RR/CC Vital Records Mail Processing

About the Program

Category: County Administration and Management (Best in Category)

Year: 2012

The Birth, Death and Marriage Section of the Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk in Los Angeles County processes approximately 750,000 documents annually and services 2,000 customers daily. They are responsible for maintaining birth records dating back to 1866. County residents rely heavily on this operation to obtain records for educational, legal and administrative purposes. In June 2011, staff trained in Lean Six Sigma along with a consultant and staff from Vital Records mail processing reviewed the entire process from receipt of mail to payment processing. This review revealed the use of over 45 steps, 50 handoffs and unnecessary transportation of documents as the root cause of the delay in processing. The current process was measured using value stream maps and swim lane charts. Data was collected to conduct root cause analysis and an implementation plan was developed to streamline the process. The revised procedures monitored and a control plan identified to sustain the improvement. By July 2011, the team had eliminated over 30 unnecessary steps and handoffs resulting in faster processing time. This reduction enhanced customer service and allowed some staff to be reassigned to other critical areas. Additionally, the analysis resulted in the implementation of single process flow (allowing one person to process the document entirely instead of handing it off to another person to complete a different part of the process). The single process flow eliminated the down time that the document was waiting in queues for another person to pick it up and complete their phase of the process.