According to the City of El Paso, crews are filling more potholes than ever before thanks to a new process that streamlined operations by embracing Lean Six Sigma (LSS) principles.
On average, about 500 potholes are being repaired per week by Street and Maintenance crews, which is 300 more repairs per week than in 2015. This results in approximately 15,600 more potholes fixed per year.
Prior to implementing LSS principles pothole repair crews conducted repairs based on public service requests.
Now, crews are assigned to smaller geographic areas and repairs are scheduled based on a geographic focus. These changes have reduced the time workers spend driving to their next repair and has improved time management, efficiency, and increased the number of potholes repaired.
“By overhauling the process for pothole repairs, we are using our resources more efficiently to keep our streets safe for everyone – pedestrians, bicyclists and motorists,” said Ted Marquez, the city’s Interim Managing Director for Streets and Maintenance and Parks.
The department has a total of 11 pothole patching trucks. Three of the vehicles are new. These replacement trucks arrived in late October 2016 and have enabled the department to spend more time fixing streets and less time on vehicle repairs that come with an aging fleet.
The City has received 3,587 pothole service requests as of mid-June 2017. On average, service requests are closed out within two weeks.
To report a pothole online, click HERE or call 3-1-1.
