I went to the municipality office of a metro city for the birth certificate of my grand daughter.
Process steps that I'd to take were as follows.
Step-1, For enquiry, I went to a window that was closest to the main entry. They directed me to the ENQUIRY window that actually wasn't visible moment you enter the office.
Step-2, On my turn at the 'window' that I was directed to (by the ENQUIRY window) 'asked' me the date of birth of the newborn.
Step-3, The 'window' danced her fingers 'takaa-takaa-tak....' on the keyboard. Kept looking at the screen while 'she' sipped some water reaching out for a sippy-bottle kept on a shelf a couple of arms away. Fortunately, she got the details online.
Lucky that the information from the hospital had reached the municipality office digitally!
Step-4, She gave me a printout of what she saw on the screen.
Told me to go to ENQUIRY window and enquire 'what next'.
Step-5, ENQUIRY window 'told' me to go & take a set of forms from 'that corner', fill name details of the child if naming ceremony is already done & then submit it to the first 'window'.
Step-6, I did so. Filled the forms.
Step-7, Submitted the forms to the first 'window' alongwith the printout given by her earlier. The first 'window' then told me to submit parental identity proofs online. And, to collect the birth certificate online "after the name of the newborn gets registered" two-weeks thereafter.
Step-8, All the above in about a couple of hours; home-to-back-home via the municipality office!
This of course, followed by the ritual of sanitisation & a full bath (the second one of the day) ... in another hour or so!
An hours' nap induced by the tiring drive under the scorching Sun!
Step-9, After getting up, I tried to login to the website but in vain!
Another, couple of hours wasted.
Perhaps the website was taking a nap then.
Step-10, Now, I'm trying to get in touch with an agent and keeping my fingers crossed.
The labor of the mother was easier, I think!
Worth researching the NVA and the COPQ in this so-called supposed-to-be online digitisation process?
Meanwhile, I am unable to understand the following.
- What was the need for me to drive 40-kilometers to-n-fro under the scorching Sun at 44-degree Celsius?
- What was the need of the ENQUIRY window in the process for the work that could've been told to me by the first 'window' itself?
- Is it that the process-designer of this digital process forgot to consider eliminating such NVAs (which is actually an inevitable step if a Lean-Kaizen-JIT Gemba-exercise is undertaken before any such digital exercise)? Or
- Is it that the VOC & the 3-D in the
process (COPP, cost of poor processes) was not 'heard' adequately? Or
- Is it that the additional 'window' step was 'intentional' and on that particular day the intention got skipped inadvertently?
- Why was the sippy-bottle not kept within an arms reach (application of the orderly arrangement principle of Seiton, the Five-S system) unless of course she wanted some exercise by-design? A good thought if the latter was true!
But, why was the ENQUIRY window itself away from the main entry door? (Missing Seiton because missing Gemba approach to
Kaizen and the PDCA-audit of the Gemba itself post any such change initiative!)
About the location of the window itself, good that I didn't dare to INQUIRE!
I wonder the costs (
Digital-COPQ) associated with such poorly designed digitisation initiatives particularly being during the COVID times, when in order to curb it everyone is on the journey to eliminate every possible touch-point! The
Digital-Corporate-Yoga in its true sense!!
Abbreviations:
COPQ, cost of poor quality
COPP, cost of poor processes
VOC, voice of customer
3D: Dirty-Danger-Difficult
JIT Just In Time
PDCA: Systematic improvement approach Plan-Do-Check-Act
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