He said CUC was assessed a $140,000 fine this summer by EPA for not meeting some of the requirements of the stipulated orders.
EPA rejected the organizational plan submitted by CUC, he added.
He said they had to update their organizational structure and make corrections — for example, supervisors should manage at least three people but not more than eight.
CUC also had to determine whether its managers were qualified and the vacancies as required by the stipulated orders were filled.
Malae said they evaluated their internal processes and streamlined them when needed. They also evaluated the compensation levels.
They reviewed the staffing levels to determine whether CUC had too many or too few employees to perform a certain task, he said.
Malae said they updated the position descriptions and ensured that all employees should have a position description that accurately described what they were required to do.
CUC compared all of the proposed changes with the Metzler report, the last organizational review performed in 1994.
CUC’s organizational plan requires EPA’s approval.
Refine
Through one of its consultants, Malae said CUC was able to refine the scope of work for the organization plan and eliminated two of the seven required steps.
A preliminary evaluation on the organizational assessment was completed by David Gillespie of the Shidler College of Business, University of Hawaii, Manoa.
Gillespie’s spent one week on island early this summer.
Malae said Gillespie worked with CUC staff to prepare a response to EPA.
“As a result of his work, we refined our scope of work and eliminated the ‘internal processes’ and the ‘salary survey.’ Those items were eliminated, not because they were not useful, but rather because they were not directly required by the stipulated orders,” he said.
He said CUC paid Gillespie less than $10,000 for his work.
Another consultant
Malae said CUC also hired Michael Valdez, an assistant professor of management at the Stillman School of Business of the Seaton Hall University.
He said Valdez was recommended to complete the review of the staffing levels.
Valdez was on island for two weeks gathering data and spent a month completing the work requirements, he added.
CUC hired Valdez for under $40,000, Malae said.
The payments for the two consultants included their travel and transportation costs, he added.
He said the remaining work was completed in-house by CUC staff.
CUC resubmitted its organizational plan to EPA on Oct. 7.
Malae said this time, they are expecting a favorable response from EPA.
Not ideal
Malae said CUC does not have an ideal organization and “we will never have it.”
He said their organization plan must be “dynamic because it must take into account the realities of living on a small island far away from the resources needed to operate a highly technical organization such as CUC.”
Malae said this also applies to other 24/7 technical organizations such as the hospital.
In the next two years, he added, as the utility continues to evolve, CUC may have to again “tweak” its organizational chart.
“I am sure EPA or their consultants must understand that reality,” he said.
