When two teams work closely together for a long time, relations sometimes become challenging as staff and technologies change. This in turn can affect productivity, quality, efficiency, and customer service. That’s exactly what happened between the Department of Transportation’s Fleet Administration and King County Information Technology’s Radio Communication Services (RCS). Both RCS and Fleet work on County vehicles, including all Sheriff’s Office vehicles. RCS is primarily responsible for installing radios and hooking up lighting, and Fleet is responsible for maintaining the vehicles and installing additional add-ons required by the Sheriff’s Office.

This fall, Wastewater Treatment Division (WTD) celebrated the two-year anniversary of its Bright Ideas program which encourages employees to submit their ideas for efficiencies and continuous improvement through an online tool. Since the program started, almost 700 ideas to create a more efficient, productive workplace were submitted – which indicates a solid level of interest and engagement in the program among employees. Approved ideas have created notable improvements in many areas, such as: streamlined processes for customers; money-saving approaches to maintenance; solutions to equipment issues; and better communication with people from the… Read More

The Wastewater Treatment Division (WTD) “Bright Ideas” program is a system for continuous improvement through employee ideas. Employees can submit and track their ideas through an online tool. This year, the Water Environment Federation (WEF), an international wastewater industry leader, awarded Stanley Caberto, master industrial maintenance mechanic, the “Gadget Guru Award for Resourcefulness” for three inventions he created that help keep vital facilities running smoothly. Also included in the Ingenuity contest as finalists who found “an imaginative, inventive and resourceful solution to a pesky problem”: 1) WTD’s branding team who developed the… Read More

Day or night, King County Metro Transit’s wreckers respond to trouble calls and emergencies. They push, pull, lift, or tow, whatever it takes to get buses and traffic moving and Metro’s riders to their destinations. Metro has single wreckers stationed at each of its outlying bus bases (North, East, and South), but Atlantic Base has two—referred to as Atlantic 1 and Atlantic 2—to support the three Seattle core bases (Ryerson, Central, and Atlantic) and the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel. These downtown Seattle wreckers and their crews have their work cut out for them, including responding… Read More

As the County’s Investment Officer, Mike Smith manages an investment portfolio worth an average of $5 billion.  With the safety of $5 billion at stake, Mike depends heavily on assistance from his colleagues Christine Denis and Josh Freese in managing the King County Investment Pool. In keeping with the County’s goals of financial stewardship and being the best-run government in the nation, Smith and his colleagues focus on the three ideals for public investing: safety, liquidity, and return. “You want to keep the principal safe, you want to make sure money is… Read More

​Christina O’Claire, supervisor of strategic planning and analysis (Service Development) for Metro Transit, was named in September by Mass Transit magazine as one of its 2014 “Top 40 under 40.” This list honors transit professionals who made significant contributions to the public transit industry. Nominated by peers, honorees were judged on job commitment, industry involvement and contributions, achievements, and innovation in their field. O’Claire was cited for “helping King County Metro move into the future through an evolving array of strategic performance and planning initiatives.” She is currently working to keep Metro… Read More

Take advantage of a series of three training opportunities that will build your leadership skills and help you manage change in difficult circumstances: Change Management for Leaders, December 2, 9 am – 4:30 pm, Seattle Marriott Waterfront, 2100 Alaskan Way, Seattle Performance Under Pressure, December 3, 9 am – 3 pm, Seattle University, Campion Towers, 305 Harrison Street, Seattle, WA 98109 Workforce of the Future: Managing Millenials, December 4, 8:30 am – 4:30 pm, Bell Harbor Conference Center, 2211 Alaskan Way, Seattle. You can take all three classes or individual classes depending… Read More

Save up to 43% off Chinook Books and get access to over 500 coupons to your favorite local merchants. Due to demand, this offer expires on November 30, 2014. Order as a group with your colleagues and pay just one shipping fee. Click here to place your order. Available in print and mobile editions. See all available discounts on the Employee Discount Webpage.