Client

Little Mountain Neighborhood House (LMNH) provides needed educational, cultural, recreational and social services for different age groups, ethnic specific groups, families and the wider community of Little Mountain/Riley Park. As well, LMNH helps to facilitate the Little Mountain community to actively participate, through self-help, in the development of a healthier community.

Challenge

JDQ 3Spheres and the Vancouver section of the American Society for Quality Community Good Works partnered to help the LMNH improve its key business processes. After an extensive analysis it was determined that the program information collection and registration procedures were the processes that would benefit the entire LMNH system the most.

The key challenge was to simplify the registration process and make program-related information, both internal and publicly distributed, more accessible for staff, clients and the community. These improvements were also intended to improve the execution of programs and service delivery.

Solution

As a member of the Steering Committee and the Six Sigma team, JDQ 3Spheres resources and the ASQ CGW team applied a Six Sigma problem solving methodology to:

• Define the problem
• Measure its impact
• Analyze the processes and data currently used by LMNH
• Improve the target processes by helping implement the solution, and
• Control the solution to verify that it was implemented effectively

Result

The JDQ 3spheres™/ASQ CGW team helped LNMH:

• Streamline the registration process to make it more efficient;
• Document the process in terms of flowcharts and work instructions, and
• Established new measurement criteria to evaluate the ongoing effectiveness and efficiency of the registration process.

The dedicated team collected new data through interviews with staff, and revised existing forms and web content to refresh key information for over 40+ different programs. The information supported staff in preparing and communicating the LMNH programs and provided both a consolidated and safe source for communicating programs and schedules to the community. A cost benefit analysis was also prepared for evaluating various software applications that may facilitate the registration process in the future.

About ASQ Community Good Works

ASQ helps creates better workplaces and communities worldwide by advancing learning, quality improvement, and knowledge exchange to improve business results. By making quality a global priority, an organizational imperative, and a personal ethic, ASQ becomes the community for everyone who seeks technology, concepts, or tools to improve themselves and their world. (www.asq.bc.ca). ASQ Community Good Works encourages and supports projects that uses quality principles to improve the community. Projects include collaboration with a local not-for-profit organizations or government agencies. Project’s outcomes provide ASQ with an example that will encourage others to use quality tools for community improvement efforts.