Striving for simplicity in quality assurance documentation has delivered huge dividends for the Public Works Department at Mackay City Council.
“We implemented a quality assurance system in the mid 1990s to ensure a continuing flow of work from the Queensland government,” said John Pearce, Technical Officer – Quality . “The system introduced, was not widely accepted by staff.”
As a result the documentation has now been simplified and flowcharts are used extensively. The success of the new package has seen it purchased by Alice Springs Town Council and Rockhampton Council.
“We have done away with check lists and now have random audits,” he said. “All the early things in quality assurance, like checklists, are gone.”
All Council’s service users are invited to complete survey forms about the quality of service provided. This data is analysed and feedback is provided to staff. The information from the survey allows processes and procedures to be improved.
In the first 12 months of the new system, there was a considerable increase in customer satisfaction and a dramatic reduction in paperwork.
Writing procedures in a flowchart format using only one shape type reduced paperwork. It has also brought a vast reduction of pages in the procedures manual. As an example maintenance procedures were reduced from 150 pages to 30, including safety and environmental issues.
For further information about this package contact John Pearce on (07) 4955 8649.
