Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutIR 8224 INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 8224 January 4, 2000 To the Mayor and Members of the City Council Page 1 of 9 K FY - �6714 SUBJECT: Customer Service Issues in the Development Department EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This informal report presents a summary of the issues faced by the Development Department in providing quality development services, particularly plan review and inspections and the responses to those issues. The department has struggled to maintain the level of service desired during the past fiscal year, but programs put in place are now beginning to realize positive results. Specifically, this report highlights the following areas: Workload: The department is processing record levels of work. During FY1998-99, 3266 single-family homes were permitted. This represents a 32% increase over the previous year. This also marks a 300% increase over the number of single family permits issued during FY 89-90, yet the department has the same number of budgeted positions for plan review and inspections in FY98-99 as were in the FY89-90 budget. The 143,320 inspections completed in FY 98-99 represent a 12% increase over the previous year. Staffing levels: Recruiting and retention of qualified staff remains a constant difficulty for the department. During the past fiscal year the department experienced 19 vacancies out of 42 budgeted positions in plan review and inspections. Many of these vacancies were repeated for the same positions. Seven recruitments were required to try to fill these vacancies. Of the 20 persons hired during the fiscal year, only 7 were still employed in the department as of December 1, 1999. Two compensation changes, a premium pay plan and market rate salary adjustments, are expected to alleviate this problem during the new fiscal year. On-time plan review and inspections: The combination of high workloads and staffing difficulties resulted in a decline in the on-time performance for plan review and inspections. As in the past, the department utilized extensive overtime and the use of experienced temporary staff (SO 1 s) to try to maintain adequate response times. An innovative new program, third party plan review and inspections, was also implemented to provide relief to the development community seeking expedited services. In November 1999 nearly 15% of all inspections and 20% of all plan reviews were performed by non-city employees through the use of third party inspectors. Meeting the needs of the homebuilding industry: In partnering with the homebuilding industry to resolve service issues, the need for combination inspectors for residential construction was identified. The cross- training of inspectors in all four construction trades represents a significant change for the department and a significant change in attitude for the department's inspectors. A `.signing" bonus was offered to incumbent staff who volunteered and were selected to become one of the combination inspectors. A 6111 complement of inspectors and an inspection chief will be on staff in January. This new residential inspection section will begin limited inspections in March, 2000 and be fully functional by June, 2000. Developing technical resources to increase productivity: Implementation of a new automated permitting system is on-schedule and will be complete by October, 2000. This new networked system replaces the antiquated mainframe system the department currently uses. The new system will be a vital link to the city's Geographic Information System (CIS) and will allow the automation of many procedures (such as preparing legal notices) that are now performed manually. A new inspection request system will allow the real-ti.me reporting of inspection results by the inspector from the field. A contractor, in turn, will be able to access project information via telephone. ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 8224 January 4, 2000 To the Mayor and Members of the City Council A Page 2 of 9 •402� reres 107% SUBJECT: Customer Service Issues in the Development Department The following report provides detailed information regarding the highlighted customer service issues and the actions taken to address them. Should you have any questions or require additional information, please contact Ann Kovich at 871-8901. I. ISSUE: MAINTAINING STAFFING LEVELS TO MEET WORKLOAD DEMANDS As a result of the continuing strong economy, construction levels remained high throughout FY 98-99. New home construction rose by 32% in FY 98-99 over FY 97-98. Inspections were up 12% during the same period. Commensurate with high levels of construction activity, the labor market for qualified staff remained extremely tight. For the Development Department, this meant continuing difficulties in filling vacant positions and retaining qualified staff. The table below summarizes the number of vacancies in the plan review and field inspection sections of the department and the recruiting attempts to fill those vacancies. These two sections have been hardest hit by difficulties in recruiting and retention. In these sections, there were 19 vacancies out of 42 authorized positions throughout the year. Seven recruiting efforts were required to try to fill these positions. This table also illustrates the high turnover in the two key areas of plan revievl"�, and inspections. Of the 20 persons hired during the fiscal year, only 7 were still employed in the department as of December 1, 1999. The building inspection section of field inspections illustrates the long-term problem of staff retention. This section is currently staffed with 8 inspectors. Of this number, over half(5 inspectors) have less than 2 years of experience, with the remaining 3 having less than 5 years of experience. 3 of the 8 inspectors were hired this year. This level of turnover illustrates the scope of the problem of training new staff while attempting to maintain adequate service levels with inexperienced staff. RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION INFORMATION FOR PLAN REVIEWERS AND FIELD 'INSPECTORS IN FY 98-99 Authorized positions: 42 Vacancies during FY 98-99: 19* Resignations/Retirements: 12 Number of recruitments: 7 Number of new hires (permanent and S01): 20 Number of new hires employed as of 12/1/99: 7 *Note: Some positions experienced repeat vacancies requiring multiple recruitments over the year. ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 8224 January 4, 2000 g�""'�A To the Mayor and Members of the City Council Page 3 of 9 X075 SUBJECT: Customer Service Issues in the Development Department I. RESPONSE: PREMIUM PAY PLAN AND MARKET RATE SALARY ADJUSTMENTS The Development Department initiated a new compensation program to help address the issue of staff recruitment and retention. In August, 1999, the Department inaugurated a new Premium Pay Plan applicable to all staff in the plans review and field inspection sections. This plan rewards personnel who acquire and maintain professional certifications above and beyond the minimum required in their job descriptions. The certifications eligible for the plan must represent value-added to the employee's job and specifically relate to the employee's current job assignment. Each approved certification obtained is worth $350 to the employee, up to a maximum of$1400. The premium pay is paid annually, and the amount paid is not calculated as part of the base pay of the employee. This same pay plan may also be paid as a "signing bonus" for new hires that possess approved certifications beyond the minimum required. This plan addresses three key areas: ✓ Reduces the effect of high turnover of Development Department employees who leave for other jobs in the city or with other jurisdictions: ✓ Enhances the ability of the Development Department to attract and hire highly qualified staff for key positions; ✓ Encourages incumbent employees to develop core competencies and professional skills. In addition to implementation of the Premium Pay Plan, the City Council approved market adjustments to both plan review and field inspection classifications effective in October 1999. These salary adjustments will complement the pay plan as an aid to recruiting and retaining qualified staff. The department just finished advertising for applicants for plan review vacancies. For the first time, the availability of incentives for professional certifications and the new pay scales were included in the job announcement. This recruitment effort resulted in interviewing 7 applicants that met minimum job qualifications. Three job offers resulted from this recruitment. This was one of the most successful recruitments for plan review vacancies in several years. II. ISSUE: DIFFICULTIES IN PROVIDING TIMELY PLAN REVIEW AND INSPECTION SERVICES Given high workload levels and difficulties in maintaining staffing levels, the department experienced intermittent difficulty in providing acceptable plan review and inspection time frames during the past fiscal year. The plan review section has been particularly stressed in providing adequate plan review times. The graph below shows the gradual improvement in the time required for plan review. Significant improvement has been seen since October in achieving and maintaining acceptable plan review times. The department goals are 10 working days for commercial plan review and 3 working days for residential plan review. These goals have been met or exceeded since October, 1999. ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 8224 January 4, .2000 j,ATX4,. To the Mayor and Members of the City Council Page 4 of 9 rats SUBJECT: Customer Service Issues in the Development Department The improvement in plan review times is attributable to: Implementation of third party program for plan review; Use of qualified building inspectors to perform residential plan review; ➢ Use of significant amounts of overtime; > Successful recruitment of plan review supervisor effective August, 1999. Plan Review Times (in working days) March — November 1999 25 20 15 ocommercia 10 _41 M Residential 5 0 a) (n a) < =3 E 0 < 0 0 0 > 0 Q) z U) For field inspections, the challenge of on-time service is similar to that of plan review. For inspections, the goal is to provide an inspection the next business day after the request for any inspection requested after 6:30 a.m. The department's benchmark is to provide this next day inspection for 98% of all inspections. As the following graph shows, most trade inspections have maintained acceptable response times the past year, with the exception of building inspections. Since August., the response time for building inspections has gradually improved. ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS , INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 8224 January 4, 2000 OF*` &0'JALTX.*j,6 To the Mayor and Members of the City Council Page 5 of 9 SUBJECT: Customer Service Issues in the Development Department Percentage of On-Time Inspections October,, 1998 — November, 1999 80 B 70 uilding a Electrical 0- Wchanical The improvement in response times for building inspections since August, 1999 is attributable to: Implementation of third party inspection program; Use of overtime to meet inspection demand; > Use of experienced temporary staff(SO I employees) to maintain staffing levels. 11. RESPONSE: THIRD PARTY PROGRAM FOR PLAN REVIEW AND INSPECTION SERVICES The City of For-t Worth implemented a third party plan review and inspection program in March, 1999. This pro-ram allows developers to utilize qualified private sector firms certified by the City to perform project plan reviews and perform inspections. This program complements a program already in place that allows professional engineers to perform foundation inspections for residential construction. By November, 1999, 15% of all construction inspections were performed by a certified third party inspector or professional engineer. The use of third par-ty inspections and professional en-ineers has helped to reduce the workload that must be handled by city inspectors. The same process occurs for plan review. Since the program inception in March, over 584 plan reviews have been completed by a third party finn. Currently, there are ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS ' INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 8224 January 4, 2000 To the Mayor and Members of the City Council Page 6 of 9 JVr W�-. 1475 SUBJECT: Customer Service Issues in the Development Department nine firms certified to perform third party services. The Development Department will continue to encourage the use of third party inspectors for projects that are time-sensitive or would otherwise benefit from this program. Program advantages: Increasing workloads can be accomodated without increases in city staffing levels. This, in turn, reduces the need for city reductions in force when workloads decrease in the future. Third party firms are able to provide services that are difficult for city staff to provide, including inspections on demand. City staff maintains quality control for each project. Newly certified third party firms serve a "pro�bationary" period prior to release to a less rigorous quality control program. Percent of All Inspections and Plan Reviews Performed By Third Party Inspectors and Professional Engineers 25% - 20% - 15% - M Plan Re\Aew 10% - M Inspections 5% 0% '33 'Q �e' %() ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS ~ INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 8224 To the Mayor and Members of the City Council Page 7 of 9 C.- SUBJECT: Customer Service Issues in the Development Department III. ISSUE: HOW TO MEET THE NEEDS OF THE HOMEBUILDING INDUSTRY Pen-nits and inspections for new homes make up about 50% of the department's building-related workload, During FY 98-99, 3,266 new homes were pen-nitted, over 800 more homes than were pennitted the previous fiscal year. Delays in permitting new homes and in obtaining on-time inspections represent a significant C 1z problem for homebuilders. The department has been engaged in discussion with the Homebuilders' Association to find ways to improve the service provided to residential projects. As a result of these discussions, several steps in the inspection process were modified to eliminate the need for a city inspection. These include eliminating an inspection for a temporary power pole, allowing a form survey in lieu of a stakeout inspection, and allowing an engineer to perform the foundation inspection in lieu of a city inspection. Also, the use of third party firms to provide plan review and inspections is available to residential developers. Continuing input from homebuilders, however, araues for additional chancres in the way the department delivers services for residential pr jects. As a result, the department has begun implementation of a residential inspection section in which inspectors are cross-trained so that a single inspector may inspect all III. RESPONSE: COMBINATION RESIDENTIAL INSPECTION PROGRAM The department has begun to assemble personnel to staff a section of residential combination inspectors. As of January 10, 2000, a staff of 10 residential inspectors is ready to begin training. Four additional inspectors will be hired to round out a full staff of 14 residential inspectors. By March 1, limited combination residential inspections will begin. By June 1, 2000 the program will be fully functional. Close cooperation between the department and the homebuilders will be essential to the success of this program. Prior to full implementation, the training process will reduce the productivity of staff inspectors as inspectors are paired to train in the various trades. The department will strongly encourage the use of third party firms for inspections during this interim period as a means to avoid costly delays in inspections. Each inspector in the program will undergo extensive cross-training in all construction trades (building electrical, plumbing, and mechanical). A minimum of 96 hours of Saturday classroom sessions will be held in addition to approximately 200 hours of cross-training in the field for each trade new to an inspector. Five out of the 10 initial inspectors do not possess a State of Texas plumbing license required to perform plumbing inspections. To obtain this license, these inspectors must complete a 40 hour class and pass a test for plumbing certification, attend a 28 hour class on plumbing, as well as spend 500 hours under the supervision of a licensed plumbing inspector. This program represents a significant new direction for the department. The City of Fort Worth has Litilized tp single-trade inspectors since the adoption of the City's first construction codes. For the incumbent inspectors Lwho have volunteered to be trained as combination inspectors, a reassignment bonus of$500 will be paid at '10 ve ISSU'ED EBY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS No. 8224 january 4, 2000 '00'r1a't, To the Mayor and Members of the City Council A", Page 8 of 9 6 TS SUBJECT: Customer Service Issues in the Development Department the beginning of their training and another $500 paid upon their successful completion of the training. In turn, each inspector makes a commitment to stay with the program for one year after training. All staff associated with this program have been chosen not only for their technical qualifications but also for their commitment to quality customer service. IV. ISSUE: HOW TO DEVELOP TECHNICAL RESOURCES TO ENHANCE CUSTOMER SERVICE AND OPTIMIZE DEPARTMENT STAFF RESOURCES A priority within the Development Department is to identify technology that increases the productivity of existing, staff and directly benefits our customers. High workload levels, inexperienced staff, and obsolete I t� technical systems combine to create unnecessary delays and frustrations for everyone involved in the development process. IV. RESPONSE: AUTOMATED PERMITTING SYSTEM On November 17, 1998 the City Council approved the purchase of a new automated land tracking an,1111�), permitting system for the Development Department. This new system represents a significant enhancemen. for the department via migration from the existing mainframe system to a networked, PC-based system. This '11 of new system wi fer significant advantages for the department and its customers: > Increases customer service levels throuQh a faster and more accurate information retrieval process; Increases management control and accountability by providing more accurate and up-to-date data to other departments, management, and the public; Provides a system that can be integrated with other cur-rent and anticipated computer applications, includinc, record/imaae storacle and retrieval and the Geographic Infon-naLion Systems currently under development; Provides the capability for future customer service enhancements such as permitting on the Internet; Optimizes the use of automated systems to include plan tracking, permit issuance, inspection requests and results; Automates tasks such as generating required notices, which are currently performed manually. Includes replacement of the existing automated inspection request system to allow for enhanced features in reporlinor inspection results and allowinQ contractor access to system information. Implementation of this new system began in December, 1998. The implementation program is on schedule and will be complete in October, 2000. Major milestones include process flow analysis and screen design, database design and layout, creation of interfaces the new GIS system and the new inspection request system, and user trainincy, ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS NO. 8224 January 4, 2000 To the Mayor and Members of the City Council Page 9 of 9 u x rtrFs +ara SUBJECT: Customer Service Issues in the Development Department SUMMARY The past year has presented a wide array of challenges for the Development Department as we struggle to meet the demands of a very strong construction economy. The responses discussed in this report have been in place, in most cases, for less than a year. In some cases, implementation is on going and will not be complete until next year. However, positive results have already accrued from several programs, including the third party program and the use of incentive pay for professional certifications. It is anticipated that these positive results will grow in the next 6 months as these programs continue. During that same time period, the combination residential inspection program will be launched and the new automated permitting system will be ready to come on-line. The challenge of delivering quality customer service during peak construction periods will continue to exist for the Development Department, but the department will be much better equipped with tools to meet the challenge. Bob Terrell City Manager i, ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, TEXAS