QP C

Grand Eagle Awards Winners
Silver Eagle Award Winner
“Vital Records Mail Processing”
Department of Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk
One of the responsibilities of the Vital Records
Mail Processing staff is to process and mail
birth certificates to customers as requested.
Although policy stated that this procedure could take
up to 30 days to complete, the staff, in partnership with
the Lean Six Sigma (LSS) process improvement team,
believed that the processing time could be reduced
with a few practical changes.
Sigma methodology, the staff was able to reduce the
processing time for mail-in birth records from 17 days
to one day.
By implementing the new work rotation, the team was
able to eliminate over 30 necessary steps and handoffs,
resulting in faster processing time, enhanced customer
service, and allowed some staff to be reassigned to
other critical areas within the Department.
To meet the County’s goal to provide efficient customer
service, the team took an in-depth look into the existing
operation. They were able to identify various areas
where the reduction in handoffs and transportation
of the document, along with the streamlining of
workflow, could help to eliminate unnecessary steps
in order to respond to customer needs in a more
expedited manner. Through the use of the Lean Six
Bronze Eagle Award Winner
“The Contractor Alert Reporting Database (CARD)”
Office of Auditor-Controller with Office of County
Counsel, Internal Services Department, Chief Executive
Office, Department of Public Social Services, Department
of Children and Family Services, Department of
Health Services, Department of Mental Health and
Department of Public Health
Los Angeles County has over 7,500 active
contracts, at a total cost of $15.5 billion.
However, the County did not have a centralized
database that all departments could share to identify
poorly performing contractors. As a result, one County
department may award contracts to contractors and
not be aware that the contractors have had fiscal
solvency issues or performance issues with other
County departments. The Board of Supervisors
directed a Task Force with representatives from the
Auditor-Controller, the Chief Executive Office, County
Counsel, and Internal Services Department to develop
a countywide method to share contractor information
and track poorly performing contractors.
The Task Force developed and implemented the
Contractor Alert Reporting Database (CARD). CARD
allows departments to report poorly performing
contractors in a centralized online database. It further
allows departments to share performance information
of potential contractors. Lastly, CARD encourages
contractors to correct areas of non-compliance,
including repaying the County for inappropriate
billings. During 2011-12, three contractors repaid the
County $450,000 in questioned costs to avoid being
placed in CARD.
Quality and Productivity Annual Report 2012
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