We deliver significant savings to your bottom line.                               

Demarche Consulting Group saves clients time, money and valuable human resources. Organizations that hire our team succeed because we are the very best at engaging, enlisting, and enabling their people. Dr. Paralez worked with Dr. W. Edwards Deming during his total quality management work at NASA, and she is widely known for her compassionate approach to change.

The Demarche Consulting Group brings over 100 years of collective experience to bear on some of the thorniest process redesign issues facing American industry and the public sector. For entities from Microsoft to NASA, the City of Seattle to the State of Utah, and from major municipalities to public utilities, Paralez and her team provide:

BUSINESS PROCESS REDESIGN

For more detail on any of these projects, please contact us:

City of Tacoma, Building and Land Use (BLUS), Tacoma, WA. Design of business processes to support improved delivery to established level of service, design of new processes to better integrate new technology (SAP) systems as a coordinating mechanism across the City, and design of processes to support new codes.

Sammamish Plateau Water and Sewer District, Issaquah, WA. Design of business processes to support improved maintenance management practices, supporting design and implementation of Maintenance Management Information Systems.

City of Spokane, Economic Development, Building and Land Use Processes, Spokane, WA. A focused effort to conduct a fee and funding study for the City (with FCS Group Inc. of Bellevue) and to recommend process improvements to the building permit process.

Cowlitz County, WA. Building and Land Use Permitting. Assessment and recommendations for improvements of the building and land use processes of this small, growing County. Work was funded by the Clark County Building Industry Association.

City of Woodinville, Woodinville, WA. Assessment, mapping and redesign of the building and land use processes of this small, growing community development department. Work included extensive team development and interim management functions as Director of Community Development for the City.

Seattle Public Utilities, Seattle, WA. Fleet Management Study In concert with Mercury Fleet Associates, we conducted a comprehensive study of the profile and performance of the fleet management practices of SPU including their relationship with City Fleets and Facilities Division.

Department of Design, Construction and Land Use, (currently Department of Planning and Development) Seattle, WA. A five year project resulting in a significant performance improvement for issuance of building permits, design and implementation of an organizational structure, technology system, funding model, educational strategy, and facility redesign to support ongoing delivery of best in class services.

General Services Administration, State of Washington, Olympia, WA. Fleet Management Study In concert with Mercury Fleet Associates, we developed a strategic plan for the State Fleet, based on a profile and performance of the fleet management practices of the GA Fleet Management organization.

Community Development Department, City of Lynnwood, Lynnwood, WA. A comprehensive permit process assessment, stakeholder group process, and redesign of this small city community development, building and public works organizations.

General Services Administration, State of Washington, Olympia, WA. Facilities Management Work Practices and Organizational Assessment A review of a recent re-organization and assessment of the conflicts and performance impacts resulted in recommendations for project teams. Project teams were formed and facilitated to accomplish the asset planning work mandated to be completed by the new organization.

Seattle Transportation Department, Seattle, WA. A targeted assessment through business mapping and stakeholder meetings of the permitting functions resulting in development of an improvement plan.

City of Bainbridge Island, Bainbridge Island, WA. A comprehensive permit process assessment, stakeholder group process, and redesign of this small city community development, building and public works organizations.

Seattle Public Utilities, Seattle, WA. Multiyear business process mapping, analysis, and service level development for organizations in water and wastewater operations including laboratory, sewer maintenance (CCTV), dispatch, inventory, fleet, water connections, and maintenance planning.

Seattle City Light, Seattle, WA. Process Improvement projects were focused on the Power Distribution System, and the development of a meaningful (achievable) maintenance versus capital activities plan for the crews each year. Work developed maintenance management plans, condition assessment tools and work plans, and better feedback mechanisms between crews and engineering.

City of Shoreline Planning and Development Services, Shoreline, WA Assessment, mapping and redesign of the building and land use processes of this small, growing community development department. Work extended to implementation of process changes, leadership development, and recommendations for facility enhancements.

City of Des Moines, Community Development Services, Des Moines, WA Assessment, mapping and redesign of the building and land use processes of this small, growing community development department. Recommendations made to City Council about consolidation of functions, changes to process, and outsourcing of inspections.

Snohomish County, Planning and Development Services, Everett, WA This five year project with the county began with a comprehensive assessment of the performance of the permitting process from all stakeholders perspective (employees, developers, citizens, executives, legislators, etc.) and using process mapping techniques and data analysis. Reports to the legislative body resulted in directions to redesign the process to better meet the needs of these diverse communities. Our support of this redesign work has been comprehensive and extensive, including the development of standard operating manuals, organizational designs, job descriptions, educational strategies, funding strategies, stakeholder outreach, and technology enhancement planning. Dr. Paralez also served as the Deputy Director of Community Development in 2005, so as to bridge a gap in management and support implementation of improvements.

ASSESSMENT AND PERFORMANCE AUDITS

"Benchmarking - Maintenance Management Practices in Water and Waste Water Utilities" Western Regional Water Utility Benchmarking Group.  This group of 15 large west coast water and waste water utilities embarked on a nine year benchmarking project focused primarily on the identification of maintenance practices and metric performance indicators across the utilities. Studies were done to cover all the major components of the Finished Water Distribution System.

"Manufacturing Assessment and Redesign"  W.R. White Company, Ogden, UT.  This small manufacturing firm developed an integrated technology plan, process flow charts that allowed streamlining of work process and work flow.

"Statistical Process Control and Inventory Management - Evaluation and Assessment" Puget Sound Energy, Bellevue, WA. Developing meaningful performance measures for inventory turns by type of material, supply chain models, and process control charts to monitor reorder points were outcomes of this work.

"Employee Retention - Audit and Assessment" Department of Workforce Services, State of Utah

"Cost-Benefit Analysis of Technology Investments" Department of Design, Construction and Land Use, (currently Department of Planning and Development), Seattle, WA. A benefits analysis of the portion of the permit project investments made in technology enhancements.

"Geographic Information System Assessment" Seattle Public Utilities, Seattle, WA. This was an organizational assessment focused on defining the needs of the City organizations served by GIS, and proposing organizational reporting relationships that would best support the mandate and service expectations.

"Planning and Engineering Practices Assessment" Pacific Corp and PUD, State of Utah. In concert with EMA consulting group, this project provided an assessment of the business practices of the planning and engineering function of PacifiCorp, specifically focused on forecasting demand, developing infrastructure and ensuring service standards.

"Planning and Engineering Practices Assessment" Snohomish County Planning and Development Services, Everett, WA. Mapping and assessment of the work flow relative to customer service level expectations.

RESEARCH STUDIES AND SURVEYS

"Business Plan for Office of Economic and Financial Analysis" King County, Seattle, WA A focused effort to conduct a comparative analysis of 9 other County jurisdictions as a part of this project (with FCS Group Inc. of Bellevue). Findings provide insight to best practices for revenue forecasting, budgeting, and financial reporting, and associated organizational structures that support those practices.

"Qualserve Performance Indicators Reporting" American Water Works, Qualserve Program, Denver, CO. Develop, refine and analyze a set of performance indicators for the Water and Wastewater Utility industry reflecting overall organizational and operational performance.

 "Customer Satisfaction Survey" Jumbo Foods, Seattle, WA. A comprehensive customer outreach through survey tools to assess customer satisfaction and needs and to make recommendations for actions.

"Energy Management Research/Benchmarking" American Water Works Research Foundation, Denver, CO. A study of the best management practices among Water and Wastewater Utilities related to use and management of energy.

IMPLEMENTATION SYSTEMS AND SUPPORT

"Educational Strategy and Training" Department of Design, Construction and Land Use (currently the Department of Planning and Development) Seattle, WA  As an outcome of and in support of the process changes made at DPD, the Department charged us with the development and implementation of a comprehensive "university" of courses geared toward supporting the transition of the organization and its staff to a new level of performance and competency.

"Coaching Case Study, and ongoing Coaching"  Department of Design, Construction and Land Use (currently the Department of Planning and Development) Seattle, WA  As an outcome of and in support of the process changes made at DPD, an individual coaching model was developed, tested, and continues to be used. The goal is to support better communication between supervisors and subordinates, develop a plan for behavior/performance shifts, and associated third-party weekly coaching engagements to assure the shift occurs.

"Diversity Awareness/Cultural Audit"  Department of Workforce Services, State of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT This over 1000 person organization was challenged with the need to objectively assess its understanding of diversity issues affecting operational performance and customer relations. Upon completion of the audit, along with our excellent subcontractor team, we developed a diversity management plan and conducted diversity awareness training for all staff.

"Leadership Development" Seattle Public Utilities, Seattle, WA  Following the merger of five separate, smaller City utilities into the newly formed SPU, we conducted leadership development training focused specifically toward management of integrating people, processes and procedures, while respectfully acknowledging loss and gain experienced by those individuals.

"Organizational Performance Improvement Program"  Seattle Public Utilities, Seattle, WA  Following completion of competitive benchmarking, and process assessment, a strategically focused performance improvement program was developed for the SPU operations branch. Contents included development of an asset management protocol, fleet management focus, inventory policies for control of materials, and safety standards.

"Engineering Project Management - Education"  Seattle Public Utilities, Seattle, WA  The engineering department of the SPU organization is charged with capital project management, and continues to be challenged with project completion rates, affecting best use of funds by the City overall. We worked with these teams to redesign the bottlenecks in the process -- namely contracting policies, permitting procedures, and effective communication mechanisms.

"Facility Analysis - President's Residence"  Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA  This highly acclaimed university in the northwestern part of the state asked us to do an assessment of the cost and value to the university of the investment in building a new residence for the President. Comparative research was done with other universities, and interviews with others responsible for fund raising, image management, and residence function.

"Facility Redesign and Relocation"  Seattle School District, Seattle, WA  This was a complex and tightly scheduled project aimed at moving all administrative functions for the District into on facility in the SODO area. Our expertise in project management, facility mapping, and work area layouts was invaluable in making this transition on time, within budget.