The problem was that clients were assigned to each floor based on the zip code of their residence. As times change, so do the economic demographics of any populated region. It occurred to the team that the distribution may have been even when the boundaries were originally set in place, but this had probably shifted over time. The reason for the distribution by zip code is filing of paperwork (i.e., knowing exactly where a case file would be based on the zip code of the client). It seems that a good solution to the problem would be a paperless system, eliminating the boundaries for the floors. However, suggesting such a large change without further evidence is outside the scope of this project. For an immediate
fix, the team found that by swapping two zip codes, the distribution would change to 49.1% on the 3rd floor and 50.9% on the 4th floor. While still not even, a 1.8% difference helps to even out the utilization and is much better than a 4% difference.