The Company

This project was implemented in a city council, composed of a mayor and a group of councilors, in an area with a high potential for population and business growth.

The council, in charge of administrating and governing the municipality, manages municipal affairs such as urban planning, infrastructure, education, and culture, among others. Its mission is to implement policies that promote sustainable development and ensure residents’ quality of life.

The Challenge

The digitalization and improvement project was rolled out in the urban planning area to enhance the service level and quality of building and construction licensing processes, as well as increase employee productivity and motivation in this division.

It focused on the complete digitalization of processes to improve residents’ experience, boost the efficiency of internal procedures, and reduce response times.

Another objective was to meet users’ high expectations by improving their experience and involvement in solution design. They should acknowledge a new way of working, centered on greater process transparency and accessibility, quality, and speed of service, allowing instant access to the required information about their process.

To achieve these goals, a multidisciplinary team was created to identify improvement opportunities, design solutions, and ensure a practical implementation focused on results.

The Approach

Automation and Redesign of Licensing Processes

The first improvement action involved completely redesigning and reengineering building and construction licensing processes, focusing on value-added activities, and eliminating errors that tended to delay procedures. New IT circuits and task deadlines were implemented to maximize efficiency.

Digital dashboards were also created to monitor relevant real-time indicators – internal response times – based on a definition of deadlines and response time objectives for each type of process. Thereby, analyzing trends, patterns, and important insights have been made possible, assisting the decision-making process.

In addition, an online platform was created for submitting and consulting the application status in an agile and intuitive way. These new submission forms were categorized based on the type of process – well-instructed processes or those needing correction and defining mandatory fields, avoiding rework by requesting missing documents later in the process. Also, mechanisms for immediate ATM payment were implemented.

Empowering the Technical Customer Service Team

The new process submission system performed an automated document pre-validation – formats, category, and digital signature – aiding the technical customer service team in their duties. Training this team to use these new digital tools efficiently was necessary.

In addition, clarification sessions were organized with external parties (architecture offices) to discuss possible improvements to the criteria for submitting requests.

Daily KAIZEN™️ Meetings for Project Team Monitoring

To manage and monitor the improvement initiatives with the team, a routine of Daily KAIZEN™️ meetings was established – weekly status meetings of the activity and the service level provided. These meetings aimed to monitor improvement initiatives, analyze indicators of pending and completed tasks, monitor processes to avoid deviations, and define standards for critical tasks.

Results

Qualitative

The implemented initiatives significantly improved the applicant’s experience and process effectiveness, with a better service level and efficiency of internal procedural flows. All of this was reflected in a positive change in public perception.

Quantitative

Architecture

• 59% decrease in average approval time for type A architectural projects 
• 23% reduction in average CML process time – approval of non-type A architectural projects (>1 application) 
• 46% increase in completed type A processes  

Specialties

• 56% drop in average approval time for type A projects 
• 15% reduction in CML time – approval of non-type A architectural projects (>1 application) 
• 43% increase in type completed A processes  

Permit Issuance 

• 21% reduction in average approval time for type A 
• 38% increase in permits issued 

Authorizations to Use 

• 41% reduction in the average approval time for type A 
• 26% increase in authorizations issued