The City of Redmond is currently in the process of streamlining the way it does business in order to offer a better level of service to its customers.

This transition to “lean” logic, began about a year ago.

Carol Lewis, a permit tech and plans examiner supervisor for the city’s development services center, described lean as a process improvement. She said lean gives city staff a step-by-step procedure that allows them to identify problem areas in their work and improve upon them.

“Some of the steps are so simple,” Lewis said.

Lean, she said, is a behind-the-scenes way to analyze processes in the city and streamline in order to remove wasted time and effort — keeping the good work and removing repetitiveness.

One example lean has helped Lewis and her department has been through the over-the-counter permitting process. She said to help expedite things, lean has prompted them to find out what the customers want and what they are building by simply asking them, instead of assuming. Lewis added that they have also learned that for their customers, the project timelines take higher priority than project costs. As a result, she said, her department has been able to tailor their services to address this.

Through lean, Lewis said her department has been able to get a clearer picture of what customers want and make sure the city is on the same page in order to provide them with the best service possible while meeting all the required codes and laws.

For Steve Hoffmann of GLY Construction and Larry Martin of Davis Wright Tremaine LLP, the benefits of lean’s behind-the-scenes work within the city has been passed down to the customer.

Hoffmann, a principal with GLY who has worked on a number of projects in Redmond, said as a contractor, they are always looking for predictability and since the city has been transitioning to lean, they have been able to get more accurate timeframes for permit and licensing reviews.

“It allows us to have confidence in the start date (of our projects),” Hoffmann said, adding that shortened review durations have also allowed contractors such as his company to get started sooner on their projects.

Martin, a real estate and land-use attorney who represents owners and developers with property in Redmond, said the city’s transition to lean offers better service and better communication between the city and him and his clients. Like Hoffmann, he said lean has helped increase predictability in the permitting process and has cut down on the time it takes for his clients to receive the permits they need for their construction projects.

Both Martin and Hoffmann said in addition to receiving better service from the city, they have seen city employees’ enthusiasm for lean.

“They probably get more job satisfaction,” Martin said.

Lewis agreed. She said personally lean has made a big difference in her work.

“I’m really excited about it,” the 15-year city employee said. “This new philosophy is really exciting for me.”

She said lean gives them the opportunity to find out what their customers really need, which is really great as there is a better end result for everyone involved.

Lewis said currently 28 city employees — ranging from herself, to people in information services, to department heads — have gone through the lean training.

And now, these 28 employees will be taking what they learned and teaching it to their colleagues at the city.