PORT OF SEATTLE 
MEMORANDUM 
COMMISSION AGENDA               Item No.       7c 
STAFF BRIEFING             Date of Meeting   October 9, 2012 

DATE:    September 13, 2012 
TO:     Tay Yoshitani, Chief Executive Officer 
FROM:    Kurt Beckett, Chief of Staff 
Dave Soike, Director Aviation Facilities and Capital Program 
SUBJECT:  Metrics and Continuous Process Improvement Initiatives 
SYNOPSIS: 
The Metrics Initiative, which is a separate but closely related undertaking, was briefed to
the Commission in May 2011, while this will be the first scheduled briefing on CPI. This
briefing will highlight progress of both initiatives and the linkage between them. It will
include more explanation about the Port's philosophy related to CPI, the implementation
plan and how CPI fits well with the Metrics Initiative, the Port's vision, values and
strategies.
BACKGROUND: 
The Metrics Initiative provides a vehicle to better align all the various activities of Port
staff toward the larger vision of the Port to creating 100,000 jobs over the next 25 years.
Harnessing the internal work will strengthen efforts in executing the Century Agenda
strategies and related Executive and Division business plan strategies. Setting both key
indicators and metric targets throughout the various levels of the Port and linking them
upward toward achieving our vision is the mechanism that will help unify staff efforts, 
move us forward in the same direction and provide data-based performance
measurement.
In some organizations, CPI is referred to as "Lean"  a time-tested improvement
methodology refined by Toyota to grow its business by focusing on the efficiency of the
processes the company uses to transact business. CPI is a long-term journey that the Port
has now embarked upon for the same reasons Toyota pioneered the methodology. It is
the Port's program to establish an enduring program and culture of improvement from 
within. While Metrics sets targets and measures progress to those targets, CPI seeks to
improve work flow which can help reach those targets. CPI focuses on the processes that
the Port utilizes to transact business both inside the Port and outside the Port with
external suppliers, tenants, and other stakeholders. Many successful employers in the
Puget Sound region have benefitted from utilizing Lean tools, and some public entities
are undertaking a similar approach.

COMMISSION AGENDA 
Tay Yoshitani, Chief Executive Officer 
September 13, 2012 
Page 2 of 2 
To transact business, the Port utilizes thousands of processes, both big and small. Big
internal processes are those that cross the various divisions or many departments; such as
budgeting, Commission authorizations, hiring, or procurement. Small internal processes
can be within a single work group, such as generating construction schedules, airfield
inspection reports, and managing time-off requests; or even by a single individual such as
scheduling boat or aircraft parking, processing requisitions, and drafting press
releases. There are also thousands of external processes to conduct business with other
agencies, municipalities, vendors, real estate tenants, shippers and airlines.
Like any established institution, the Port has developed processes and procedures that
have been amended to meet current demands and regulatory requirements or the needs of
each particular work group or department, rather than the overall efficiency of all the
workgroups involved. As a result, the number of process steps can aggregate over time
creating inefficiency and waste. Applying CPI principles to these processes will give the
necessary attention to process improvement, and thus eliminate waste while saving
budget and increasing the capacity of the Port employees to take on more valuable
work. 
CPI utilizes dependable and measurable tools that we will employ to harness the intimate
knowledge that individual Port employees have developed about the processes they work
with frequently. By engaging a large proportion of employees over time, we will both
increase engagement and develop a growing culture of continuous improvement across
the Port. 
In the 2011 annual budget, the Commission authorized budget for the Aviation Division
to initiate work on CPI. Staff utilized the budget to retain experienced outside consultant
services to assist internal staff in planning for the initiative. In the 2012 annual budget,
the Commission authorized budget for initial CPI training, for a dedicated staff member,
and for various tasks to get the initiative underway. CEO Yoshitani sent a message to all
Port employees on August 2, 2012, announcing that the Port has begun to implement a
strategy known as "Continuous Process Improvement" (CPI) to meet our customers'
needs in today's volatile and competitive global economy.
OTHER DOCUMENTS ASSOCIATED WITH THIS BRIEFING: 
CEO Yoshitani's email to all Port employees dated August 2, 2012 
Attachment - PowerPoint 
PREVIOUS COMMISSION ACTIONS OR BRIEFINGS: 
May 3, 2011  The Commission was briefed on the Metrics Initiative.
July 15, 2011  The Commission approved a Process Improvement IDIQ
Contract.