11.16.2011 Council PU Committee PPT CLE Utilities Phase 1 and Phase 2 Plans FINAL Version

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CITY OF CLEVELAND

CWD Customer Service TurnaroundProject - Phase 1

Project Briefing for

Cleveland City Council, Public Utilities Committee

November 16, 2011



2

Agenda

• Turnaround Projecto Goals

o Actions and Accomplishments

o Overall Evaluation

o Phase 2

• DPU/CWD Reorganization



3

Project Goals

• Accurate meter readings

• Accurate bills

• Quickly answering customer calls and first call resolution

• Collecting money owed to CWD for water usage

• More responsive to the needs of our jurisdictional partners

Key Issues• Incomplete and ineffective operatingprocedures/processes

• Non-optimal organization structure and staffing, skills,training

• Lack of daily/weekly/monthly metrics for each businessarea

• Large backlogs (pended bills, field orders, etc)

• Competing projects, prioritization of resources



4

Actions and Accomplishments

Stabilization of core customer service areas

• More accurate meter readings – fewer estimated bills• More accurate bills – fewer pended bills

• Improved call center operations

• Increased collections; turn-offs of delinquentaccounts

• Substantial reductions in backlogs• Coordinated/prioritized competing projects

Comprehensive analysis of root causes

• Issues are pervasive - no “silver bullets”

• Fixed 73 technical/systems/data issues• Improved 54 operating procedures/processes

• Comprehensive approach yielded 145 priorityimprovements for Phase 2



5

Accurate Meter Readings

• Fixed ubiquitous handheld “double-beep” warning

• Improved accuracy of meter readings by at least 8%(positive impact on over 33,000 quarterly bills)

• Integrated vacant property information into CC&B

• Identified accounts associated with vacant lots(4,800) and unoccupied properties (2,500) - stopuncollectable billings

• Completed/eliminated field activities which preventedmore current work from being scheduled

• Eliminated nearly 10,000 unresolved field activities

• Identified true non-progressing meters• Eliminated field investigation work for 23,000

locations not requiring meter change/repair



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Accurate Bills

• Began billing active meters that had not been billed

• 2,574 accounts will now be consistently billed

• Resolved missing service agreements for accounts withmultiple services

• 2,089 accounts will now be billed for all services (water,waste water, local charges)

• Reduced backlog of suppressed bills

• August 12 - 1,923; November 4 - 194• Increased billing based on actual reads

• Prevented valid low meter reads from failing the very lowcheck, resulting in estimated bills

• Improved remediation of non-progressive meters

• Reduced number of estimated bills by 10,000• Corrected accounts that had received inaccurate final read

adjustments

• 353 account adjustments being corrected by backlog team



7

Quickly Answer Customer Calls

• Implemented new call center metrics which are in-linewith industry standards

• Answer 80% of calls in 30 seconds or less

• Abandoned call rate less than 5%

• Consolidate all call centers under one manager

• Improved oversight of similar job functions

• Developed call scripts for frequently occurring calltypes

• Ensures consistent information from customer servicerepresentatives

• Cross-trained CSR’s to handle calls in all queues

(Customer Service, Pay and Collections)• Improves wait times and reduces call transfers

• Created dedicated work group to support complexbilling issues



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Collect Money Owed to CWD

• Restarted active collections efforts on August 1, 2011:

• Eliminated non-collections activities from Collections• Developed prioritized Collections Plan

• High $ accounts first

• Implemented outbound collections contacts

• Redeveloped customer contacts• 1st notice, final notice, tenant notifications, door

hangers

• Training/coaching to improve staff performance

• Stopped sending active accounts to collections agency



10

Collect Money Owed to CWD, con’t

• Implemented corrections to past due totals on final

notices• Notices now show outstanding balances for all serviceagreements

• Removed credit score as a criterion for disconnections

• Equitable treatment of all customers

• Correct credit review date so that accounts are eligiblefor shut-off once delinquency criteria are met

• System flaw postponed the credit review date forsome accounts until 2040 or later



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• From September 2009 through July 2011,Water A/R averaged $1M per month increase

• 9/09 : $19.0M–

7/11: $43.1M• Since August 1, 2011, A/R more than 180 days

delinquent is declining



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Coordinate/Prioritize Competing Projects

• July 16, 2011 CWD fixed rate charge

• IT contractors and employee resource coordination• AMR/Turnaround Project integration

• Ensure AMR project ‘fit’ with customers and CWD

customer service operations

• January 1, 2012 rate changes

• CWD, NEORSD, Euclid, Strongsville, North Olmstead,Fairview Park, Bedford Heights, Newburgh Heights



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Responsive to Jurisdictional Partners

• Developed process for coordinating service requestsfrom other jurisdictions

• Single point of contact

• 90 days notice for simple rate change

• 180 days notice for structural changes

• Developed implementation strategy for January 1,2012 rate increases

• CWD, NEORSD, Euclid, Strongsville, North Olmstead,Fairview Park, Bedford Heights, Newburgh Heights

• NEORSD customer service coordination

• Euclid and Bedford Heights waste water collections



15

Use of Operational Metrics



16

B&V evaluation at beginning of Phase 1



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B&V evaluation at end of Phase 1



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Phase 2 – Building on Improvement

Phase 1

• “Stop the Bleeding”

• Root cause analysis

• Focus on highest value fixes

Phase 2

• Entrench normal operations

• Finish core system fixes

• Complete mandatory projects

• Implement prioritized enhancements by June 30, 2012



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Phase 2 Focus

• Complete system fixes by March 31, 2012• Complete data integrity fixes, e.g. Datamatic interface

• Resolve all backlog causes, e.g. invalid “to-do’s” and fieldactivities

• Complete other CWD priorities by June 30, 2012• Adoption of Phase 1 process improvements• Weekly metrics-driven performance management

• Complete backlog resolution• Automate active collections• Integrate CC&B (billing system) with Ellipse (work

management system)• Complete all mandatory projects

• Oracle database upgrade

• CC&B version upgrade• 9 new rate structure changes and increases• AMR – interface completion, business impact/process

changes, training, testing, deployment



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City of ClevelandDepartment of Public UtilitiesReorganization Plan

Presented to Cleveland City Council,Public Utilities Committee

November 16, 2011



21

Motivation for Reorganization

• Strengthen business focus on customer service

• Business areas operating in “silos” • Redundant operations within divisions

• Improve customer service and utilities

operations support functions – HR, IT, Finance,Communications

• Inefficient and redundant operations acrossdivisions

• Complete DPU-wide organizational reviewsundertaken over the past two years



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Why Reorganize?

• Improve efficiency• Provide better cost effective customer service

• Deliver excellent customer service• Make customer service DPU’s top priority

• Responsive to our customers and regional partners

• Facilitate accountability• Reduce layers of bureaucracy with oversight of

customer service function• Simplify organizational structure to: identify

problems; elevate problems for solution; solve

problems; and hold managers accountable whensolutions are not achieved in a timely fashion



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Why Reorganize?

• Position DPU and CWD for future changes

• Technological, Operational and Financial• Make DPU a “provider of choice” to allow for

service area expansion to further reduce averagecosts

• Focus CWD on its core activity – delivering highquality water

• Maintain water quality

• Make DPU/CWD a model for other utilities



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How is the new structure different?

• Elevate customer service as a DPU priority – reports to Director

through the Assistant Director of Public Utilities• Eliminate two layers of bureaucracy over CS

• Consolidate all CS business areas under A.D.

• Meter Services, Billing Services, Customer Care and Collections

• Implement CS metrics for all divisions with monitoring byA.D.

• Consolidate functional/support services at DPU level in fourareas:

• Chief Information Officer, Chief Financial Officer, Chief of Public Affairs and HR Manager



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How will things be better?

• DPU/CWD well positioned to maintain and build uponimprovements of Turnaround Project

• Better customer services means:

• Accurate meter readings

• Accurate bills

• Quickly answering customer calls and first-call resolution

• Collecting money owed to CWD for water usage

• DPU and CWD better positioned for future growth/challenges

• Provider of “choice”

• Shift to fixed cost recovery model • Equalization of rates

• Continue to provide high quality water



26

Commissioner

CWD

Asst. Commissioner

Plant Operations

Asst. Commissioner

IT

Asst. Commissioner

Engineering

DPU Security

Asst. Commissioner

D&M

Risk Manager

Asst. Commissioner

CAS

Strategic Business

Program Manager

Asst. Commissioner

Budget and Finance

Communications

Manger

Asst. Commissioner

Human Resources

Dep. Commissioner

Org. Performance

Dep. Commissioner

Customer Focus

Benefits and Payroll

Talent Acquisition

&Workforce Planning

Performance

Management

Employee/Labor

Relations

Performance

Development and

Support

PU Building

Maintenance

Project Director

Central Warehouse

Finance/Procurement

Capital Finance

Projects

Billing/Meter Reading

Admin. Manager

Customer Service/

Collections Admin.

Manager

CAS Admin. Project

Director

Budget/Procurement

Projector Director

IT Administration

GIS

IT Manager

Safety Programs

Manager

Sustainability

Programs Manager

Environmental

Programs Manager

Asst. SBP Manager

Project Director

Special Events

Graphic Design

Media

Communications

Public Outreach/

Legislative Affairs

CWD “As Is” Organizational Chart

Chief of Dist.

Administration

Chief of Dist.

Pipe Repair

Chief of Dist.

Meters

Asst. Admin

Budget and

Procurement

Building Maintenance

General Maintenance

Manager

Communication

Center

Process Management

Capital Projects/

Facilities

Management

Advance Planning and

Hydraulics

Administration

Dist. Inspector

Dist. Engineer,

Permits and Sales

Backflow Admin.

Manager

Asst. Administrator

Baldwin

Crown

Morgan

Nottingham

Parma Control

Water Quality

Maintenance

Consulting Engineer

Legend

Reporting Structure

Changed by DPU

Consolidation

Reporting Structure

Changed by CWD

Reorganization



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Director

DPU

Commssioner

CWD

Commissioner

WPC

Chief Information

Officer

Commissioner

CPP

Chief Financial

Officer

Chief of Public

Affairs

HR Manager

Customer Care

Manager

Collections Manager

Billing Services

Manager

Commercial Care/

High Level

Complaints Unit

Meter Services/AMR

Manager

Water Review Board

Web

IT Security

Telecommunications

Standards

Infrastructure

Application Support

Rates

Controller

Risk Management

Budget

Legislation

Community

Outreach/Special

Events

Strategic Planning

Communication

Coordination with

City Priority

DPU “To Be” Organizational Structure

Asst. Director

Customer Service

Labor

Recruitment

Training

Personnel

Compensation

Intergovernmental

Affairs

Procurement

Security/DPU Police



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Asst. Director

Customer Service

Collections Manager

Billing Services

Manager

Customer Care

Manager

Call Center Manager

Call Center

Supervisors

CSR II

CSR I

CSR III

Out Bound

Collections

Supervisor

Field Operations

Supervisor

Skip Trace

Supervisor

Front Desk

Supervisor

Dispatch (COR)

Outbound Calls (COR)

Datamatic (COR)

CSR

1st Shift Supervisor

2nd Shift Supervisor

CFR

CFR

CSR

CSR

Mail Staff

Telephone Operators

AMR

Analyst

Meter Operations

Meter Reading

(Phases out w/AMR)

Meter Readers

Data Analysts

Field Technicians

Investigations

Meter Repairmen

Meter Services

Manager

AMR Contract

Management (Phases

out w/ AMR)

Call Center Monitors

Correspondence

Commercial Care/

High Level

Complaints Unit

CAS “To Be” Organizational Chart

Director

DPU

(Consolidated from

Permits and Sales, Meter

Reading, Call Center, CAS

& Collections)



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Commissioner

CWD

Manager

Plant Operations

Manager

D&M

Risk/ImpactAssessment

Dep. Commissioner

Operations

Dep. Commissioner

Engineering

Safety Programs

Manager

Environmental

Programs Manager

CWD “To Be” Organizational Chart

Chief of Dist.

Administration

Chief of Dist.

Pipe Repair

Process Management

Asst. Admin

Budget and

Procurement

Building Maintenance

General Maintenance

Manager

Communication

Center

Capital Projects/

Facilities

Management

Advance Planning and

Hydraulics

Dist. Inspector

Dist. Engineer,Permits and Sales

Backflow Admin.

Manager

Asst. Administrator

Baldwin

Crown

Morgan

Nottingham

Parma Control

Water Quality

Maintenance

Consulting Engineer

11.16.2011 Council PU Committee PPT CLE Utilities Phase 1 and Phase 2 Plans FINAL Version

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