by Mairtin Mersch
Our team from Access, Card, and Parking Services (ACaPS) decided to take a closer look at our parking appeals process. We approached Megan and Molly with the Continuous Improvement team for assistance. I wrote a brief case study to outline the current process and highlighted the main actors. We reviewed the document and together mapped out the flow of actions. Next, with Megan and Molly’s guidance, we identified some areas ready for improvement using the TIMWOODS model. After, we plotted some tasks on an Effort/Impact matrix to help us focus on what improvements we could make that would have the greatest impact with the lowest effort. Looking at our work we highlighted five tasks that we acknowledged would fit into the “Quick Win” category. Our team decided to immediately tackle two of these quick wins and we are already seeing positive results in our appeals process. The quick wins that remain are scheduled to be examined soon.
Overall, I really appreciated the help, support, enthusiasm, brainstorming, and teamwork that this exercise brought to our department. Going into this continuous improvement meeting I had some preconceptions of my own. Mapping out the entire process and using these effective techniques helped me realize that several improvements can be made without a complete and arduous overhaul. I am thankful for the new perspective on process improvement and I believe our department benefited greatly.
About the Author:
Mairtin Mersch is the Support Specialist at Illinois Tech’s Access, Card, and Parking Services