apwa accreditation. what is apwa accreditation? the purpose of accreditation is to promote and...

APWA Accreditation

What is APWA Accreditation? The purpose of Accreditation is to

promote and recognize excellence in the operation and management of a public works agency utilizing a three step process.

Accreditation Objectives• Evaluate what you are doing well and

what you could do better

• Develop new policies, practices or procedures

• Prepare documentation to support what you are doing

PHASE ONESelf-Assessment

PHASE TWOImprovements

PHASE THREEAccreditation

Accreditation• Increase professionalism

• Instill pride within the department

• Continuous updating and improvement

APWA Accredited Agencies• 102 United States Agencies

• 2 Canadian Agencies

104 Total Agencies

Agencies Under Contract 33 United States Agencies 1 Canadian Agencies 2 KC Metro Agencies

Shawnee, KS just completed site visit and will become the 105th

Raymore, MO

Agencies Expressing Interest in KC Metro Area

Blue Springs, MO Kansas City, MO Mission, KS Fairway, KS Shawnee, KS 

Lee’s Summit’s ExperienceLength of Time Self-assessment

Initially started in 1997 but stalled due to lack of priority in department Lack of organization “Daunting task” perception Mixed employee reactions

Re-started efforts in 1999 Implemented chapter leader concept to spread

responsibility and accountability through the organization

Lee’s Summit’s ExperienceInitial Self Assessment Findings

(1999)Total Practices: 462Practices Specific to LSPW: 421

50% Compliance – By Actual Practice and Written Documentation

70% Compliance – By Actual Practice

Lee’s Summit’s Experience During improvement and

implementation phases of process Chapter leaders actively solicited

support from other staff members encouraging participation throughout organization

Over 40 of 110 employees were directly involved in the process

Resulted in employee “buy in”

Lee’s Summit’s Experience Accreditation

Received full accreditation in 2004 First KC metro agency, 2nd in Mo

1st Re-accreditation   2008 after approx 12 months of review and

updating 2nd Re-accreditation

2012 after 18-24 months which included creating internal Wiki site

Several LS PW practices are now identified as APWA model practices.

12

Lee’s Summit’s ExperienceBenefits Focused department on both short

and long-term planning - proactive vs. reactive

Practices, documents, policies and procedures assembled for accreditation became complete department operating manual

Now housed on Wiki site Available to all employees through

computer access at work or at home

Lee’s Summit’s Experience Creating documentation from

employee knowledge was invaluable to capture institutional knowledge 

Found practices not fully compliant with standards resulted in staff recognizing a need to improve

And…

14

We ended up with really snazzy bowling shirts!

15