Some of our earliest reengineering efforts were in MIT s Department of Facilities, which was then called Physical Plant. The redesign of Custodial Services resulted in the formation of 26 self-directed teams who are cleaning an additional 300,000 square feet of new buildings with no increase in the headcount. Weekday and weekend service were increased, again with no additional employees. Communication between customers and teams was improved with the use of electronic mail. Service measurements for quality, cost, communications, timeliness, and safety were established and are tracked on a monthly basis.
Customers report problems or make requests for routine service via a form on the Web.
The mechanics have become very familiar with the buildings in their zone, and often spot potential problems before they become serious. In addition, the team members have a greater sense of accountability and connection to their customers. The redesign began with the hiring of a professional mail manager and the creation of a centralized Mail Services operation. We now have 36 Distributed Mail Centers across campus, where customers have 24-hour access to their mailboxes. This model replaces an inequitable delivery service in which a small portion of campus received desktop delivery while at the other end of the spectrum, some buildings received a single unsorted bag of mail.