Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles Elevated Review
Category: Improving State Operations
Initiation date: August 2011
Completion date: August 2012
Nomination submitted by:
Samuel A. Nixon Jr.
Chief Information Officer
Commonwealth of Virginia
Virginia Information Technologies Agency
June 3, 2013
Executive Summary
Virginia is fortunate to have a growing population from all around the world. The result
has led to an increase in driver’s license and identification card applications from
customers with more complex legal status. The customer-focused Virginia Department
of Motor Vehicles (DMV) has experienced increased wait times when serving customers
that require extended review and research of their legal presence documents. In an
effort to provide better and faster customer service with minimal impact to the budget
and no detriment to security, Virginia DMV implemented a modern, technical solution.
Previously, customer documents submitted for review were photocopied and faxed from
the agency’s 80 customer service centers (CSCs) to a central work center in
headquarters where staff was overwhelmed. Poor image quality and distribution
methods merely exacerbated the problems for the work center. Outdated technology
was failing to keep up with the demands of the modern world.
As a solution, Virginia DMV distributed modern scanning hardware/software to the
customer service centers and implemented a workflow solution in the central work
center. With the newer technology, documents are submitted much faster and at greater
image quality. Using the workflow software, DMV receives submissions directly and
instantly. Implementing this solution reduced turnaround time by two thirds.
In addition to improving customer service by reducing wait times, other improvements
were gained. The modern technology uses far less power and does not require paper,
helping Virginia DMV to reduce costs and be more environmentally conscious. The
central work center no longer needs to hire additional help. The Virginia DMV is looking
to improve the solution by partnering with the Department of Homeland Security for
even faster responses.
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Description of the business problem and solution
Customers who possess more complex documents for proof of legal presence in the
United States often present multiple documents that require review from departments
outside of Virginia DMV. Those external departments review the customer’s documents
and offer a determination of validity that the Virginia DMV uses for the customer’s
application. Because of the complex nature of the process, representatives from the
customer service centers (CSCs) submit such documents to a central work station
(Identity Review) in DMV headquarters. From this workstation, employees act as
liaisons, routing information to the appropriate departments and interpreting results.
Applicants requiring such additional review were waiting in CSCs more than 30 minutes
for a determination. Documents presented by customers were submitted via fax to the
Identity Review department. Documents not meeting standard fax sizes, such as
passports and green cards, were photocopied to meet faxing standards. Poor image
quality resulting from the use of photocopiers and fax machines meant that images
would often need to be photocopied and faxed multiple times using a variety of image
settings. The Identification Review employees were spending much of their time
retrieving faxes and requesting resubmissions of illegible faxes. CSC representatives
were also hampered by the constant interruptions involved with resubmissions.
Employees from both the CSCs and the Identity Review department were slowed by
constantly having to destroy the paper documents which contained sensitive customer
data. These interruptions meant that even customers who did not require Identity
Review were subject to prolonged wait and transaction times. The number of
applications requiring Identity Review was rapidly growing. The quantity of applications
doubled in two years (≈10,000 applications in 2009 to ≈20,000 applications in 2011).
The perceived need for additional staff was constant.
This project was designed to eliminate the need for more staff, reduce customer wait
times and implement modern, energy-efficient solutions. The project employed the use
of improved imaging software and a workflow solution. Customer documents are now
scanned to the Identity Review department, directly to the employees’ workstations. The
imaging software provides the Identity Review department with clear images that need
only be submitted once.
A pilot program was implemented to test the process. Initially, users were resistant to
the change. Training and written procedures were issued to assist users in the
transition. Following the success of the pilot, word of mouth promotion from users
advanced the project’s acceptance. Users were pleased with the results.
Significance of the project
The project supports the governor’s executive order 19 issued in 2010 which calls for
conservation and efficiency in the operation of state government. It also supports the
agency’s mission statement of “Security, Safety and Service,” and vision statement of
“PEAK” (People, Ethics, Accuracy, and Knowledge). The agency’s primary goal states
“Ensure that credentials are issued in an accurate, secure and efficient manner.” This
project directly supports achieving this goal. Also supported is one of the service area
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objectives for Customer Service Center Operations which states, “We will provide a
reasonable customer response time for customers conducting business with DMV.” This
project supported all of these goals and was funded by federal grants.
Benefit of the project
Customer wait times for the determination of legal presence have been reduced from
more than 30 minutes to 8 minutes.
The use of flatbed scanners allows for all images to be submitted from their source
document, eliminating the need to photocopy. The imaging tool has reduced preparation
time for employees and improved image quality. CSC representatives need only submit
an image once.
With the removal of copying and faxing from the process, paper usage and costs have
been reduced. Energy consumption was reduced by substituting more energy-efficient
scanners (with an operating usage of less than 100W) for the less efficient photocopiers
and fax machines (with a combined operating usage of more than 1,000W).
The use of workflow software has allowed for work to be delivered directly to the Identity
Review employees, eliminating the need to retrieve documents from a fax machine. The
workflow software also allows for interdepartmental routing of work when assistance is
needed, minimizing employee down time.
Through the use of scanners coupled with workflow software, documents are now more
secure. Multiple photocopies of sensitive customer data no longer need to be destroyed.
Data is routed to the appropriate department and stored automatically. The
programmed removal of documents at the end of their retention period allows for
immediate compliance with retention policies.
Prior to implementation, the Identity Review department, consisting of eight employees,
estimated a need for two additional staff members to assist in the daily work, which was
taking more than 30 minutes per application. Post implementation, the department can
process requests in as little as 8 minutes when fully staffed.
The department has since taken on additional responsibilities and expressed no need to
hire any additional staff. Future plans involve the use of DMV’s workflow solution to
route certain documents to the Department of Homeland Security, allowing for faster
response times.
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