61 / 194
Morgan Hill, California
55
Zucker Systems
factors, we believe the number of inspections performed per day per Inspector is
within the range that allows adequate time to perform a quality inspection. It appears
that measures have been taken through their automated inspection request process to
insure the daily workload does not exceed the number of inspections that staff can
effectively perform. A byproduct of this arrangement, however, is that frequently
customers cannot receive the required inspection on the day they need it because all of
the available inspections for that day have already been allocated. This has resulted in
some inspections being delayed by as much as two weeks during the busy summer
months. Clearly this is unacceptable performance as it creates significant disruptions
in the flow of construction projects. An apparent solution would be to simply modify
the inspection request program to allow for a larger number of inspection requests to
be granted per day, but such an approach would ignore the importance of allocating
sufficient time to allow the inspector to perform a quality inspection. The solution lies
in a combination of augmenting staff and gaining additional efficiencies. Staffing
options are discussed in this section while potential process changes are included in
the Inspection section under Process improvements.
As discussed previously in the section on Performance Standards, the process of
establishing appropriate staffing levels is based on the concept that the performance
standard should remain constant while City Management adjusts the availability of
resources to match the fluctuation in the demand for services. In an ideal
environment, it would be possible to establish the actual amount of time that would be
required to perform the variety of tasks necessary to meet a specific demand for
service. Based on the quantity of service demands, it would then be possible to
quantify the total volume of resources the City would need to have available to
complete the assigned work. Where service demands exceed available resources,
Management would be tasked to secure additional resources through authorizing
overtime or employing additional staff either full-time, part-time or on a contract
basis.