The rapid development and emergence of many managerial techniques have prompted organizations to search for appropriate ways and means to achieve their objectives and promote their services and products using their resources and potentials.
When the service is provided many processes are involved, and each is affected by several factors which are difficult to control. These factors include: poor employee’s attitudes, delay in delivering the services requested, poor tracing system, etc…., all the factors result in customer dissatisfaction and bad performance. One of the best improvement methodologies that can help in addressing these factors is the Lean Six Sigma methodology.
Lean Six Sigma used to be the methodology for quality improvement, and now it is a general-purpose methodology for reducing time, cost, and errors, maximizing value, and solving problems in general. Lean Six Sigma requires top management commitment and serious handling of problems in order to achieve better performance and happier customers.
Lean Six Sigma is an improvement methodology which is made up of two parts: Lean and Six Sigma. Lean focuses on eliminating waste, overproduction, extra transportation, waiting, inventory, and motion. On the other hand, Six Sigma seeks to improve the quality of process output by identifying and removing the causes of defects (errors) and minimizing variability.
Synergistically, Lean aims to achieve continuous flow by tightening the linkages between process steps while Six Sigma focuses on reducing process variation (in all its forms) for the process steps thereby enabling a tightening of those linkages. In short, Lean exposes sources of process waste and Six Sigma aims to reduce the variation enabling a virtuous cycle of improvements towards the goal of continuous flow.
By analyzing processes and applying Lean Six Sigma quality management methods, public institutions such as municipalities can improve the aspects of the services they provide to their citizens. This include reducing the time it takes to complete a process, e.g. the process to obtain a Building Permits, decreasing the municipality expenses by eliminating unnecessary steps in process, improving quality and reducing complexity and costs.
Our research statement is in general the application of the Lean Six Sigma methodology to improve the services delivered to the residents and institutions of Beitunia and specifically to improve their process of Issuing Building Permits. This research focuses on the identification and elimination of waste and variation in the process followed at Beitunia Municipality.
The expected outcomes of this research are to increase the efficiency, effectiveness, and flexibility of the process of Issuing Building Permit in Beitunia Municipality. Moreover, the implement process that will be followed in the development of Building Permit Process can be extended to improve other process within the municipality through using the knowledge and skills gained from achieving the objective of this research to reach resident’s satisfaction and happiness.
1.2 Municipality of Beitunia profile
Beitunia is a Palestinian city located west of Ramallah. The city had a population of 40,000 in 2017 making it the third largest city in its governorate after Al-Bireh and Ramallah, and with a total size of 24 KM.
The Municipality of Beitunia was founded in1965 and its first Mayer was Fakhre Issa. Its council has thirteen members. It has a 220 employee working in four departments: services, engineering, public relation, and financial department. Its annual budget of 2017 was 15 million NIS.
During the past years the municipality had worked on developing the infrastructure such as roads, water pipe lines, garden and schools and on improving service delivery such as Issuing Building Permit, waste management, and regular checking of clean and health standards of different establishment such as restaurant and meat production facilities, and improving the living standards of the locals, and improving the image of Beitunia City.
The municipality has many important tasks, such as:
1- Waste management service.
2- Issuing skilled worker permit for workshops and companies.
3- Building water pipe lines.
4- Paving and the maintenance of roads and sidewalks.
5- Supervising building activities.
6- Supervising the public health sector.
7- Building public schools and gardens.
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1.3 Importance of the Research:
After exploring the Lean Six Sigma literature, it become clear that no one has written about this subject in Palestine to date, and very few authors, writers or researchers wrote about the Lean Six Sigma in the government sector in other countries. Moreover, there is a huge lack of information about the implementation of Lean Six Sigma in other countries in the Middle East. Therefore, the focus of this research is on developing one core process at Beitunia Municipality.
Local Government Institutes benefit from Lean Six Sigma implementation in improving the services they provide to the citizens. Many counters, states, cities, and towns have used this proven approach to extend public resources, reduce expenditures, reallocate investments and improve the quality of life for citizens. This research focuses on the application of the Lean Six Sigma methodology to improve the Process of Issuing Building Permit and other services delivered to the residents and institutions of Beitunia.
1.4 Research Objectives
The purpose of this research is to assess and measure the effect of implementing Lean Six Sigma to improve the services of Building Permit at the Municipality of Beitunia and the success factors that affect their application.
This study has two main objectives:
The first objective is to identify the main success factors that are critical to effective implementation of Lean Six Sigma in the Municipality of Beitunia based on the up to date existing knowledge of implementation in the developed countries.
The second objective is to improve Building Permits Process at Beitunia Municipality using Lean Six Sigma methodology.
1.5 Expected Outcomes:
Upon completion of this thesis, we expect to achieve the following outcomes:
1. Improving the process of Issuing Building Permit and reducing the time it takes to issue the permit.
2. Improving customer services and having less complaint.
3. Less expenses and faster services.
4. Increased efficiency, effectiveness and flexibility of processes.
5. Better quality services and happier residents.
1.6 Research Question:
How can the implementation of Lean Six Sigma improve the process of Issuing Building Permit and service delivery to the residents and institutes of Beitunia?
1.7 Research Limitation
– This study will be carried out during December 2017 – August 2018
– This study is limited to the Municipality of Beitunia as a governmental sector in Palestine. Therefore, the results cannot be universally generalized due to the extensive differences in perceptions, attitudes, and disciplines.
– This study mainly examines the perception of Beitunia citizen and Beitunia Municipality employees.
1.8 Structure of the Thesis
The thesis is presented in nine chapters as follow:
– Chapter one: provides a general introduction and an overview of the study.
– Chapter two: provides a comprehensive literature review about Lean Six Sigma and other related quality and improvement methodology.
– Chapter three: summarizes the research methodology will be followed in this thesis.
– Chapter Four: provides all work was carried out to implement the steps in the define phase of the DMAIC cycle.
– Chapter five: provides all work was carried out to implement the steps in the measure phase of the DMAIC cycle.
– Chapter six: provides all work was carried out to implement the steps in the analyze phase of the DMAIC cycle.
– Chapter seven: provides all work was carried out to implement the steps in the improve phase of the DMAIC cycle.
– Chapter eight: provides all work was carried out to implement the steps in the Control phase of the DMAIC cycle.
– Chapter nine: the final chapter will summarize the main conclusion and recommendations obtained from the all chapter.
Terms Definition
Quality, Lean Six Sigma, Beitunia Municipality, improve, implementation, process