On April 17, 2024, pallet shelters will be installed on a lot on Victor Street in Providence. The project, called ECHO Village, was initially scheduled to open in late March 2024. But residents will probably not move in until 2025. (Christopher Shea/Rhode Island Current)
Tackling the housing crisis has become one of Rhode Island’s top priorities. Various interventions are underway. Its effectiveness will depend on reducing administrative complexity, commonly known as ‘red tape’.
Bureaucracy breaks through Lean process improvement techniquesthat has been remarkably successful in the private sector can improve public functions such as contracting, hiring, and licensing. A robust Lean program can reduce waste, eliminate layoffs and remove bottlenecks.
I am a Lean trainer and practitioner. Full disclosure: I am also a senior consultant at one of three companies with a Master Price Agreement with the State of Rhode Island for agencies seeking process improvement consulting services. I have seen firsthand how our state’s housing initiatives are fraught with bureaucratic challenges.
A report by the Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council (RIPEC) summarized these challenges: Three entities (RI Housing, the Department of Housing, and the Housing Resources Commission) shared overlapping responsibility for eight policy functions, including the allocation of housing tax credits and the administration of support for homelessness .
It’s no wonder that Rhode Island had the lowest number of housing permits issued per 1,000 residents in the country over the past decade and ranked last in the country in 2023.
Among RIPEC’s recommendations: The state should seek to reduce the complexity of its housing programs, taking into account “the allocation of funding to a large number of similar production programs that are often combined to finance a single development creates unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles….”
A particularly frustrating example is ECHO Village, a community of 45 detached, one-room pallet shelters approved by the State Property Committee and collected in February inside the on-ramp to Route 146 South at Victor Street in Providence. The $3.3 million project should be open by the end of March.
But here’s the timeline of what’s happened since:
-
May 2024: The Department of Housing cleared its “final” permitting hurdle when the Rhode Island Building Code Standards Committee approved several variances.
-
August 2024: The 45 units still needed approval from the Fire Safety Board and Building Commission, but were expected to open “before winter.”
-
November 2024 Housing advocates are urging Governor Dan McKee to declare a state of emergency to address the crisis of 600 people without shelter and remove regulatory barriers to opening ECHO Village.
We are here in the first week of December and the temperatures continue to drop. But there has been no government intervention to open ECHO Village.
It shouldn’t have gotten to this point. The fact that these shelters have remained empty for months also underscores the need to untangle the bureaucracy that is hindering the progress of all housing programs.
Given the overlapping responsibilities of boards and agencies, no single agency or individual has the advantage of distinguishing mission-critical steps from “red tape.” Removing the waste without sacrificing essential health, safety and financial controls requires the work of a cross-functional team in a Lean project known as a ‘kaizen’.
We are here in the first week of December and the temperatures continue to drop. But there has been no government intervention to open ECHO Village.
The kaizen is chartered by a state official of sufficient rank to implement the team’s recommendations. The team maps each step of the process as it is currently being performed and evaluates the value of each step. They measure the intervals between transfers and the elapsed time for the entire process. They then construct a second map that represents an improved process flow. Simple solutions can start immediately; more complex improvements must be managed by the project sponsor.
Basic Lean tools such as process mapping can expedite public projects while maintaining the right checks and balances. With consistent use, a culture of continuous improvement develops, along with proficiency in Lean management. More sophisticated techniques can be used to clarify the overlapping administrative roles of boards and agencies.
There is broad agreement on the need to take action. Voters overwhelmingly approved on November 5 $120 million of housing and community opportunity bonds. The deployment must be effective and rapid – for the existing programs and for the upcoming bonds.
By ‘leaning’ our bureaucratic processes we can maximize the use of all available resources. The urgency of this crisis requires nothing less.
SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES IN YOUR INBOX
