150+ daily emails streamlined
Up to 20-minute queues reduced
15 improvement opportunities identified
Future-ready operating model designed
There have been insightful findings that we can take forward.
Service Lead
Define it
UBS’s Security Access Control team was responsible for managing employee, contractor and visitor access across a range of security-critical processes. While the controls were effective from a security perspective, many of the processes had become heavily reliant on manual administration and email-based workflows, creating inefficiencies for both the security team and service users.
Key challenges included:
- Approximately 150 access-related emails being processed daily
- Between 5 and 12 hours spent each day managing email requests
- Only 50% of requests received with the correct information first time
- Customer waiting times of up to 20 minutes during peak periods
- Over-reliance on spreadsheets, paper forms and manual data entry
- Significant duplication of effort across multiple systems
- Limited visibility of process performance and service levels
- An upcoming self-service solution requiring process redesign and operational readiness
CI Projects was engaged to conduct a Lean Six Sigma review of the Access Control operation to identify opportunities to improve efficiency, enhance customer experience and create a future-ready operating model.
Improve it
CI Projects applied Lean Six Sigma methodology to review the end-to-end Access Control operation across UBS.
We undertook detailed process analysis covering key security activities including:
- New starter access provisioning
- Immediate and routine access removals
- Visitor access management
- Lost and forgotten access cards
- International card issuance
- Security audits and investigations
- Front-of-house access control services
- Ad-hoc administration activities
Our approach included:
- Operational observations across front-of-house and security teams
- End-to-end process mapping and Value Stream Mapping
- Baseline performance data collection and analysis
- Process cycle time measurement
- Queue analysis and customer journey mapping
- Identification of waste, bottlenecks and rework
- Root cause analysis of recurring operational issues
- Future-state process design
- Prioritised improvement recommendations and roadmap creation
The review identified a range of opportunities to simplify processes, reduce manual administration, improve right-first-time performance and increase operational capacity. Recommendations included introducing self-service capabilities, improving information quality through structured request templates, reducing duplication, automating workflows and implementing more effective performance management.
Sustain it
The focus of the review extended beyond identifying improvement opportunities. CI Projects worked with UBS to create a practical roadmap that would support long-term operational effectiveness and future transformation initiatives.
To sustain improvements, we recommended:
- Introduction of service-level agreements and governance measures
- Development of operational and customer experience performance metrics
- Ongoing monitoring of queue times and response times
- Measurement of Right First Time (RFT) performance
- Tracking of access revocation and credential management performance
- Greater visibility of demand trends and service volumes
- Improved standardisation of processes and procedures
- Preparation for future self-service and automation capabilities
- Integration opportunities with HR and security systems
- Continuous improvement reviews and performance oversight
The resulting roadmap provided UBS with a structured approach for modernising the Access Control function whilst maintaining the high levels of security and compliance required within a global financial services organisation.
Key benefits
- 150+ daily access requests analysed and optimised
- 15 prioritised improvement opportunities identified
- 50% right-first-time challenge addressed through process redesign
- Up to 20-minute customer waiting times targeted for reduction
- Reduced manual administration and email dependency
- Improved customer and employee experience
- Identified automation and self-service opportunities
- Created a future-ready operating model for Access Control
- Established a framework for measuring operational performance
- Reduced process waste and duplication, freeing security teams to focus on higher-value activities
- Delivered a clear transformation roadmap to support future investment decisions
