Chuckhole Kaizen Response
Chuckhole complaints remained under 5,000 per year until 2004 when they began to increase by about 27% annually, reaching over 16,000 during the first 6.5 months of 2008.
Better Planning, Scheduling, Routing and Customer Reporting = Better Service
In 2008, DPW began streamlining the pothole repair process.The Chuckhole Kaizen Response, implemented with the assistance of Eli Lilly 6 Sigma Blackbelts, offers better planning, scheduling, routing and customer reporting. The goal of the Chuckhole Kaizen Response is to address pothole requests within a 48-hour cycle time. This is a major improvement from the previous 19-day turnaround customers have experienced in the past. Potholes are now being addressed from a 2-tier aspect, including preventative maintenance through crack-sealing and better repair practices. Budgeting $1.4 million in crack-sealing work, which has not been done in the last 5 years, DPW purchased 4 new crack-sealing machines and have been working to address road surface cracks throughout the City/County area. Better patching materials are now being used – hot mix rather than cold mix when available – to allow better, more permanent repairs. Working more proactively, DPW now targets geographic areas patching every pothole within an area with a permanent repair of hot mix rather than waiting to receive a request from customers before reacting.
To view the Chuckhole Kaizen Response informational video please click here.
Emergency Rapid Response
A certain amount of pothole work will always have to be reactionary. Considering this, smaller designated "rapid response" teams have been established to better address potholes that may cause an immediate hazard to vehicle and public safety. Emergency response teams are able to address more serious potholes within 24-hours.
To view the Birth of a Pothole illustration please click here.
Online Pothole Reporting Portal
The previous online reporting mechanism proved extremely inefficient as it allowed several days before complaints were finally received by district garages for scheduling, routing and repair. Also, the old mechanism did not allow customers to report details including: specific pothole location, customer contact information and other important data that assist in better planning and routing. This proved inefficient as work crews were sometimes sent to inaccurate locations, duplicate reporting resulted and other problems ensued. This resulted in waste of taxpayer dollars in regard to poor resource, staffing and time management and materials and fuel usage. The new online pothole portal allows reported complaints to be routed directly to the appropriate district garage to be addressed.
To report a pothole online visit: http://www.indy.gov/eGov/Mayor/Pages/Pothole.aspx
You may still call the Mayor’s Action Center (MAC) at 327-4622 to report a pothole.