City of Kitchener modernized its market service
Lean review of Kitchener Market: event set-up cut from 40 to 5 minutes in a pilot, and an estimated 200 to 300 hours of stall renewal effort removed.
The challenge
The City wanted to make fuller use of the Market as a community hub, but vendor onboarding, contracting and event management processes involved redundant steps for staff and customers. Administrative work was time consuming and rigid, and there was no budget for additional staff, so capacity had to come from better processes.
The approach
Leading Edge reviewed four processes using Lean methods: a Gemba walk, voice of the customer interviews and surveys with vendors, event clients, City stakeholders and the Market team, current and future state mapping, a digital maturity assessment and root cause analysis. The review produced 18 recommendations across process, systems, work practices and oversight, prioritized with the Market team. Three changes were piloted during the project: standard work checklists for events, use of an existing City SharePoint booking tool, and a one-page rental renewal contract drafted with Legal.
The result
A 5S exercise led by the Leading Edge consultant reorganized the Market's storage area, and the time to prepare for a special event fell from 40 minutes to a maximum of five minutes. The report estimates that a one-page rental renewal and insurance cycle would reduce human effort by 200 to 300 hours, and that the full set of renewal improvements has the potential to reduce lead time by 6 to 8 weeks.
How it holds
The 5S work left an inventory management system with minimum and maximum levels and visual management in the storage area. Standard work checklists now cover each event from booking to post-event review, and the report recommends dedicating time each week to reviewing standard work with the team.
Results
What changed
| Measure | Before | After | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Time to prepare for a special event | 40 minutes | 5 minutes at most | Achieved after the 5S pilot |
| Human effort in the annual stall renewal and insurance cycle | About three months to complete | 200 to 300 hours estimated reduction | |
| Time per vendor stall move | 60 minutes | 5 minutes | About 238 hours a year, estimated |
| Lead time for vendor contract renewals | 6 to 8 weeks, estimated potential |
FAQ
Common questions
Three improvements were piloted: standard work checklists for events, use of an existing City SharePoint booking tool that made booking progress visible and triggered tasks automatically, and a one-page rental renewal contract drafted with Legal. A 5S exercise also cut special event set-up time from 40 minutes to five.
No. The report estimates that a one-page rental renewal and insurance cycle would reduce human effort by 200 to 300 hours, and that the renewal improvements together could reduce lead time by 6 to 8 weeks. The reduction in event set-up time was reported after the 5S pilot.
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