behind the driver. These wire cages increased hauling capacity has reduced the number of trips needed to unload litter.

65. Increased capacity by fabricating a hanger for a 5 foot bar magnet to fit on the front of a UTV. The magnet was repurposed from an old road broom. This allows nails, screws and other metal objects to be gathered from roads or parking areas, reducing the number of flat tires for both customers and staff

66. Completed construction of the leachate pond and put it into service in December of 2014. The utilization of the leachate containment pond in 2015 has resulted in 473 loads of leachate (1.9 million gallons) not having to be hauled for disposal, which increased capacity by 488 hours between January 1 and June 30 of 2015. This


Sanitation65. Increased capacity by creating a more user friendly route book report for Sanitation employees.66. Increased capacity by purchasing an invoice stamp for the Sanitation Supervisor and the HHW Coordinator.67. Increased capacity by eliminating a report previously used to track sick leave use.68. Improved communication and reduced waiting time by adding call waiting and caller ID to the HHW phone line. If another

call is received, the phone displays the caller’s telephone number. It also enables staff to contact citizens who leave messages without leaving their phone number.

69. Increased capacity by eliminating the acceptance of alkaline batteries. The practice of recycling alkaline batteries was discontinued in 2010, however, they have continued to be accepted and weighed to record the drop off, but were then thrown into the trash to be taken to the Landfill. Only rechargeable, lithium, and button cell batteries are recycled. Alkaline batteries are not considered hazardous waste and are disposed of in landfills throughout Kansas.

70. Improved communications during HHW presentations to schools, fairs, or other venues by purchasing an amplifier that allows the presenter to be easily heard, even in sometimes noisy conditions.

71. Increased capacity by eliminating the acceptance of alkaline batteries. The practice of recycling alkaline batteries was discontinued in 2010, however, they have continued to be accepted and weighed to record the drop off, but were then thrown into the trash to be taken to the Landfill. Only rechargeable, lithium, and button cell batteries are recycled. Alkaline batteries are not considered hazardous waste and are disposed of in landfills throughout Kansas.

72. Improved communications during HHW presentations to schools, fairs, or other venues by purchasing an amplifier that allows the presenter to be easily heard, even in sometimes noisy conditions.

73. Reduced costs and improved safety by installing a retractable hose reel for the bay hose, thereby keeping it off the ground and out of the way of vehicle traffic. It cost $417.


Streets

74. Increased capacity by using 6S principles to create a central location for the Street Work group to organize their tools.75. Increased capacity and reduced safety risks considerably by building a post driver that can be attached to the front of a wheel loader

bucket in order to help set T-posts into the ground more safely. Previously an employee had to physically hold the post under the bucket of the wheel loader in order to set it.

76. Increased capacity, but more importantly significantly impacted Streets ability to provide services in a timely manner by converting an old, unused trailer-mounted water tank unit into a stand-alone, skid-mounted unit that fits into the bed of a ¾ ton pickup truck. This configuration allows crews to put the tank into the truck’s bed and haul the walk-behind saw trailer simultaneously. Now two crews can have walk behind saws and water tanks on different job sites at the same time, which enables them to perform multiple high-priority tasks simultaneously.

77. Increased capacity to collect leaves and avoided the purchase of a new leaf storage truck by modifying an obsolete sanitation packer truck to include a leaf collection hose connected to a vacuum. This modification increased capacity to collect leaves by 5 yards, and resulted in a significant cost avoidance, when compared to a new truck, even after deducting expenses for modifications.

78. Increased capacity by building portable fence posts to be used in locations where digging is difficult.79. Increased capacity by selecting a centralized location where generators and related tools and equipment could be stored.80. Improved efficiency by creating a shared folder that maintains information required by Finance for street cuts. Both Utilities and Streets

can now enter their data into the same form. Additionally, the new form provides a job number that facilitates communication between the two departments.

81. Increased capacity by using 6S principles to organize the storage area in the Streets Barn. Employees can now quickly locate spare tire equipment.


82. Increased capacity by mounting shelves in a centralized location within the Street Barn for the storage of air tools, attachments, snow plow equipment and salt spreader parts. Previously these items were stored in multiple locations.

83. Improved workplace safety by fabricating a four-sided steel cage to store propane tanks. These tanks are now protected from damage.

84. Increased capacity and reduced costs by building (from scrap metal) a device for removing wooden stakes that are used for concrete slab, and curb and gutter repairs.

85. Increased capacity and avoided purchasing a new single axle trailer by rebuilding an old single axle trailer so that it would haul a zero-turn mower, two weed eaters, a guardrail mower, gas cans and trimmer line.

86. Increased revenue by reorganizing the Quonset Hut, and then selling the scrap materials found therein. This new organization now provides out of the weather storage for vehicles, trailers, equipment, and supplies.

87. Increased capacity of concrete crews by eliminating the need to load a truck or trailer with wire mesh. Staff re-purposed an old, unused water tank trailer to now carry concrete wire sheets from General Services to concrete repair sites. The trailer does not require a CDL license.

88. Avoided costs by converting a 1999 dump truck with a chassis-mounted salt spreader into a flat-bed truck by using salvaged bridge planks. This truck may now be used as a salt spreader, a 550-gallon water truck, or a flat-bed utility vehicle.

89. Reduced mowing costs by reducing the amount of ROW area mowed by a city contractor by 40%90. Increased capacity by fabricating brackets from used scrap metal onto the frame of the zero-turn mower, so that the

operator can carry a weed eater with him and thereby eliminate trips back and forth to his truck


Traffic Control

91. Increased revenues by separating aluminum from other scrap metal and selling it separately 92. Increased capacity by identifying a central location where temporary traffic signs and related equipment could be

stored.93. Increased capacity by replacing traffic loops during pavement replacement. This reduces the likelihood of needing

to trench traffic loops at existing intersections, which requires setting up traffic control, sawing pavement and sealing the saw joints after the loop wires are installed.

Utilities Department

Administration

1. Increased capacity by completing locate request forms in MS Word and emailing them as an attachment. Increased capacity by an additional 7 hours by establishing an email user account that would automatically forward emails to the staff in the field.

2. Avoided costs to repair structural problems with the Scour Key in the Smoky Hill River. After a flood event on July 13, 2013, the City argued that this project along with the bank stabilization project qualified for 100% federal funding, rather than a 65/35 split. This argument was also accepted and included in the 21 November 2014 Cooperation Agreement signed between the City and the Corp of Engineers.


Distribution

3. Increased capacity by reorganizing parts inventory and removing unusable inventory at the Water Distribution shop.

4. Increased capacity by using the space that had been cleaned up at the Water Distribution shop to create a topsoil stock pile.

5. Increased capacity by automating bypass pumping. One station is to be automated every year.

6. Increased capacity by purchasing more efficient equipment used for potholing utilities. This new equipment has the high pressure water jets built into the vactor line, which is operated with hydraulics away from the hole. It requires only one person to operate, instead of two, and is considerably safer to operate.

7. Increased capacity by replacing an existing nozzle used for high pressure line cleaning and a more efficient one.

8. Increased capacity and reduced costs by retrofitting an underutilized trailer and equipped it with a mini-excavator and concrete breaker attachment, trench box and shoring for working in excavations, and some signage. This means that all major pieces of equipment arrive at the job site at the same time.

9. Reduced costs by restructuring staffing (vacant positions) as follows.-Eliminated: a. Wastewater Treatment Plant Laboratory Technician b. Wastewater Treatment Plant Operation II c. Water Plant Operator I- Created: d. Plant Operations Controls System Technician e. Utility Division Engineering Technician II-Contracted: f. Lab work for the Wastewater Treatment Plant

10. Increased capacity by creating an ArcGIS Model/Tool that allows labeling within the Utilities Web App (pipe size, materials, length, ID’s) so system information can be identified in the field by using I-Pads.

11. Increased capacity by changing the drafting procedures for capital improvement projects to use ArcGIS tools that automatically import the City’s GIS (water/sewer mains, valves, hydrants, etc.) without additional drafting or editing.


Plant 12. Increased capacity by eliminating the requirement to record Run time hours on C02 storage tanks. This information is no

longer used. 13. Increased capacity and reduced costs by eliminating the requirement to perform a Phenol analysis test. These tests were no

longer being used for operational decisions or reporting. 14. Increased capacity and reduced costs by reducing the number of required well tests from monthly to quarterly. This has

been approved by KDHE. 15. Reduced costs by working with KDHE to reduce energy consumption. This required taking the Trickling Filter process off

line, and removing four pumps and two clarifier drives from service for a total of 56 HP. These changes required extensive testing that allowed the plant to meet permit limits with the Trickling Filters off line. In September they also took one (of two) Pre-Aeration/Grit Handling systems off line, removed one compressor, conveyor, pump and washer for a total of 48 HP. These changes will also decrease maintenance costs, reduce man-hours, reduce landfill costs, and will take eight major structures, two buildings, eight pumps and four drive units out of the maintenance/replacement schedule for the foreseeable future.

16. Reduced costs by removing the flag pole at the water plant. 17. Reduced wages and benefits by replacing the vacant administrative position at the Water Treatment Plant with a temporary

employee until it is determined whether or not to hire a Full-time employee and share them with Community Relations and Parks & Recreation, or hire a Part-time intermittent employee on the Utilities Department staff. While the savings identified is based on temporary wages, they are a close approximation to the final Utilities cost.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: BRYON JOHNSON, PROCESS IMPROVEMENT DIRECTOR300 W ASH, ROOM 105BSALINA, KANSAS 67401785-309-5790 EXT. [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

city of salina-continuous process improvement records (updated monthly)

Government & Nonprofit

increased efficiency

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river festival sponsor

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