In a manner of speaking, employees of Austin Water Utility treatment plants used to work in silos. They operated as independent entities, largely isolated from each other’s best management and operation practices.But propelled by an intense quality improvement program, management and employees grabbed their figurative sledgehammers and slowly broke down the walls. By sharing ideas and best practices for various processes, they improved water quality, met increased demand for water services with fewer water plant employees, significantly raised the utility’s bond rating, and increased employee and customer satisfaction.“We gained efficiencies through standardization,” says Bart Jennings, business strategy manager for the
